Cycling in and around Birmingham England

Slow Bike

Guys and Girls

I'm looking for some advice please.

You see my Giant road bike which I normally ride though I have not been on since Sept 22nd has and, this is where I'll either sound like I'm worn out myself or extremely unfit or both, seems to have developed some sort of mechanical fault which makes riding at what I would consider a normal speed much more effort than I would expect (I'm normally at around 14-16 mph on the flat I think). I have had the rear wheel trued and the front seems to be pretty true at least it not running out much when I lift the front wheel and spin it.

I decided to take ot out on Saturday for a run to check put possible route to work, I only got about 2 miles when the effort of riding it seemed just too much for me so I turned back. Downhill riding seems fine but the gravity helps so much with heavy riders such as myself. I know it was cold but it wasn't that bad was it.

I had felt the bike seemed to be hard to propel from sometime in August as I was finding it increasing tiring to ride home from Saturday morning rides with the North Birmingham CTC. Now I would have ridden about 8 or 9 miles to the meeting point then another 20 or so and another 9 or so home and mostly uphill on the way home. I had been riding regularly but instead of getting faster or easier up the hills it has become even more of a struggle. The bike has mudguards and a tool bag etc but nothing really heavy such a panniers yet.

So here is my problem. Why is it harder to ride than before? What have I missed?

I have as stated I had checked the normal things like brakes, BB, tyres run hard at over 100psi, wheels are positioned correctly, bearing seems to run smoothly.

I know some may think that perhaps I'd rested too much over the time period from 22^nd Sept to 14^th Jan but I'm a regularly doing fitness training at least 3 times a week so I'm sure I'm as fit as I was in August if not fitted.

Any help or tips gratefully received.

Phil

Perhaps I have to save up for an electric bike!!!

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kim on January 16, 2012 at 1:40

Have you tried another bike? If everything appears to be running smoothly, it does seem to suggest either the rider or the external conditions (I find the cold makes me a *lot* slower). Could the saddle/bar positions have changed to make your riding position less efficient?

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Permalink Reply by James Lee on January 16, 2012 at 9:16

Get yourself to a gym on a 'one day free pass'.

Go on the upright bike. Ride along at 120ish Watts for 10 minutes and then see how many cals you can burn in 60 minutes.

Report the result back and we'll plot your performance on the 'Frank Whitt curve'.

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Permalink Reply by Donna Norford on January 16, 2012 at 9:41

I must admit I have been finding much the same with my bike. Before the Christmas I a feeling quite comfortable & at times fairly nimble on my bike, after a 4 week holiday from work over the festive season.... riding to work last week has been very stiff & taking more effort to move along than before.

I have looked a breaks etc & but I think its also more down to me & my slightly more chunky unfit self.

I really cant be doing with boring my self silly at the gym.... so I guess I'm just gonna get out there & & work it more on my bike till I get back to a more comfortable speed & effort.

good luck Philip

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Permalink Reply by CKS on January 16, 2012 at 9:54

At the risk of stating the obvious, could you be riding into prevailing winds? (or even the lack of a tail wind would make a noticable difference)

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Permalink Reply by Robert on January 16, 2012 at 10:04

Funny you should mention this, because I had noticed the same. Anyhow, my bike was overdue for it's winter clean (winter having not really happened so I just wanted to keep riding as normal), so last week I just got on with it. Wheel bearings cleaned and re-greased, BB cleaned and re-greased, transmission cleaned and re-lubricated. And what a difference! Whilst the weather has been warm it has also been very wet just recently, which means a lot of muck gets sprayed on to the bike. I'm almost certain most of the increased drag was the result of transmission getting so mucky.

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Permalink Reply by Mark on January 16, 2012 at 10:18

When you say you are doing fitness training, what kind of fitness training? Are you on the cycle in the gym or are you on the treadmill or just doing weights.

If you are doing CV on the treadmill but not the cycle you will be using different muscle groups than cycling and if you have just been using weights with maybe only a minimull warm up say on the treadmill then your performance on the bike will inevitably be reduced. If you are working out really hard in the gym your body needs time to recover maybe this is also why you are struggling.

I go for a run around Handsworth Park three or four times a week, that is as much as I would wish to do, I need the other days to recover. I cycle most days but my body appreciates a day off from time to time, more so now that I am in my forties.

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Permalink Reply by James Lee on January 16, 2012 at 10:23

Trans losses can be 3 - 5 % at best, to 20% on really bad filthy heaps.

What used to require 150W, is now requiring 180W. Maybe above one's ability for one hour riding.

OP said he checked his bike. Did you check 'backpedal stiction'?

If you suddenly turn the cranks backward, does the chain hit the chainstay?

Yes. Clean or replace the chain.

Robert said:

Funny you should mention this, because I had noticed the same. Anyhow, my bike was overdue for it's winter clean (winter having not really happened so I just wanted to keep riding as normal), so last week I just got on with it. Wheel bearings cleaned and re-greased, BB cleaned and re-greased, transmission cleaned and re-lubricated. And what a difference! Whilst the weather has been warm it has also been very wet just recently, which means a lot of muck gets sprayed on to the bike. I'm almost certain most of the increased drag was the result of transmission getting so mucky.

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Permalink Reply by Andy on January 16, 2012 at 15:00

Hi,

If it were me I guess the first thing I'd do is check the bike (wheels etc but it seems as if you've already done that). you mentioned the slower speed so I assume you use a cycle computer. Have you gone into the setup mode and checked that the settings are still correct for your wheel size etc? It could be a long shot but if your cycle computer has reset itself it may assume that your wheels are a different size and be repoirting your speed incorrectly - You could be riding faster than you actually think you are!

If all that is ok it may be similar to an experience I had towards the end of last year. I had been cycling three to four times a week trying hard to push myself towards higher levels of fitness. I remember riding down a bit of a hill in Dudley and hitting 41.2 mph and feeling great. The next time (probably a week later) when I hit the same stretch I decided that I was really going to "push it" to see how much faster I could go, yet my top speed just about hit 40! At that time I had felt as if I'd had a slight cold for a week or so and I ended up not riding for a couple of weeks.

The first time I got back on the bike and hit that stretch I was able to get over 42mph and I didn't feel all that tired afterwards either. I just put it down to me perhaps overdoing it and in doing so actually making myself weaker - I take a much more sensible approach now ;-)

Andy.

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Permalink Reply by David Cooper on January 16, 2012 at 15:43

I would put it down to the rider rather than the bike.

I took a couple of weeks off in the summer and TT times both sides of two weeks lazing by the pool with beer in hand differed by over three minutes. If you have taken three months off from cycling you will have to work hard to get back to your previous level of fitness.

Good Luck

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Permalink Reply by Andy White on January 16, 2012 at 16:04

It could be that you're just getting older, Phil.

It happened to me - I got older ;-) Now I can no longer cycle nor run as quickly as I used to. What a bummer eh! I found that after 40 every layoff was more difficult to come back from. I became rather disillusioned. I ended up having years off because I couldn't fit in the time required to attempt to maintain a level of fitness which was increasingly hard to maintain.

My answer to this proverbial problem has been to do different sorts of cycling and mixing in some running, which is a much more time-efficient way of maintaing cardio-vascular fitness. As I could no longer ride 400km Audaxes I bought a cyclo-x bike and just had fun riding shorter distances incorporating lots of off-road. And I built a fixed so that I never had the excuse to change down gear. I was no longer 'judging' myself against past levels of performance but when I got back to riding with a group on the road I was pleasantly surprised that I could keep up.

Sometimes a change is as good as a rest, so they say. But you've had the rest so maybe a change will do you good?

BTW - if you ever fancy company riding over to the CTC ride, I'm only just down the road and I could do with a bit of a nudge to get out on a Saturday. I'm not sure I'll manage 16mph though.

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Permalink Reply by Andy on January 16, 2012 at 16:11

Ah yes... being over 40!

I'm in that category too which was precisely what got me into trouble. You see I had read somewhere that once you've gone past your mid 20's, the benefit of exercise is significantly shorter lived so you have to be a lot more disciplined just to maintain a level of fitness (I'm not even going into increasing it).

That having been said, I don't think it's all doom and gloom beyond 40. At the moment I'm significantly faster and I have much more stamina on the bike than I did when I first took it up again about three and a half years ago ;-)

For me the key is regular (but not too regular) outings and to push myself but not to the point where I become fatigued.

Andy.