In simple terms, that means getting down more over the handlebar, riding in the drops and possibly lowering the stem, if you can do that and stay comfortable on the bike. The main thing you can do to improve your aerodynamic performance is to reduce your frontal profile. Wind resistance rather than friction takes over as the dominant factor slowing you down once you get above 10mph/16kph, so even at lower speeds it’s important. Around three-quarters of drag comes from you, not your bike, so that doesn’t mean you have to spend a fortune on a new aero bike or deep-section wheels. Getting more aero is a major factor in riding faster. Get aero to reduce the amount of wind resistance you have to overcome.
Keep it up meaning how to#
If you’re new to cycling in a bunch, we’ve got advice on how to ride in a group. Most will organise group rides of different speeds, so you can pick one that you can keep up with and move up to a faster group as your speed and experience increase. It’s also why sprinters have a lead-out train – they’ll spend a lot of the time riding behind their teammates, conserving their energy for the crucial final dash to the line.Ĭlubs are a great way to find fellow cyclists to ride with. And that’s part of the reason why the winners of the Tour de France can keep up such a high pace. Drafting effectively and safely takes practice, so again more miles will make you better.ĭrafting is why, if you watch a road race, the riders further back are often freewheeling even when those at the front of a pack are obviously putting in a lot of effort. Tucked in behind, it’s estimated that a rider can save up to 40 per cent of the effort required to ride up front. The main benefit of riding in a group, however, is the drafting effect. Likewise, if you’re feeling fresh you can set the pace and help your fellow riders to keep going faster. If you’re with other riders, there’s the incentive to keep up, so that even if you’re starting to flag you’ll hang in and keep going. Riding in a group can be a sure-fire way to improve your average speed. Pedal moreĭrafting another rider – or riding with a group – is a sure-fire way to improve your average speed. BikeRadar’s tips to improve your average speed 1. The winner of the Tour de France consistently averages 25mph/40kph riding more than 2,000 miles/3,500km over three weeks, although they do have help – read on to see why riding in a group matters. Since it takes eight times as much effort to overcome air resistance at 20mph as it does at 10mph, that’s a big increase in power output.
To hit an average speed of 20mph/32kph, you’ll probably have had to put in lots of systematic training.
Ride consistently and get fitter, and you should be able to maintain a mileage per hour in the mid-teens (around 15.5mph/25kph) over several hours – Strava reckons that’s the average speed for rides logged. A beginner might struggle to keep up an average speed of 10mph/16kph over an hour or two on a road bike. Where you ride matters too, because hillier terrain will often bring your average speed down, as will riding into a headwind and wet weather or tricky conditions.Įven how smooth the tarmac is can make a difference – pros used to racing in continental Europe have been known to complain about how much slower the tar-and-gravel UK roads are when they ride the Tour of Britain.Ĭrucial though is your level of fitness. You’ll typically go faster on a road bike with drop handlebars and skinny tyres than on a flat-bar hybrid bike with chunky tyres or a mountain bike designed for riding off-road. What is a good average speed? As always, it depends on a lot of things. Let’s start with a question that many riders often have. Tour de France riders consistently hit an average speed of 25mph/40kph and above, but what about the rest of us? Thomas Samson / Getty Images
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