A lot of cyclists these days want to know how to increase cycling speed when riding their bikes. This might be for personal reasons. Probably they want to beat an old personal record or someone else’s record. It could also be that they’ve been challenged to some bike race.
For those who are still beginners in cycling, it’s expected that you should want to test the limit of how fast you can go on your cruiser bike for women. The upside to riding your bike at a fast speed is that it facilitates good health and boosts self-confidence. There are other factors apart from patience and good practice that can really help on your quest to increase your cycling speed.
How to Increase Cycling Speed
Keep reading to find out how you can increase your cycling speed.
1. Cycle in an Aerodynamic Position
You can boost your cycling speed by avoiding putting on large clothing that would drag in the wind like a parachute or replacing your big helmet with something more suitable for speed cycling.
Yet, you should know that getting your body position right on your fixie bicycle and Brooks saddle will go a really long way in helping you achieve the speed you desire. Try as much as possible to expose less of yourself to the speed-reducing wind.
2. Listen to Pump Up Music
As you work towards increasing your cycling cadence, you should consider adding some great motivational music to your list of required items.
When you’re listening to the type of music that motivates you, your mood gets impacted positively and you would be in high spirits. Some findings have shown that you put more effort into cycling when you’re listening to fast-paced music.
3. Bend Your Elbows
As a new cyclist in the game, you probably wouldn’t know how to deal with wind resistance. The direction in which the wind is blowing can slow down a cyclist’s speed. To comfortably address this challenge, you should change the body position while cycling.
Basically, you have to get near the bars. You can do this by bending your elbows. This is guaranteed to give good results, and you will feel your speed increase.
4. Ride with a Friend
Since direct exposure to the wind while cycling reduces your speed, why not try blocking that wind with another rider at your front? If you can have a fellow biker ride in front of you and block off the wind, you could save as much as 40 percent energy when compared to riding solo.
You should also try to ensure that the individual you’re riding with is better than you and can serve as a training partner. Having a training partner beside you when you go cycling and a bike speedometer or Garmin vs Wahoo ensures that there’s someone who’s pushing you to your limit and encouraging you to achieve that level of speed that you want in your cycling.
5. Pump Your Bike’s Tires
You need to always be aware of the state your tires are in. If you want to ride effortlessly and go faster on that bike, you need to ensure that your tires are always well inflated.
You might think that since you got them pumped recently that there’s no need to bother checking. This is wrong because changes in temperature and little air leaks can put your tires in poor condition.
6. Brake Only When Necessary
This is a key lesson in learning how to increase cycling speed. Pressing your brakes too often will only slow you down and this just defeats the goal of cycling faster.
Even if you have to press the bike brakes, it should mostly be because the roads are busy. Otherwise, you shouldn’t have to use the brakes often.
7. Improve Bike Handling
Working on your bike handling is important on your quest for speed. Constantly hitting the brakes on your bike will only make you go slow. You need to master how to descend slopes faster and navigate sharp bends without pressing the brakes.
When you’re good at bike handling, you can start riding close to other bikers without having to worry about crashing into them or using removable bike bells.
8. Cycle in Intervals
This basically involves you cycling faster for a short interval and then slowing down to recover. You pick up the fast speed again and keep repeating the process.
9. Wear Proper Cycling Clothes
The last thing you want is your clothing stopping you from reaching your speed goal. Go for clothes that are fitted to your body and won’t keep dragging in the wind. Also, make sure you know how to measure a bike helmet so you can find the proper size for your head.
There are well-fitted cycling clothes that are designed to keep you comfy while riding your bike so make sure you wear cycling shorts properly. You can easily go get some from a nearby store.
10. Be Careful with Your Diet
On your quest for speed, you might need to lose some weight while cycling. Getting stronger is also an option. As you cycle up a hill, the amount of watts you can generate per pound of bodyweight determines a lot in your cycling. If your equipment, bike, fitness, and power are constant as you lose weight, your average speed will improve.
You should ensure that you have a balanced diet that consists of veggies and lean meats if you want to lose weight. You will surely be tempted to go back to your old eating habits, but you have to stay strong and stick with the new diet if you want to see changes.
Conclusion
With all the information given on how to increase cycling speed, you should be able to reach your speed goal in a short period of time.
You should know that you won’t achieve this goal by just saying it or talking about it. You have to take action and put in the work and a GPS tracker for bike could help a lot. It might not be easy at first, especially if you have to lose weight on your journey, but if you can persevere you will come out victorious and faster than you could ever imagine.
Get yourself a training partner to show you the ropes and inspire you and you’ll be just fine.