2. Facts and fiction
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You're riding your first Around the Bay in a Day and everyone's been offering sage advice. Let's put some myths to rest and look at what will really get you flying
This article first appeared in RideOn August-September 2006 issue
The higher gear myth
With Around the Bay in a Day coming up everyone wants to know how to make their road bike perform better. Retailers are regularly approached by (often young male) customers who want to put “higher gears on their bike so that it will go faster”. They claim that even in top gear they are spinning their pedals so fast that they could speed up if only they could change to a higher gear. This is just plain untrue. Any rider who can spin the pedals at maximum revs in top gear on the flat for more than a few seconds at a time should be in Europe training for next year’s Tour de France.
How fast you travel is determined by the balance between how much power your body can generate and how much wind and rolling resistance you have to work against. More power or less wind resistance: you go faster. The power your legs generate has nothing to do with the gearing of the bike. It makes no difference whether you are pushing hard pedalling at 50 revolutions per minute (very slowly) or spinning the pedals at 110rpm (very fast), the power output will depend on how old you are, how fit and strong you are and how well you chose your parents. Unfortunately the only one of these which you can control is your fitness and strength, so increase your training, not your gearing.
A quick hint: An easy way to reduce the rolling resistance of your bike is to pump up your tyres. To make sure you waste as little as possible of the power of your legs lubricate your chain.
The mountain bike position myth
Another myth that needs to be put to rest is that mountain bikes will give you a more upright ride than road bikes. Often riders will chose a mountain bike or a hybrid with mountain bike handlebars in the mistaken belief that this guarantees them an upright position.
There is no general rule to this, every bike and rider combination should be considered individually. Often the hand position in the middle of a down-turned handlebar will be more upright than the position on a similar quality flat-bar road bike. By using handlebar extensions and leaning your forearms against the bars on a mountain bike you may be able to lean as much as using the drops on a road racer. The range of handlebar stems and extensions for flat bars means that almost any position is possible on almost any bike.
The only rule in all this is that cheaper bikes generally are designed to sit the rider more upright than higher quality bikes. This reflects manufacturers’ assumption that riders who are prepared to spend more on their bikes want higher performance and will compromise comfort more.
Another quick hint: You can cut the wind resistance of your bike just by dropping your handlebars a couple of centimetres. (Did I mention pumping up your tyres?)
Avoiding the ‘big dry’
On long rides like Around the Bay – or any ride which has us out for most of the day – we all know we should drink lots of water. But how much is lots? If you read the advice in magazine columns on this subject you’ll come across references to amounts like 500–750ml per hour while exercising. This is certainly good advice for cycling with a moderate effort in mild conditions. But what about cycling in stinking hot weather? How much should you drink on a ride in the mountains on a hot day? And how can you be sure you are drinking enough?
The most water I have seen drunk over a sustained ride was about 20 litres, (that’s right 20 litres!) in five hours, while cycling up a 1600 metre climb over 22km with a full camping load on a day when the temperature in the surrounding country reached 40 degrees. That’s a long slow climb, with frequent stops at creeks to replenish fluids and cool off. So “lots of water” can be anything from 500ml to 4 litres per hour.
You’ll know you are drinking enough by the colour of your urine. Dark yellow means you aren’t drinking enough. No urine at all means you are definitely not drinking enough. A couple of toilet breaks in a day means you are about right. So put another bidon cage on your bike or fill up your Camel Back and don’t leave home for a long ride without lots of water.
Slipping into cleated shoes
If you’ve taken our advice over the last year or so and invested in a set of clipless pedals, the sort that lock onto a cleat on the sole of your shoe, you may have found that occasionally it seems hard to escape from them. You can make it easier by loosening the spring, which clamps the pedal to the cleat. On most pedals this means undoing a screw on the back of the pedal a turn or two. The trouble with this solution is that you are then not held as securely and there is a chance of pulling your foot out inadvertently.
A better solution is to clean the cleat and pedal and then give them both a quick wipe over with a silicone polish. Even car wax will do the trick. That way you’ll be able to get in easily, twist out easily, but never come out by accident. You might even increase the tension with the adjusting screw so that you are held even more securely. The point about the silicone polish is that it’s not sticky or greasy so you won’t put marks on the carpet.
Bounce back from winter
As you read this the days will be starting to lengthen slowly and you’ll be looking forward to getting out on your bike for longer rides in warmer weather. Maybe you’ll be thinking about riding to work again after giving it up for the winter.
If you are one of those who commuted all through winter well done and keep it up. You’ve probably got a bike with mudguards, lights and perhaps a rack so that you can cope with odd miserable dark ride home in the rain. This is a good time to check on how well your bike has stood up to the rigours of winter riding.
The simplest, quickest check you can do to your bike is to pick it up, drop it and listen. So lift it by seat and bars about 10cm and drop it on to a concrete floor. Bounce it on its tyres, catch it, hold it suspended and listen to the sound it makes.
A light, unencumbered racing bike will vibrate like a tuning fork. A fully suspended bike will hardly bounce at all. But a bike in poor condition will rattle. Loose headset bearings, loose accessories and worn wheel bearings among other things will make rattling noises. It’s much easier to work out where they are coming from when you are standing beside the bike rather than when you are riding. It will even give you a hint about how high the pressure is in your tyres. (And by the way, do they need any pumping up?)
Training your bike for the big day
Want to zip around the bay without ditching the old set of wheels? Here’s how to get your bike ready to roll
Budget makeover
Up to $20
- Pump up the tyres to maximum pressure
- If you have flat pedals, try fitting toeclips and straps.
- Lower your handlebars about 2–4cm below the saddle height. The nose of the saddle may have to be lowered a tiny bit when you lower the bars.
- Remove mudguards and racks. Ditch your lock, heavy toolkits and lights (unless the ride includes a start or finish in the dark). Carry the basics: a spare tube and a light pump.
- Wear close-fitting clothes that will reduce wind resistance (and make you look like you mean business).
Mid-range renovation
Up to $300
- You can fit light tyres that inflate to pressures of 100psi (7.0 bar) or more. These should cost no more than $100. (Make sure you pump these right up.)
- Add bar ends. These give you a couple of extra hand positions, great for a long ride. You should find some for less than $40.
- Check your chain and cassette, and replace them if they are close to biting the dust. New, well-lubricated parts will take less effort to push. But remember, keeping the rider in great shape is the best way to increase your speed.
Sky’s-the-limit facelift
$1000 plus
- Have your position set up properly by your local bike shop
- Invest in a new set of wheels with lighter rims and fewer spokes. Change to wheels that will take 700 x 23c or 26 x 1.25 tyres, depending on your bike. This should cost $400–500 for a pair.
- Choose new tyres to suit your new wheels and keep them nicely pumped up.
- Fit a clipless pedal and shoe system, these should cost $250 plus.
- Buy some fancy new knicks (padded Lycra shorts) and a cycling jersey, which will keep you comfortably sweat free and looking like a bona fide roadie.