Question for cyclists

Innkeeper

Innkeeper

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Been on my bike more than ever the last few weeks and can see my fitness going up. But here's the question when on a pushbike watching fitness. Say speed/distance how much is down to fitness and how much is down to the bike? Mean if a top cyclist jump on my bike (halfords entry level) and I jump on his would he go slower and me faster and further. Sort of say 30% fitness 70% bike quality? I know it's hard to answer but if I bought a good bike in the future would I notice the difference?
 
There is the Law of Diminishing Returns to consider but a decent bike will transform your riding. Lighter, better gears, hopefully more comfortable. Better wheels with decent tyres. It all helps. Padded shorts , don’t forget them. My local bike shop used to refer to cheapo bikes as a BSO. A bike shaped object. Have fun .
 
IMO you would notice the difference..an expensive light weight bike of any given type ..ie road or mountain will be make a difference in terms of feel of ride...but in terms of getting fit your work and effort put in on any bike will do the job just the same..
Just on the expensive bikes you'll travel further for same effort ??
Andy..
 
Bike, tyres, fitness.

My bike is not too heavy but has big knobbly tyres, so knobbly and gripping that they lift bricks out of block paving.

My neighbour's bike if mostly carbon fibre, has narrow treadfree tyres.

Once I was a guest at the McLaren factory where I used their fully carbon fibre bike, I could pick it up with my little finger!

However I'm happy with my bike as I cycle for the exercise more than a mode of transport.

If I had a McLaren bike I'd have to cycle about four times as long over my bike to get the same workout.
 
Think mine is a BSO??‍♂️

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My fitness. There a hill by us couldn't get up it 2 weeks ago got up it yesterday. Ok in granny gear but still got up it. Also never used the top gear except odd down hill. Now I can use that gear on the flats. A few time even tried to move up to the next gear but there wasnt one
 
On cycle paths and roads comparing a mountain bike to road bike will show a huge difference. 30-40% easier on the road bike. So you’ll go further and/or have an easier ride.

When you’re comparing low to high range bikes the percentage difference will be single digit or low teens.
Lighter frame & wheels. Smoother gear changes. More gears, etc.
So as others said it’s diminishing returns,
Sky could afford to look at 1% changes and used that to make a top road bike team.
We don’t have to unless addicted ??
 
I also have an electric BSO.

I have looked at "real" bikes but with my limited mobility I'm more interested in being able to get on the bike than anything else! A very low step though is required :)

I couldn't get onto the static bike at the physiotherapy clinic :(

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light wheels and skinny tyres would see the biggest difference if you are looking for speed, if you are looking for fitness it makes no difference in my book, when I was a lot younger and a lot fitter I turned up at a 10 mile time trial on my mountain bike, everybody else was on proper Aero TT bikes with the kit to match, out of 39 riders I came 20th (y) nobody spoke to me though.

Martin
 
funflair said:
light wheels and skinny tyres would see the biggest difference if you are looking for speed, if you are looking for fitness it makes no difference in my book, when I was a lot younger and a lot fitter I turned up at a 10 mile time trial on my mountain bike, everybody else was on proper Aero TT bikes with the kit to match, out of 39 riders I came 20th (y) nobody spoke to me though.

Martin
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It a bit of both want to go faster and further. But also want it as a keep fit thing. Wife has an Ebike. So would be nice for her not to have to wait for me on the uphill bits.
 
Innkeeper said:
Been on my bike more than ever the last few weeks and can see my fitness going up. But here's the question when on a pushbike watching fitness. Say speed/distance how much is down to fitness and how much is down to the bike? Mean if a top cyclist jump on my bike (halfords entry level) and I jump on his would he go slower and me faster and further. Sort of say 30% fitness 70% bike quality? I know it's hard to answer but if I bought a good bike in the future would I notice the difference?
Click to expand...

Fitness is the most important factor but the bike also important... an entry level road bike around £500 will have a basic groupset for gears and brakes but will be faster than a mountain bike of the same cost. Spending £2,500 or so will get a mid-range road bike that will have better comfort, groupset etc and be lighter. Gear changes will be more consistent for longer (cheap groupsets need more maintenance), you'll stop faster and feel more comfortable during and after the ride. However, I can still keep up with many people I ride with when they are on these kind of bikes and I'm on my mountain bike with knobly tyres if we're doing up to 15mph average.

The next level of road bikes starts around £4,500 and will be lighter still (faster acceleration), even better group sets and often be even more comfortable. I'd estimate that price range bike would, on average be around 1mph faster for the same effort than the mid range bikes and 2mph faster than the entry level bikes. Comfort and enjoyment would be the greatest value.

Within the mid-top end bikes there are also different models that provide a range of comfort, aerodynamics and positioning. My bike is built for comfort and endurance - friends have the model and report that when they have ridden the more aggressive, sportier models, they get 1-1.5mph gain for the same effort.

What ever you do, enjoy your cycling and get fit. When you are ready to upgrade your bike, don't rush in. There are lots of factors to consider.
 
Innkeeper said:
It a bit of both want to go faster and further. But also want it as a keep fit thing. Wife has an Ebike. So would be nice for her not to have to wait for me on the uphill bits.
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An e-bike does 15mph max with assistance. A lighter bike for you would help get up hills more easily but IMHO, I would be aiming to lose lbs around my waist before spending lots of £ on a new bike. I don't know what your BMI is like but mine needs to come down. I only bought my nice bike because I got a very good deal. I'd advise many people to wait until they are fitter and lost more weight before making spending lots of £ on a bike.
 
Stop messing around with bikes & get one of these - great for fitness & fun

05.JPG

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Themselves said:
There is the Law of Diminishing Returns to consider but a decent bike will transform your riding. Lighter, better gears, hopefully more comfortable. Better wheels with decent tyres. It all helps. Padded shorts , don’t forget them. My local bike shop used to refer to cheapo bikes as a BSO. A bike shaped object. Have fun .
Click to expand...

BSO :LOL: that's a classic
 
In reality it's mainly down to what's in your legs, lungs and your mind. You can't really compare different bike types (MTB vs Road) in this equation as it would be like comparing a Porsche 911 to a Landrover when talking about off road driving. Second hand bikes are a great way forward and typically you can find most bikes at about 60-70% of their new value at say 1-2yrs old and in perfect "hardly used" condition. When you say further i assume road then ? So in which case comfort is a serious consideration which basically starts with getting the right frame size and setting it up correctly, plenty of videos on that although the ones over on the GCN (Global Cycling Network) Youtube channel are quite fun and very informative.

Pick some circuit routes where you live and just time yourself, you'll be amazed at how quickly over the coming weeks you will improve. Choose say 3 different loops, with one being short so you can fit it in when you are limited for time, one being a longer outing and perhaps one with some more climbing in it.

You can improve your kit as you go and as you feel comfortable to spend, bikey things tend to be expensive but Decathlon and Halfords offer great products that are well priced. If i could recommend buying one thing early on it's some decent cycling shorts, they will transform your comfort on long rides and you'll wonder why you hadn't bought them sooner.

You can also use your smartphone with several apps and have access to lots of free data, you can mount it on your bars and it will give you all you need for free inc speed, GPS mapping, averages etc (also other parameters if you buy separate sensors).

In terms of performance order most people would say fitness first (assuming weight isn't too high) then bike frame (assuming road) and then the usual first upgrade people make with off the peg bikes is wheel as most factory bikes have only average wheels vs the quite decent frame and group set. Tyres also play a big role and can give you some nice benefits for not too much money although it's amazing how expensive bike tyres can actually be.

What ever you do wear a lid and enjoy yourself.
 
My mate used to ride his cycle 70 miles then have breakfast then go to work. I had a go on his cycle he could not keep up with me (he is 50 I’m 78 ) on my off road bike. He said that he would not use my bike (as he called it) to got to the shops as said before £4500 will get you a good un.????
 
Agree with the last 2 answers.
Warning this is a long answer. A heavier bike would make you fitter because you’ve got to get it moving with more effort.
As said above the more expensive the bike the better components and the longer they will last.
I’ve always cycled to work and over the years have gone from road bikes to mountain bikes purely because of the state of the roads and I enjoy trail riding in the woods.
I have had my latest stupidly expensive Trek Fuel EX all carbon mountain bike for 3 years now absolutely love it, it was 11Kg out of the box 1x11 gears 29” wheels, 2.4” tyres.
I certainly noticed the difference in effort needed to get up hills it’s a real mountain goat of a bike.
Over the years I’ve been asked many times for advice on buying bicycles.
The first thing I always ask is what do you actually want to use it for.
If the reply is to occasionally ride around town then a cheap Halfords would be fine.
If it’s to get fitter then I would say spend a bit more around £500.
For occasional use off road even £500 would get you a reasonable good mountain bike, but put tyres on it with a smaller width and lower rolling resistance, the big knobbly tyres are mud tyres.
As I mentioned early the more you spend the better and lighter the bike.
The main thing what ever bike you’ve got is to use and enjoy it.
Go cycle, build up the distance and gradient gradually.

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On a truly light weight bike with skinny tyres more of your energy is used to propel you through the air. On a heavy bike some of your energy is absorbed in dragging more mass along. If you get the opportunity to try both types you would notice the difference immediately.
 
MANGOFORTH said:
Surely struggling on a crap bike is more exercise than breezing it on a good one. If exercise is the goal why worry about distance... ?‍♂️
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The OP would like to get up hills faster. A crap bike will be OK at first but will become frustrating.
 
ryan_flea said:
Ohhh now I think pictures of peoples bikes should be attached. ?
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There's mine .
Normally clip in but just trying some flats for a change..
And have another set of wheels with large nobbles for the muck..
Running both sets of wheels as tubeless now after been a bit sceptical , but I'm now a convert.. Had a few known punctures but never a flat since running them..?
IMG_20200412_161334.jpg

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Yep tubeless is great you can run your Mountain bike tyres at low pressure for more grip 25psi.
 
The Old Man said:
Bike, tyres, fitness.

My bike is not too heavy but has big knobbly tyres, so knobbly and gripping that they lift bricks out of block paving.

My neighbour's bike if mostly carbon fibre, has narrow treadfree tyres.

Once I was a guest at the McLaren factory where I used their fully carbon fibre bike, I could pick it up with my little finger!

However I'm happy with my bike as I cycle for the exercise more than a mode of transport.

If I had a McLaren bike I'd have to cycle about four times as long over my bike to get the same workout.
Click to expand...
Not quite so, you could use the same effort you'd just go further faster. However the feather weight McLaren will only be good on dead smooth surfaces and then only if you're less that 8 stone.
With you bike you can knock it about on bridleways, on the beach, downhills, over kerb edges and you're still riding which is the aim.
In answer to the original post, I would say it's 10% gain if you spend the equivalent of a new Motorhome on a super duper top of the range race bike.
Phil

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