After a long time not riding (mtb offroad and gravel back then! 20+years) I started riding again with a hybrid bike. It was good, but i found it flexed and would cause disc brake rub and bottom bracket moved. I bought a road bike, finding I was riding more on the road, and had many comfort problems with a combo of saddle and stance. I also found I was not as flexible as i needed and the bike was unstable on corners. My solution was to move the saddle rearward, allowing a shorter stem of 105mm, from the 120mm I was using, and whilst it's not as Aero, the balance is amazing for both hands and control. I never use the drops but as I have long body and shorter arms and legs, I've just started to learn how to put more power down up hills, by not sitting on the saddle, where before I never did. As for training since restarting riding in 2020, I've almost done 15000km's, but really on felt comfortable in every element of cycling recently. To be more aero I use Aerobars, as I don't feel going to the drops is any quicker than bending the elbows more on the hoods, and I feel more in control, as well as the fact I use my elbows as springs/shock absorbers, as opposed to others riding on the drops with stiff arms, ultimately showing themselves down. I have half the ftp of the fittest riders out there, but have a good sprint 5minute power, but ultimately it's the bike control, balance being a big part of that, for myself has made the biggest difference for segments. Very useful tips to improve. 😊
Great video. Just to expand on your last point about form on the bike, this follows in so many endurance sports like running or rowing- *maintain a good form and the speed follows*. Maintain a smooth 'circles-ish' pedal stroke (not mashing down only) and the speed follows. It's quite surprising; be really focussed on pedalling circles for the first 5 minutes and your whole ride is quicker!
well you want to ride on your race bike a bit to get your body used to the position. For a crit I would also not use the most expensive bike due to the amount of cat3 arseholes causing crashes
@@living4adrenaline Not all riders test faster with bent arms on the hoods. It also depends on your strength. It's better to stay for long in the drops than only a few minutes with bent arms. Another thing to think about is that we are not talking about the same position. If you optimize around bent arms, you likely have to raise your bars. This will make your standard position less aggressive. On top of that, it will make your sprinting position higher. I love the bent arms position myself, but it requires 3+ cm higher bars or using a 140mm stem. For me, a 140mm stem is only possible on a saddle that tilts my pelvis aggressively but then is a bit less table. I have a very short torso but super long arms and legs, so I'm figuring out if I should just have nearly bent arms (I can get low, but my knees hit my elbows) or use the drops more.
@@user-qx4bp5rf3n Perhaps. I ride gravel, like 15 hours/wk average, and use the drops to vary position for comfort, its not comfortable to stay on the hoods/drops for the entire ride, switch it up. Also singletrack im riding in the drops because it's a more stable position, hands are less likely to slip off the hoods and I can maneuver tight turns easier in the drops. Also ride drops for sketchy/loose sand/rocky terrain on doubletrack.
Use Google Gemini then: According to the video, it is about cycling and how to improve your speed. The speaker disagrees with the common belief thatひたすら (hitoshura)ひたすら (hitoshura) (ひたすら meansひたすら (hitoshura) relentlessly or constantly) sprint training is the best way to improve cycling speed. He says that training to improve your average speed is more important. The video outlines three key points to improve your cycling speed: Aerodynamics: The speaker argues that 80% of the drag you experience while cycling comes from your body, not your bike. He advises you to adopt a lower riding posture to reduce wind resistance. He also advises against spending money on expensive aerodynamic equipment. Skill: The speaker says that the more skillful you are as a cyclist, the faster you will be. He emphasizes the importance of smooth pedaling, good cornering technique, and efficient braking. Identify and address your weaknesses: The speaker advises that you identify what is slowing you down and then work on improving those areas. For example, if you find that your triceps get tired quickly when riding in the drops, you should do exercises to strengthen your triceps. The speaker also recommends a specific workout routine called the "magic hour" to improve your average speed. This workout involves alternating between high intensity intervals and rest periods. The video includes instructions on how to perform the workout.
It would help to include a gist at the beginning to come full circle to the main point .. I got lost on the whole Strava bit .. .. reducing drag I could care less about
Strava is nuts. There is a sprint segment very near my house so I try it regularly. Some dude "smashed" the Kom the other day... His power was over 1000 watts for 40 seconds 😂... Seriously dude, at least make your cheating believable!
@@MrEMann there's some guy who came through my area in like 2016 and took all the local KOMs. He apparently did an uphill (1-2 percent grade roughly a little less than a mile) at 31 miles per hour. Yeah. Ok.
@@cvdavis having done some "research" aka 2 minutes of googling, while the best Tour sprinters can hit power numbers close to 2000 watts, that's only for a few seconds and over a couple minute time period they are going to be putting out "only" around 500 watts. So while 1000 watts for 40 seconds isn't outside of human capability or anything, it would definitely be a little frustrating if your local KOM got smashed by a professional sprinter going all out. And if they aren't a professional cyclist then they really should be, or more likely they're just cheating. I know a couple of the segments near me have one time with an average speed of 60mph and then second place is the probably legit (but maybe still in a group ride) average of like 35mph that should actually be the KOM.
@@kenanjones3481 I live in a city of over a million people and there’s plenty of cat 1 and pro riders here so I wouldn’t be surprised if I saw it here. How do you think they cheated? Usually people simply use tailwinds to assist and if they had no power meter, Strava would estimate a big wattage. If they’re using a power meter then it should be reasonably accurate.
I agree 1000watts for 40+ seconds is quite difficult, but don’t believe it’s impossible for your average Joe. In early 2020, I started ramping up my cycling fitness and by mid 2021 (in my 40’s), I owned a FTP just shy of 4 w/kg and a 30 second sprint somewhere north of 900 watts through structured AI-based training and plenty of Zwift racing. Proudly own a handful of KOM’s in DFW. Though there are plenty of KOM’s I wanted to own which appeared to be owned by much fitter and legitimate average Joe cyclists.
@@anarchocyclist I think it is a waste and honestly being caught up chasing segments all the time causes a good number of people to mess up their training program
Agree, it seems extremely unimportant if people have come up with all of these ways to lie and set unrealistic times. If you want to get faster, you can do what BC says and just compare it to your own results.
I always ride alone and never on a trainer. I never compare myself to others. Some guys change wheel circumference to seem faster. Who cares what others think
Focus on upper back flexibility so you don’t bend your neck back so much to see up the road. You can raise your stem and bars too- or maybe need a bigger frame or one with a taller headtube. Also keep your shoulders down- don’t ride with a constant shrug.
He actually has another video that talks about bike fit and neck position. Core workouts are a huge thing. I know they suck, planks and situps aren't a fun time. He also mentioned pelvic tilt. If you sit on the bike and your pelvis collapses it puts your back into a position where you're having to force your neck upward and hold your head up. But if you keep your pelvis straight when leaning forward to your handles, your neck naturally stays more in line with the spine. He also mentions that your handlebars need to be the proper width. Shoulder bone to shoulder bone, not the muscle. If your arms splay outward it also can cause your neck to tilt upward. Just a few things I remember. Get stronger and play around with your bike fit. A few mm change can make all the difference but every time you change one part of the bike it can affect other areas.
I would suggest as one other commenter did that you get your bike fit checked. It sounds like you are too stretched out and not enough weight is on your seat.
Was waiting for the magic Strava data extracted from the 1 hour ride that would make me faster… went to Strava looking for the aero and cornering stats… couldn’t find it… must be on the premium ultra gold account subscription… 🙄 Was going to hit the “fucking subscribe” button but turns out you can only subscribe if you have the premium ultra gold Strava account…
Made it 3 minutes into the video and sorry, I'm done. Suggesting to hack strata in the first 2 mins plus the somewhat false info on how muscle fibers and performance works just tells me you did a quick Google search and came up with wrong info 🤷♂️
Scotty…..stop drinking. So 90% of cyclists aren’t getting faster because they take bad lines thru the corners? Interesting videos but someone needs to beam you up from Mars.
... He stresses that your body shape and areodynamics are the main reason. After that, being comfortable (like a flow state) and making active decisions on the bike like choosing your lines rather than just biking on autopilot are how to get better. You have to actively work at it. It's training with a focused goal. Training with purpose.
@@Deckelmaho1234567889 dude, the cornering was just his final tip, if you listen to the whole thing he gives advice about Intervalls, body positioning and other stuff too…. That is if you are able to understand it, more like a challenge to me as a non-native speaker, but fun!
@@difflocktwo "No one cares about aero." People watching this video who want to be faster probably do. Idk anything about bike racing but I'm fairly confident that recumbent bikes are a whole separate class of racing. Tour de France doesn't allow recumbent bikes and I assume that holds true for most races except special mixed bike races more for fun or charity.
