Cycling is always known to be in the constant pursuit of speed, but, are there some upgrades that you can make to your ride which not only make it better but potentially slower?
Cycling Weekly's Sam Gupta looks into all the ways he believes you can improve your time on the bike and have more fun but potentially at the detriment of going fast. For some, these may be the best cycling upgrades out there.
Cycling Weekly's Sam Gupta looks into all the ways he believes you can improve your time on the bike and have more fun but potentially at the detriment of going fast. For some, these may be the best cycling upgrades out there.
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00:00As brands are constantly pushing to bring out the next best thing to make riding faster,
00:05smoother and more efficient, it recently got me wondering about what upgrades we can make to our
00:10rides that actually bring out more of the fun that we all love. So here are my favourite ride
00:16upgrades which could actually make you slower. We often talk about how the biggest aerodynamic
00:27gains can come from tighter fitting, crease-free clothing. High-end cycling clothing tends to be
00:33made of exotic materials designed to wick away all moisture away from the skin, provide extra
00:38aero benefits through different textures but also be incredibly well tailored. And that's before we've
00:43even got onto the different ways that manufacturers try to make clothing more practical. Sure, another
00:50big part of what brands try to do is make clothing as comfortable as possible and I will be the first
00:55to say that cycling specific shorts absolutely changed the game for me in this regard. However,
01:01shorts to one side, I believe that looser fitting baggy clothing can be even better some of the time.
01:08I think we're getting real evidence of this in multiple places in cycling. First, we're seeing
01:13some brands actually design active clothing for road cyclists which is there to replace your ride
01:19jersey as a more relaxed and comfortable option. Now these garments tend to be made of similar materials
01:24to their typical cycling jersey counterparts as that means it'll maintain the breathability but then
01:30a t-shirt fit is then used to bring the best of both casual and serious sporting worlds together.
01:37I think that the recent boom in gravel cycling also points to some roadies wanting to continue their
01:43drop bar fun but in a more relaxed environment. So, how can we achieve this? Well, as mentioned,
01:49there is kit out there designed to provide that relaxed ride feel but another alternative is
01:55actually just to forget cycling clothing altogether. Try popping on your cycling shoes and your favourite
02:01bib shorts and then just a t-shirt and probably a jumper as well at this time of year. Business downstairs
02:06and party up top. And I'll be honest, I've done this a few times recently and there's something that just
02:11makes it feel super freeing. I wouldn't do this on a ride where I actually want to go out and achieve a new
02:17personal record but for a rest ride or a roll around the lanes it feels so much better. It's just so much
02:23more relaxed. There's a constant very physical reminder when you're riding to just chill out and enjoy it.
02:35There's one number that gets banded around quite a lot in bike shops when a new road cyclist
02:40is purchasing their first road bike and wants to experiment with clipless shoes. Riding clipped in
02:47will increase your pedaling efficiency by 30%. Now, while I'm not here to argue that number at all,
02:52I think it's worth remembering what it was like to ride a bike with flat pedals. You jump on and go
02:58without needing to worry about what shoes you're wearing. Much like my first point, I wouldn't do
03:03this for a ride where I want to go out and execute a really hard training session but if you want a nice
03:09evening cruise or you just want to pop to the shops or go to the pub, it's got to be flat pedals all the way.
03:20This one has to be a bit of a no-brainer. There's no one thing which can provide a constant
03:25distraction for the entirety of a ride like a head unit does, apart from maybe a creaky bottom bracket.
03:32Now, riding without a head unit will instantly mean that you switch off from heart rate zones,
03:36power numbers and average speeds. When you're not fixating on however many data metrics can be
03:43presented in front of you, you provide yourself the head space to let your mind wander, lose yourself
03:48from the ride and just really absorb the joys of being on two wheels. I find doing this on rest rides
03:54incredibly helpful. Sure, you may not want to go above zone 2 for example and having a head unit does
04:01really help with keeping your effort in check, but there's other ways to gauge it. For example,
04:07if you get to the point of not being able to hold a full conversation, then it's likely you're going
04:11too hard. The point stands though, while checking your head unit may become second nature and almost
04:17instinct, when you take it away, you'll realise how much more of your ride you actually absorb.
04:22Now, while this next one isn't an upgrade per se, it is a firm favourite of mine, but it does come with
04:33a word of warning. Me and one of my very good friends often consider what has been our favourite
04:38ride ever and we always look back many, many years to the same one. It was a warm summer's evening,
04:44we'd got around 20 of our favourite local loop miles in our legs and we decided to stop in a town about
04:49seven miles outside of home for dinner and we went to a gorgeous riverside pub and we planted
04:54ourselves in the garden. What followed was to this day the best fish and chips that I have ever eaten,
05:01along with a refreshing pint of local ale. Now, once we'd filled our bellies, we then set off again,
05:06completely forgetting that the toughest climb of the ride was the next bit of parkour that we'd have to
05:11navigate. Reluctantly, we spun up it and sheepishly nursed ourselves home. Now, while the end of the
05:17ride may not have been the most comfortable thing in the world, for me and my friend it has to have
05:21been the perfect way to enjoy cycling and a timeless summer's evening. So, while I'd implore all of you
05:28to go get a burger or a fish and chips midway through a ride, be sure to time it right and maybe
05:33don't go too heavy on the beers and don't expect to go quickly any time soon afterwards.
05:38Somewhere between 70 and 90 percent of what causes drag on a moving cyclist is the rider themselves.
05:51This is why time trial specialists, breakaway riders and those who spend more time in a velodrome
05:56than out of it will go to agonizing lengths to contort their bodies in ways to be as slippery as
06:02possible. This is also why professional cyclists spend so much time working on their flexibility
06:07so they have the ability to sit in these more aggressive positions for hour after hour.
06:12We'll be the first to say that being flexible by regularly stretching is no doubt a good thing and
06:17it does help prevent injury. However, while riding the most aggressive position may be the fastest
06:22position, it isn't always what you might want to do and arguably, if you're not a professional or
06:28trying to be one, then what's the point? Bring that stem up and back, don't try and overextend yourself
06:34and get yourself sorted with a bike fit if you can and just put your body in a position that's
06:39actually comfortable. Sure, it may not be the fastest position in the world, but if you're comfortable
06:44then who cares?
06:50There's one modern trend that I've absolutely loved seeing develop over the past 10 years and that is
06:56bigger tyres. It's now the norm for pros to be racing on 25s rather than 23s and it's also the norm for
07:02amateurs to ride on 28s rather than 25s. And actually, I think we could see amateurs actually
07:08graduate to 30s as more tyre options hit the market. The best thing about this upgrade is that
07:13it doesn't actually make you slower. When you run the correct pressure for your weight, you'll enjoy
07:18fast rolling tyres, great grip and more comfort. Now, if you were to pivot away from just thinking
07:23about road bikes for a second, then I'm sure we've all rolled down the road on a gravel or mountain bike
07:28and enjoyed just how smooth and cushioned it was. So, if you apply that thinking here, you could go
07:34even bigger and maybe use a fast rolling all-road tyre on the tarmac. But do bear in mind, if you go
07:40past 30mm, you will likely compromise on speed and you will be pushing the limits on what size tyre you
07:47can actually fit in your bike. But as clearances get bigger, maybe you should experiment with the largest
07:53size possible that you can fit in. You'll be able to run lower pressures and it will feel great.
07:58If you want to prioritise comfort over speed, then this one is a must.
08:08A big theme of all my points is comfort and arguably, being more comfortable makes things
08:14more enjoyable at the cost of speed. You may not be breaking any new ground in terms of fitness,
08:19as you'll literally not be leaving your comfort zone, but surely that would make the ride quite
08:24enjoyable. Steel frames have long been credited as being one of the most comfortable materials
08:28for a bike. Sure, it's heavy, but like I say, that comes with comfort. You most certainly won't be as
08:34fast as you would be on a modern day carbon fibre rocket, but it sure would be smooth.
08:39Think about it like this. If you were to combine all the points that I've made here today,
08:43what would you end up with? Well, I guess it would be a steel frame bike with a relaxed
08:48geometry. It could take around a 32c wide tyre and would probably be fitted with flat pedals.
08:54There wouldn't be a mount for a head unit because you'd just be heading to your favourite local pub
08:58for dinner and you wouldn't stand out like a sore thumb because you'd be wearing a normal t-shirt
09:03and jumpers and shoes that you can actually walk around in. Correct me if I'm wrong,
09:08but I think I may have just described everyone's pub bike and something that has arguably been around
09:14for a hundred years. Hmm. With that in mind, I think I need to slowly question everything
09:21I thought I knew about cycling. Let me know about this down in the comments below. If you enjoyed
09:27the video, then please do drop in a like, subscribe to the channel for more content,
09:30and I'll see you again very soon.