How do you make your bike go faster?

[hamster]

Training helps...

 

[tiermat]

Ride with others. Best way, I have found to make you dig deep into your reserves. The example I give is that there is a crossroads near where you live. After 5/10/15/whatever miles you get to this crossroads and ask yourself "Do I go straight on and go home or do I go right and do another 5/10/15/whatever miles?" If you are on your own you don't have the incentive to keep going, so the majority of the time you will head straight on, have a cuppa and cake and fall asleep on the couch. If with other, the majority of the time you will take the second option and throw in a few more miles before home.

 

[Johnsqual]

Riding with others lets you slipstream and hide from the wind too, of course. Even better if you can get someone on a motor scooter to ride in front of you. Preferably a Lambretta if you want to look properly retro.

 

[Tel]

For me the best way would be to get someone else to ride it.

Ha! I can empathise with that!

Digging deep and pushing hard is obviously what it is all about, absolutely superb answers!

As someone mentioned earlier aerodynamics has more to do with how fast we go than how light our bike is (other than up hill) so makes me wonder why theres not more bikes like this:

On our roads.

If we're looking for ultimate speed from our efforts then surely a tt bike is the way to go. Having never ridden one I'm guessing they're a compromise i.e not comfortable over long periods of time.

I'll have to build one and find out. I better lose this belly first though otherwise I'll never get into position!

 

[Kerplunk]

Preferably a Lambretta if you want to look properly retro.

Not convinced riding behind my Lambretta will make anyone faster particulary going uphill. Lung full of 2stroke exhaust won't help much either.

 

[hamster]

TT bikes are properly uncomfortable to ride for big distances, make observation difficult in busy traffic and tend to be optimised for straight lines which are typical courses. They are too specialised for a day's ride over mixed country.

 

[torqueless]

Either trying to catch someone in front of you or staving off someone else's attempts to catch you are good incentives to go like the clappers!

I saw someone doing this with the pro. London to Holyhead road race some time in the late '70's. He was in front of it by a few minutes. I don't know how many miles he kept that up for, but in my book that's pretty hardcore, however many!

 

[Deleted member 24574]

TT bikes are properly uncomfortable to ride for big distances, make observation difficult in busy traffic and tend to be optimised for straight lines which are typical courses. They are too specialised for a day's ride over mixed country.

No reason a tt bike should be uncomfortable. It all a matter of what you are used to.

 

[Zapster]

I ride to this
I ride like the wind!

 

[hamster]

TT bikes are properly uncomfortable to ride for big distances, make observation difficult in busy traffic and tend to be optimised for straight lines which are typical courses. They are too specialised for a day's ride over mixed country.

No reason a tt bike should be uncomfortable. It all a matter of what you are used to.

Which would be why pro racers and audaxers all ride TT bikes?

Horses for courses. Having your head down and a disc wheel is fine for a 10 mile TT along a straight road, different for a twisty downhill in a breeze.