Today I did my first 20 mile (33km) ride on my hardtail XC bike. I learned how to ride a bike about 1.5 months ago, but I’ve been riding pretty consistently since I learned. I ride exclusively in the city, it’s a very walkable city, but the paths aren’t always the best. I did 33km in 2 hours 53 minutes, not including breaks for water or to eat.

I see people saying that 10MP/H (16KM/H) average is a good average to shoot for, but i can’t even get my average above 7.1MPH (11.5KM/H), even on shorter rides. What am I doing wrong here? How are people going so freaking fast on bikes in cities?

  • kattfisk@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    2·
    21 hours ago

    I run Michelin Country Rock as a hybrid tire. Anything that’s not knobbly is going to be a huge upgrade on pavement.

    You also don’t need to run the same tires on both wheels. Having a slicker tire in the back can make sense as you put more weight on it, and slipping with the back wheel is a nuisance, while slipping with the front is often a disaster. So you could start off just swapping the rear. That way if it doesn’t work out, you also spent only half the money :)

    Lastly I’d want to share that I really disliked those wheels that are knobbly along the edges. Leaning over when taking a curve at speed, and suddenly transitioning from smooth to vibrating was very unsettling to me.