Manon: Do you want to ride faster than ever? James: In this video we are going to give
you tips and tricks to get you smashing them PBs and flying.
[music] Manon: The obvious one is working on reducing
your aerodynamic drag or spending a load of money on new biking kit, but there are some
subtle things you can do to get you going faster than ever. Use the terrain to your
advantage. Accelerate into the base of the climb and use the momentum to propel yourself
up the climb. Obviously, this works better on shorter, punchier climbs.
James: Yes, luckily here in the UK we've got plenty of short, punchy climbs. One thing
I would say, though, is make sure it's safe to do so when letting go of the brakes and
carrying that little bit more speed into the base of the climb. Look out for gravel in
a rough road surface basically. If you do get to use that momentum it really will help
you when you get onto the climb. You ready? Manon: I'm ready.
James: We need to go a bit faster now. [music]
Manon: We're of course talking about through and off. Sharing the workload on the front
to increase the overall speed of your ride. James: Yes. What we mean is spending less
time on the front. Now you can do this with two riders but the more the better. That means
you can share the workload and ultimately spend less time on the front meaning more
recovery. Manon: The important factor to remember is
to not smash it on the front. You'll need to read the roads and the environmental conditions
around you to get the most out of your through and off.
James: Yes. What we mean is if you're riding into a headwind you can spend less time on
the front meaning more recovery. If you are riding into a tailwind that way you can press
on that a little bit longer, but do remember when you get onto the back of the paceline
to save a little bit more energy because it'll be harder to get on the back.
Manon: A smooth paceline is a fast paceline, so dose your effort out when you're on the
front and don't accelerate too hard with the rides behind you. A good tip is when you finish
your turn, ease off for a second or two and allow the next rider to come through.
James: Yes. You can also help from behind. With the rider on their recovery phase you
can shout, "Last wheel," that way they know exactly where you are, meaning they can slot
in without leaving a big gap and wasting a whole load of energy.
Manon: Corners at times is when you need to take a little bit more consideration. Don't
accelerate full gas out of a corner, because the riders behind you will have to work twice
as hard to stay on your wheel. James: Yes. Same goes for hills really. It's
that elastic band effect. You can spend that little bit more time on the front when it
comes to climbing but when you crash the climb carry on with your effort on the front until
the whole group's on your wheel meaning then you can swing off and get back on the back
of the group. Don't do it too early because otherwise you'll spend a whole load of energy
trying to get on when you're completely in the red. No one needs that. How are you doing,
Manon? Manon: Yes, good.
[music] James: If you're in a country that you drive
on the left-hand side of the road then do a ride with only left turns. If you're in
a country that drives on the right-hand side, then do a ride with only right turns meaning
you're going to spend less time at junctions just like Manon Lloyd did there. Now this
does take a bit of planning and preparation but plan a loop that doesn't taking any congested
areas or traffic lights, meaning no dead time meaning you can keep on your way and keep
that average speed nice and high. [music]
James: The wind, it can be an absolute force to be reckoned with and a cyclist's nightmare,
or it could be the best thing that's ever happened to you. You do though need to get
the forecast right so what I'm saying is, do a little planning and preparation before
your ride. Check the forecast and make sure a good part of your ride is with a tailwind.
A good trick is if you're heading out on a loop to go out with a headwind and on the
way back have your tailwind, when you haven't got so much energy in your legs. On that note
I'm going to check the weather. Yes, not much wind today.
Manon: If you've got a headwind choose some sheltered roads to ride on. If you've got
a tailwind choose big open roads and make the most of the wind on your back. You could
even sit upright and create a sail effect with your back. Your average speed will quickly
be increasing before you know it. [Music]
?Speaker 3: There are a lot of products out there that will claim to make you faster on
a bike. Some of them have dubious science behind them but there are a few out there
that are genuinely performance-enhancing. Caffeine, beta-alanine and carbs. Of course
you will get carbs from normal foods but there is absolutely no doubt supplementing your
ride with energy bars, drinks and gels will allow you to ride faster for longer.
[music] James: Now the pros are spending more and
more time investigating drive chain efficiency. CeramicSpeed have even invented a whole new
way to do the drive chain, but until that comes publicly available, we're going to stick
to the traditional chainring, chain, and sprockets. Manon: There is a lot to think about with
them. Having the chain stretch one way or the other in the big ring and the big sprocket
or vice versa is not only bad for the chain, it can also be a waste of watts.
James: Even the world's best time trialists are putting big dinner plates on the front.
They're using 60 or 58 tooth chainrings on the front. Now that's not because they're
spinning out their biggest gear. That is because they want to get the straightest chain line
possible to make it more efficient, saving watts, and we like saving watts.
[music] Manon: At the end of the day, the thing that's
going to increase your speed the most is by increasing your power. As long as you don't
put any weight on the front. James: Talking of weight. Anyway, it's still
going to really matter much if you're riding on flat roads because, to be honest, power
to weight doesn't really come into it, but there's no shortcuts to getting power. It
takes training and it takes pushing yourself. Then again, if you've got a good training
program, you get good adequate rest, then you will see your speed go up. We decided
to get a bit geeky on this one and head over to a website called bikecalculator.com. A
70-kilogram rider on a nine-kilogram bike puts out 200 watts on a flat road with no
wind near sea level, it should do around 31.76 kilometers per hour. Increase that by 10%
to 220 watts and that same rider in those same conditions will do 32.93 kilometers per
hour. Unfortunately though, that's only 3.7% improvement in speed for your 10% increase
in power, but nevertheless, you're going faster. Manon: There's a reason the pros are better
than us. James: Why is that?
Manon: They've got more power than everyone else?
James: Not than me. Manon: Definitely more than you.
James: [laughs] Yes, true. [music] [laughs]
Manon: Thanks for watching. Hope this video helps you go faster than ever.
James: To be fair, I could deploy some of those tricks on our ride back home just to
keep up with you. Anyway, if you've enjoyed this video then make sure as always, you give
it a big thumbs up and I know you're hungry for another video, so why don't you click
on the screen now. You ready to get home? Manon: Ready. Race you.
James: What, race me already? [00:07:42] [END OF AUDIO]