[Closed] Are some people just faster and what can you do about it?

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I have been on my exercise bike every other night

My boss, who is very tall and rides a bit got on his exercise bike last night and smashed out 20 km in 30 mins!

I presume you can set this exercise bike to different difficulty levels?

Your mate is probably still recovering from smashing himself stupid just to prove a point.

Most people have the ability to go for it for a bit, but its the ability to sustain that that matters.

A woman passed me last night on my commute home, I was on the cycle path taking it easy after a 4th brutal headwind home in a row, she passed and quite frankly the amount of work she was doing to get past looked ridiculous, she was all over the place, out of the saddle, heaving a big gear, on the drops, then on the tops, she got about 2 metres in front of me and just couldn't maintain her pace - she died an undignified death, I passed maintaining my previous pace, the elastic snapped and she was gone.

So in short it's easy putting a huge effort in if you want to **** yourself, its a different matter maintaining that pace.

Yes, some people are just better.
Yes, large (height and girth) have an advantage on a static bike or flat route (power scales with weight)
KM readings from static bikes are worthless, no 2 are ever the same (even the same make and model).

As a short and skinny rider, you are best suited to long climbs, something we are sadly lacking in the UK. Get yourself over to the alps and enjoy breezing past the larger riders on the climbs.

An exercise bike is really heavy; Takes a lot of effort to move one 20Km. No wonder you're slow.

In reality, though. What does 20Km even mean on a static bike?

In reality, though. What does 20Km even mean on a static bike?

The only useful thing you can deduce from it, is that they didn't go for a proper ride.

As above, static bike figures basically meaningless unless you both used the exact same bike, and even then its mostly bollox as how do you even start to compare to a real ride with rolling resistance, air resistance, gradient, temperature etc.

Either ride you bike, enjoy it and ignore the numbers, or do it properly, training plan, power meter etc.

Some people may have a slight natural edge, but unless you're both at the peak of your sport already then it's nothing that can't be overcome with training.

Also don't forget that just cos someone can smash out a 30min workout, once, doesn't mean they can do it again 20mins later, or even the next day, or that they can do the same intensity for 4 hours etc.

You need to compare like with like, so go out riding with them. It's the only way to be sure.

Or nuke them from orbit, that's the other only way.

But yes, some people are naturally fitter, or get fitter faster.

In the grand scheme of things 20km in 30 mins (on the flat) is nothing exceptional. Particularly on an exercise bike with no drag and potentially set to low resistance.

Do your friends have fitness from other sports? Do they incorporate explosive efforts into their other activities, giving them better recovery? Do they eat better, sleep better? Are they simply working harder than you?

Do you enjoy the riding that you do?

You can spend the next several months 'training' or hundreds of £ on 'better' parts...you may then 'beat' your mates. The thing is, there will always be someone else faster than you - even Gwin gets beaten sometimes! so once you've smashed your boss, who is next?

My take, for what it's worth is to enjoy the riding that you do. Or, do the riding that you enjoy. Smash yourself, smash your local routes, smash new routes but you'll never 'win' or 'beat' everyone so don't worry about it. have a laugh with your mates and colleagues, keep riding, enjoy it and chances are you'll get faster anyway but you'll be having fun along the way.

I don't mean that in patronizing or condescending way, apologies if it sounds like that.

I'm a lardy - but have always had huge legs and 'reasonable' aerobic fitness. On a flat course i've frequently smashed riding partners, and have always put it down to power:weight ratio.

Hills have always been a different story. I used to despise them, but a few years ago I made a conscious effort and managed to lose around 30kg - suddenly I was climbing everything and loving it. I would frequesntly lead MTB rides with friends on a SS and still kick their butts.

Now i've put most of that weight back on im [u]really[/u] feeling it on the climbs.
Strava regularly has me in lower 15-25% on climbs, and upper 5%-10% on decents. The extra weight is unstoppable downhill - it can be a pretty hair raising experience!

So in summary - if you want to beat your tubby mate - take him out into the hills.

My boss, who is very tall and rides a bit got on his exercise bike last night and smashed out 20 km in 30 mins!

You know this is a fairly meaningless thing to say? The only way to know for sure is to actually ride with these people. If the tubby smoker disappears into the distance, then yes, he's faster.

Oh, and once you accept that there are an awful lot of people who are faster, stronger and generally better-looking than you, life becomes easier.

First of all...thanks so much for all the replies! This is my first post here after lurking for a bit and this is just awesome!

All great points and very gratefully received.

I will try and address a few of them

Why an exercise bike? Well i have two young kids and getting the time in the evenings after a long day at work to get out on the bike at 8pm etc is tricky so i sit infront of the tv and do what i can to get fitter and ride out on the weekends.

It is great o know static bikes are all different and its also nice to hear my giant legged boss might have the edge on the flat and static side of things...that makes sense.

I very much enjoy my riding, im really loving the MTB side of things now, it feels more fun, and much cleaner ironically seeing as im always plastered in mud at the moment.

I will get out and ride with them and see how they go. I think my mate just hammered it out for a charity ride and made it through bloody mindedness rather than training but fair play non the less.

I do appreciate 25 km is not even much of a ride on the road but on trails its OK.

I am planning the L2B off road this year so need to train as much as possible.

once again, thanks everyone!

Either ride you bike, enjoy it and ignore the numbers, or do it properly, training plan, power meter etc

My cycling buddy is the same age, weight, size and shape as me yet even when I'm absolutely choking my lungs out at maximum effort he can breeze off into the distance. You've just got to accept that some people are faster than you.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sports-Gene-Talent-Practice-Success/dp/022409162X This may explain 🙂

Get an electric static bike ftw

BUT the other day a friend who literally never ever rides did a 25km ride on an apollo mountian bike in 58 minutes

That's not *that quick*, and that's not that hilly either.

Are you both young, by any chance? Relatively new to cycling?

I have been on my exercise bike every other night doing 10, 15 and 20+ km depending on time

That's really not much training either.

Why an exercise bike? Well i have two young kids and getting the time in the evenings after a long day at work to get out on the bike at 8pm etc is tricky so i sit infront of the tv and do what i can to get fitter and ride out on the weekends.

I'm in the same boat, but you can get a nice hour's blast on the road this time of year, before it gets dark.

Why an exercise bike? Well i have two young kids and getting the time in the evenings after a long day at work to get out on the bike at 8pm etc is tricky so i sit infront of the tv and do what i can to get fitter and ride out on the weekends.

The outdoors are generally still available for use after 8pm. I have 2 kids as well and after 8pm is the time I mostly go out.

That's not *that quick*, and that's not that hilly either.

Agree, for someone who cycles an average of 15mph off road is nothing special, but the context was someone who never rides a bike, is overweight and smokes in which case I would say that is pretty good. An hours cycling off road at a brisk pace is not that easy for someone who never does it.

Being 'fast' over a few miles is great, but I am more impressed by people who cover lots of distance and/or lots of elevation and do so regularly... Not that I fit in either category...

Read The Hour*, by Dr Hutch, for an insight into what it's like for someone who's just really good at cycling. Off the top of my head, his VO2 max before he took training seriously was about double the average person (who might be able to improve theirs by about ten per cent if they trained really hard). You're just not going to beat that, no matter how hard you try.

* Or anything else by him, he writes ace books.

Agree, for someone who cycles an average of 15mph [s]off[/s] [b]on[/b] road is nothing special, but the context was someone who never rides a bike, is overweight and smokes in which case I would say that is pretty good.

Oh yes, it's good for a fat smoker, no question. But the OP should be able to beat it with some real training or riding easily enough.

Well i have two young kids and getting the time in the evenings after a long day at work to get out on the bike at 8pm etc is tricky

Get lights, get out. It feels weird at first, but you soon get used to it. If you are in a reasonably well used MTB area, you'll also see loads of other bikers around too 🙂

molgrips - Member

That's not *that quick*, and that's not that hilly either.

25kph (15+mph) for almost an hour, on a MTB, off road, isn't that quick?!...it's pretty bloody quick in my book.

I only managed 29kph average for 52mins on my roadbike this morning on the way to work. Admittedly there seemed to be a fierce headwind and it was piddling down, but still...those're just excuses.

Power to weight does matter. Regards the other blokes, if you didnt see it it didnt happen!

Focus on time spent in the saddle (accepting kids) so instead of looking at speed/distance, look at cadence (RPM), you should be able to replicate this to be the same both on bike and your trainer. Do this for a few months, dont even worry about hills, just focus on spinning. Spend as long as you can spinning along at the same cadence, same gear, high cadence as possible. Concentrate on lifting the pedals not pushing and pedalling circles etc. Honestly do this for about 3-4 months, 4-5 times per week. Also, get a traditional set of chainrings, 53 x 39 and a decent casette, 11 x 25. Just my 2 cents but it matters I think. The modern chainsets are really very 'toury'.

You are exactly the same height as Eric Zabel and he won Milan San Remo loads 🙂

OP didn't say if the fat bloke was riding off-road, just that he was on an MTB...?

Also, get a traditional set of chainrings, 53 x 39 and a decent casette, 11 x 25. Just my 2 cents but it matters I think.

I won a TT last night with a compact - against people pushing 400W. If you constantly run out of gears on a 50/11, then contact a few pro teams.

I think what matters is riding the bike hard a lot, and resting a lot. (that is somewhat simplified 😉 )

20km in 30mins on an exercise bike means nothing.

I won a TT last night with a compact - against people pushing 400W. If you constantly run out of gears on a 50/11, then contact a few pro teams.

I think what matters is riding the bike hard a lot, and resting a lot. (that is somewhat simplified )

Congratulations for the win!
I dont agree with riding hard a lot until you have a steady base, but if you are a tester, that's your mantra!

I prefer the gearing from 53 x 11, personal choice. Using a 39 inner offers better spinning on normal riding in my mind (I used to race/train with a 42 inner, 39 in the mountains). Time trials the inner gear is not so relevant IMHO. The main thing I suppose is what you are comfortable with.

OP didn't say if the fat bloke was riding off-road, just that he was on an MTB...?

Good point. 15mph for an hour on road is very slow and takes very little effort which explains how the fat lazy smoker managed it.

I think it was in Michael Hutchinson's book he describes being persuaded by his father in law to have a go at a local TT despite only being an occasional recreational cyclist at the time. He won it by some margin. Mostly due to having a massive VO2max (mostly determined by your genes.)

Everyone's different, some are just naturally faster than others, some respond better to training, etc.

If you think back to school days when you first stared doing competitive sports, some kids are just faster, stronger, more coordinated, etc. And then because of that they tend to do more sport which just reinforces that.

When most sports people say it was hard work that got them the results, well that's a bit silly because everyone is working hard, it's mainly having had good luck with your genes!

15mph for an hour on the road is very slow is it? That's the average I aim for and it takes a lot of effort! However, I am 5'2“, 53kg and live in hilly Devon.
As for people being faster than others, what's the guy's history? There is a growing body of evidence that suggests childhood/early adult fitness is linked to a person's ability to become fit or regain fitness in later life.

15mph for an hour on road is very slow

I wouldn't call it very slow - it's pretty decent *for a fat smoker on an Apollo MTB*, but not incredible.

History - yes, worked with a guy who'd been a highly competitve XC skiier as a youth, then gave up, started smoking and got a bit porky in his mid 20s. Could still ride reasonably well though on a couple of recreational MTB rides we did.

Found him on FB a couple of years ago, he did a 2.30 marathon.

Wasn't there a chap who was a fairly handy road rider as a junior, laid of the bike for a lot of years, smoked, not particularly healthy lifestyle then had an epiphany and got back on the bike and went from 0 to elite category in a year?

Ah grasshopper you have much to learn 😉

I'm generally fairly happy with a 15mph road average on an mtb with knoblies. Am i setting my aspirations too low?!

mechanicaldope - Member
I'm generally fairly happy with a 15mph road average on an mtb with knoblies. Am i setting my aspirations too low?!

With a name like that, yes.

15mph for an hour on road is very slow and takes very little effort which explains how the fat lazy smoker managed it.

My cross bike fully laden i do that sort of speed commuting to work. Its comfortable but it is not effort free.

Wasn't there a chap who was a fairly handy road rider as a junior, laid of the bike for a lot of years, smoked, not particularly healthy lifestyle then had an epiphany and got back on the bike and went from 0 to elite category in a year?

There is a growing body of evidence that suggests childhood/early adult fitness is linked to a person's ability to become fit or regain fitness in later life.

Probably still comes down to genetics. Being fit in early life probably means you had a natural aptitude for fitness.

Wasn't there a chap who was a fairly handy road rider as a junior, laid of the bike for a lot of years, smoked, not particularly healthy lifestyle then had an epiphany and got back on the bike and went from 0 to elite category in a year?

Discussed on this very forum...
http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/4th-cat-to-elite-in-1-season

[quote="buckster"]Also, get a traditional set of chainrings, 53 x 39 and a decent casette, 11 x 25. Just my 2 cents but it matters I think.i don't think you did think. The top end ratio spread on a compact is pretty much identical to a conventional double, you gain bottom end though. If you *need* the 53x11 you either need to learn to pedal or tap up Dave Brailsford and show his boys how to do it. If you aren't a pro you don't *need* pros gears. I prefered them when i was racing (euro pro) And still have them on some of my bikes (old team stuff.) I doubt I'd use them now. I can't put down the same power i used to.

And FWIW a guy i used to race with as a junior used to spend his weekend evenings trying to get into pubs and getting pissed, then winning 3 w v j races on Sunday. Ended up realising that beer and women were much less hard work than training. Still turns up to sportives now as a slightly chubby bloke in his late 40s and taps round in the fastest group he can find. The only training he does is 10 odd miles a day to work and back. Would have made a far far better pro than me.

This thread has opened a whole can of 'who's-fastest-hardest-fittest' STW worms... Predictably.. :eyeroll:

FWIW. To the OP if you are small (and skinny) you are likely to have amazing potential at beating people on tough climbs. Short, sharp hard, or long ones. Power 2 weight init. Your boss may be bigger and simply able to kick out more watts on the flat, hence the faster speed. Outright watts lose out every time though when the going goes up.

Remember - as others have mentioned - you are blessed with what you were born with - and even with best and hardest training in the world- you can only improve on that by 10% or so - at best!

Apparently around 20% of people will see little improvement with training. Watched a documentary on it the other night with that "trust me I'm a doctor" bloke.

i don't think you did think. The top end ratio spread on a compact is pretty much identical to a conventional double, you gain bottom end though. If you *need* the 53x11 you either need to learn to pedal or tap up Dave Brailsford and show his boys how to do it. If you aren't a pro you don't *need* pros gears. I prefered them when i was racing (euro pro) And still have them on some of my bikes (old team stuff.) I doubt I'd use them now. I can't put down the same power i used to.

I was just stating my preferences, to be fair, compacts didnt exist so consider me a grumpy old man. The OP would get fitter IMHO with the gearing I used. Feel free to fire away, its just my thoughts, the OP might think it interesting even if you dont. I will say I'm quite proud of my pedalling, learn some manners young man!

I wouldn't call it very slow - it's pretty decent *for a fat smoker on an Apollo MTB*, but not incredible.

Putting it in context and to ensure I am not counted in the willy waving group, I mean 15mph for an hour on the road (with just 900ft of climbing as in example) is very slow for someone that rides a bike a lot. For a fat smoker who never rides then yes it is okay.

I find that that 15mph is around the point where you have to start putting effort in to increase speed, i.e. 16 takes a bit more 20 take a lot more but 15 is pretty much spinning along (again on flat roads as in example)

Yes I am.
F@$£ all.
HtH

I'm small and skinny (5'2" & 9stone 4lbs) but I wouldn't say I'm a good climber. I can catch a reasonable number of folk on road climbs, and I'm always in the top third of Strava segments locally, but my 6ft 14stone mate destroys me on the climbs.
Mind you, he did finish Paris-Brest-Paris in 72hrs.

Tyres make a massive difference (an Apollo will likely have less chunky tyres than a mtb designed for offroad)
recording equipment will make a massive difference (my garmin vivoactive watch is 10% lower on metres climbed and distance is usually under an iPhone recording)
Weather, wind, ground,

Unless you get in a laboratory conditions or Just Go out for a ride with a mate then it's difficult to compare

Personally I ride better early morning,
Ps. If you wanna get better at hills move to West Yorkshire

kerley - Member
, I mean 15mph for an hour on the road (with just 900ft of climbing as in example) is very slow for someone that rides a bike a lot.

Interesting. My ride to and from work is around 12 miles each way, with 1200 ft of climbing each way, and I average anything between 12.5 - 14.5 mph depending on conditions and what traffic I meet trying to knock me off in the lanes.
I do it on my Arkose with conti cx tyres.

What would you consider as riding a bike a lot? I reckon I ride around 7 hours a week. Just trying to gauge if I need to a) ride more or b) work harder.

What would you consider as riding a bike a lot? I reckon I ride around 7 hours a week. Just trying to gauge if I need to a) ride more or b) work harder.

If your aim is to get faster then you will need to ride more and work (train) harder so a and b

I ride less than you and have never trained in my life and am old, or well past my prime at least (48), which I guess answers the OPs original question...

Anyone telling you power to weight ratio isn't a key factor in speed is in denial
Lose weight
Get a turbo trainer and use trainer road type program and you will get stronger. Simple mileage on a static bike is almost useless. Junk miles
Technique is important, sprint, hills, downhill, single track
Age, I'm 58 this year. Age isn't a barrier. You still have huge stamina.i bet plenty of people in clubs have very fit fast older men and women. They have age and experience on their side.
Diet and sleep and rest are also major components. Typically an older rider needs double the rest

@muddydwarf: At 5'2", 9st4lb isn't even remotely skinny.
@tenfoot: both a and b