Who doesn’t want to ride faster? I have zero data to back this up, but I am pretty sure approximately nobody who’s ever been on a bicycle hasn’t thought, “How do I make this thing go faster?”
I know this because, well, if you ever ride past another cyclist on the road — you know what I’m talking about.
It’s also a question I hear all the time.
Even if you’re not looking to race, or even go all Lycra, it’s fun to ride fast, and you can cover ground more efficiently. And yes, there are many equipment upgrades and tech gadgets you could invest in, or training drills that you can put time and effort into.
But there are also small, simple things you can do — ideas that anybody can use right away to ride any bicycle faster. No fuss, no new stuff to buy, just a few simple things you can do to move along a little faster.
- Get Low
I used to hear other cyclists talking about “getting aero” and would see them crouched down, butts up in the air, flying down hills. The whole thing looked and sounded ridiculous to me. Buuuuut then I tried using my drop bars on a fast-paced group ride. A few of the riders were pulling ahead, and I could see the gap between us getting bigger and bigger. I just couldn’t seem to accelerate anymore, so I got down in my drops and, without making any additional effort, caught up to them. I was amazed at how I hadn’t pedaled any harder but suddenly was right behind them again.
The point is, the more upright your body, the more it is catching the wind like a sail and doing you a disservice in terms of speed. Drag is actually the biggest factor working against you when you’re on a bike, which is why racers wear skintight clothing and bicycle manufacturers test their designs in wind tunnels to measure how aerodynamic they are. Obviously some bicycles and handlebar shapes lend themselves better to increasing your aerodynamic efficiency, but you can still angle your torso lower on any bars if you need a little surge. - Pump (Or Swap) Your Tires
Similar to decreasing wind resistance, decreasing your rolling resistance (basically, the amount of rubber your tires touch the ground with) will do you some favors when it comes to pushing you along. So before each ride make sure your tires are inflated to (or close to) the recommended PSI (pound-force per square inch) for your tire. This information is almost always molded or printed onto the sidewall of the tire for convenient referencing. Yes, there are times you might want to ride on a PSI lower than your tire recommends, and you can read more about when and why here.
By the same token, skinnier, smoother tires are generally “faster” than fatter, more treaded tires (remember, rolling resistance, as well as likely nominal weight savings). So, depending on the type of bike, skinnier tires might be an option. The caveat is the tradeoff between speed and comfort: the fatter the tire, generally the more cushioned, comfortable, and stable the ride will be. - Maintain Your Chain
Yes, you should really maintain all the moving parts of your bicycle, but the chain needs a little more frequent attention — second only to ensuring your tires have adequate air pressure. And you can do it cheaply and easily at home, with just some chain lube and a rag (and perhaps an old toothbrush if it’s really grimy). Cleaning it after every ride is for maintenance zealots, but if you give your chain a little loving after riding through dirt, sand, puddles, etc. and just periodically, you’ll find it runs more smoothly and quietly — and that absence of squeaking and creaking will at least make you feel faster, if not make you actually faster. - Fuel and Hydrate Adequately
As a commuter cyclist going a relatively short distance, I never really thought about carrying even a water bottle with me. But as I started joining group rides and venturing farther and farther out, I found carrying water was necessary. Then, when I started riding as an athletic endeavor, I realized I needed to carry food with me, too. And the key is to drink and eat before you feel like you need to, especially when you’re trying to go on longer and longer rides. But even on days when I was just riding the ten miles to work, I made sure to eat a large breakfast before I left the house so that I’d have enough energy to get me through to lunch. - If Your Bike Has Gears, Use Them Effectively
Learning to use your bicycle’s gears in a way that’s most efficient for you comes over time as you learn which gears feel best for various situations. The basic concept is: The harder it is to pedal, the farther your bike will travel with each pedal stroke. However, you don’t want to be straining with each pedal stroke; reserve the most difficult gears for going down hills. Conversely, if it feels super easy to pedal, you might be using a lot of energy moving your legs around and not pushing the bicycle over much ground with each rotation.
If you’re riding on a flat stretch of road, you can probably use the biggest chainring you have. If you see a hill coming up, you might try putting it into the smaller chainring.
Read more about how to use your gears here. - Ride With Other People, Especially People Who Ride Faster than You
Riding with other people is fun, and that in and of itself will probably motivate you to ride more, which will make you ride faster. But also, if the people who you ride with are about your speed or just a little faster, you’ll likely push yourself to ride faster to keep up. Riding in a group over a long distance will conserve your energy if you’re not in the front of the pack, but even if you find just one other best bicycling buddy, you’ll likely push each other to ride farther and faster.
Here’s how to find riding buddies. - Ride Up Hills
If you want to go faster up hill, practice riding up hills. But if you want to ride faster on flat roads, practice riding up hills too. This could be in the form of adding a hill along your commute or going out and riding intentional hill repeats. You don’t even necessarily have to try to ride up hill fast to find gains on flat surfaces — just building up your climbing strength will give you more power on flats. Yes, I’m sure sports experts can give you a technical explanation as to why, but I’m not here for that. Just trust me and go find some hills to ride up.