Expert Answers
Going Faster — Tips
I tell you this because if it could happen to me, it can happen to you. And now that I've told you about the possible consequences of too much speed, let me tell you what I know about how to make the bike go faster.
As my story points out, gravity can play a critical role in how quickly you build up speed on a bike. Downhill racers, who seldom use brakes, can reach speeds in excess of 60 MPH by sheer gravity alone. Obviously, if you want to increase your speed, find a hill and ride down it without any brakes.
But let's look at a more controlled setting: a flat, paved surface with no traffic. Your top speed is limited by several factors: your overall strength (not just your legs), the weight of the bike, the size of your tires, the smoothness of the surface you're riding on, your aerodynamic posture while pedaling, and the bike's gears.
Looking at these in reverse order, a bike's gearing has perhaps the most influence on your speed. With a single-speed bicycle, your legs can only pedal so fast until they reach a point where they merely spin around and exert no pressure on the pedals. On a bike with several gears (three front rings and seven or more freewheel cogs for the traditional mountain bike), the front rings provide the most impact on pedal pressure. The largest front ring provides the most resistance and is therefore the speediest potential gear, especially when it is combined with the smallest rear cog. Change the size of the rings and you can change the potential for speed.
You can also go faster by getting into a tuck that has less resistance to the air you will be hitting. This generally means getting lower and aligning yourself with the bike's frame. So far as I know, shaving your legs (something male riders do whenever they get really serious about aerodynamics) is more of a look than a strategy.
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You will go faster on a surface that touches less surface area on your tires than you will when the opposite is true. Thus off-road biking (with its generally looser, higher-friction surfaces) generally produces slower speeds than road riding. Also, the wider your tires are, the more friction you have and the harder you have to work in order to build up speed.
On a level surface, the heavier your bike is, the more difficult it will be to make it go faster. But should you possess enough strength, nearly all these other factors become irrelevant. Therefore, if you really want to go faster, become stronger first. But whatever you do, don't ride with your wheels loose. It's true you will go faster, but it will be in a direction you'll wish you hadn't taken.
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