this post was submitted on 29 Jun 2025
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Bicycles

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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?

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[–] tofubl@discuss.tchncs.de 8 points 4 days ago (1 children)

In terms of pedaling, it doesn't matter. The same ratio between teeth in the front divided by teeth in the back will feel exactly the same. The only rule here is that you are aiming to keep the chain in a somewhat straight line. Supposing you have two chainrings in the front: Never go small-small or large-large, as that would put strain on the components. For a 2x11, for example, usually all gears are safe except for 1-11 or 2-1, if that makes sense.

[–] ThePiedPooper@discuss.online 4 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Yup, don't cross the streams...or chains as they say :)

[–] tofubl@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 4 days ago (1 children)
[–] ThePiedPooper@discuss.online 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

As well as "it doesn't get easier, you just get faster."

[–] tofubl@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 3 days ago

That is indeed something people actually say, but it's a lie. It gets easier in so many ways.