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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[–] 4 points 1 year ago (7 children)

Besides purpose built bikes for speed and distance, swapping out tires for a different tread can make a large difference. If you aren't doingactualy technical trails and just like road or flat gravel you can get a tire that has some nubs on the outer sides but a smooth patch down the center for way less resistance when riding. When I switch to my winter tires the bikes is so much slower

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 1 year ago (6 children)

    Could you possibly recommend what sort of tires these would be? I occasionally go down gravel trails but no jumps or logs or anything like that, just like dirt trails. Would those still be okay on these tires?

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    It really depends on the type of dirt, and how wet. Most of my summer the ground is hardpack or maintained crushed gravel. So I swap to a hybrid city tire, I don't need lots of tread. That's why I have the winter set with nubs and carbide studs for other weather. Is there a bike shop or two in the local area of the trails you ride? They can recommend a good tire.

    But don't worry about speed/time, just go have fun :)

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    If most of your riding is on paved surfaces, you want "city bike tires." For your bike, they'll be roughly 26x1.5"-2.0" and they'll be relatively smooth instead of knobby. Better ones will have features like extra puncture resistance and retroreflective sidewalls.

    Random example from an image search:

    The "some nubs on the outer sides but a smooth patch down the center" type of tire the commenter above recommended would look something like this...

    ...but honestly, I'd probably go for a full-blown city tire instead unless you're regularly riding on loose surfaces, not just "occasionally."

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 1 year ago

    So we call them half-slicks here apparently. I decided to go with a pair of those. My performance night suffer a bit, but I prefer peace of mind to pure performance. As soon as I get paid, I plan on ordering a pair of them!

    Thank you for the advice!

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

    I run Michelin Country Rock as a hybrid tire. Anything that's not knobbly is going to be a huge upgrade on pavement.

    You also don't need to run the same tires on both wheels. Having a slicker tire in the back can make sense as you put more weight on it, and slipping with the back wheel is a nuisance, while slipping with the front is often a disaster. So you could start off just swapping the rear. That way if it doesn't work out, you also spent only half the money :)

    Lastly I'd want to share that I really disliked those wheels that are only knobbly along the edges. Leaning over when taking a curve at speed, and suddenly transitioning from smooth to vibrating was very unsettling to me.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 1 year ago (1 child)

    Besides the vibration issue, did you notice anything else like poor wet road performance, stuff like that?

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    I don't really bike much when it's wet, and never in mud, but the main downside of a slicker (but not slick) tire I've noticed is on steep gravel trails. I have a knobbly in front, so descending is ok, but ascending is definitely harder.

    Mind that tread isn't everything, tire size, air pressure, rubber hardness etc. all play a part. A wider softer tire might not struggle as much even without tread. (Speaking of which, I should try letting out some air next time.)

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