New to cycling. I have an older road bike....?

L

lovethatdirtywater

New member
its a Fuji Royale non-index 12 sp. I average 19 mph, good amount of hills. Fastest speed I reach is 41 mph. I was just wondering if I purchased a brand new entry level road bike if I would see a drastic improvement in my time. I have a daily ride that is right around 16 miles and I do it in about 35 minutes. When I am going up a couple of the hills, it seems like I could go faster if I didnt have to shift they way I do. Thats non-index for you. Just curious how much a up-to-date index shifter would improve my rides.


Thanks.
 
I don't really think so. You might want to upgrade to indexing shifters and see what happens. Not that big a deal. One of the bikes I ride is a 25 year an old 12 speed Schwinn World Sport.

I did upgrade the rims and tires though. Completely happy with the old Sun Tour shifter and derailleur system. Don't make that much difference unless you're into competitive riding. If it works don't try and fix it.
 
Speed on a bike is usually reduced by wind resistance, not weight. The hills might be an issue, but it could be argued that the downhill benefits as much as the uphill costs...but probably not. If you find yourself shifting alot, or not shifting when you otherwise would, then the new shifters would certainly help.
To me it seems increased weight affects acceleration and climbing most.
 
a shifter isn;t going to make you any faster

even if you save 10 lbs of weight, that would be about 5% faster
so instead of going 8 mph, you could go 8.4
right
very fast
and you would be going slightly slower downhill too, as someone else said

wait
you go 16 miles in 35 minutes with hills?
that;s like 30 mph
i don;t believe it, unless that;s for a downhill-mostly direction

if it;s true, you are fast enough already!

wle.
 
You could buy a new bike and save a few ounces, but you wouldn't see much a gain in speed. The difference between a new bike and an old one is you, the engine. What you should do is condition yourself better, and it sounds like your well on your way. Take the bike in for a tune-up, replace the tires, tubes, cogset, chain, and cable and housings. Good as new.

On the other hand, if you really want, there's something about buying a brand new bike, new paint, new parts, great bearings etc. And the lightness. If you do buy a new bike, keep the old one as a beater bike for rainy days.
 
Back
Top