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1. Cycling M A G A Z I N E
ULTIMATE GUIDE
215TIPSTOMAKEYOU
ABETTERRIDER!
Issuenumber:402
Date:December241992
Price:$0.39
WWW.CYCLING.COM
Exclusive
HOWTOMAKEYOURBIKE
FASTER!
AREYOUREADY?
GUIDEONHOWTO
HAVETHERIGHTSET
UPFORYOURBIKE
TOMAKEYOUREADY
TOHAVEANULTIMATE
CYCLINGEXPREINCE!
BEATTHE
FEAR!HOWTOTACKLESTEEPROLL-INS
&DROPSWITHCONTROLAND
CONFIDENCE
SUSCRIBE AND GET A KLEAN KANTEEN WORTH R160 - page 92

2. 8SIMPLEWAYSTOMAKEYOURBIKE
FASTER!
1. Keep it clean
There is no doubt that a clean bike
is a fast bike. That means cleaning
your bike is not only for shine and
glimmer, but also to improve your
speed. This would allow the mech-
anisms on your bike to function
correctly and effieniently if you
have a clean bike. The best way to
ensure you achive this is to clean
and wipe your bike after a ride and
make sure you do not allow dirt
to get trapped in tight spaces and
build up.
Now, cleaning your bike can be a
right pain.The easiest way to keep
your bike clean is to get into a rou-
tine. Take five minutes after each
ride just to give everything a quick
wipe down, and then schedule in a
more thorough clean after the big
weekend ride. And never let your
bike get too dirty, as the dirtier it
gets, the more hassle it’s going to
be to clean, leading it to be less
effiecnt.
36
2. Lube the chain
Now you’ve scrubbed away at that
drivetrain and got it so shiny that it
looks like new, you’re going to want
to make sure it’s running smoothly
too. A well-lubed chain will make
your drivetrain more efficient,
meaning that none of your effort
is wasted through mechanical
inefficiency, and will also decrease
the amount of grime that the chain
picks up on wet rides.
It is essetnial to ensure that you
add the right ammount of lube to
your chain, not too much and not
too little. Slowly add the lube to the
inside of the chain while rotating
the cranks, and when you’re done
be sure to wipe off any excess.
When lubing your chain make sure
not to over lube it, as this could
lead to the lubed chain working
againsit you rather than with you.
This is because the over lubed
chain could become detatched
from the chain links and could
become jammed.
3. Lower the front end
Here at cycling magzine we are
convinced that mproving aerody-
namics is the easiest way to ride
faster. we have also done experi-
ments and tests to try and prove
this, and we concluded it is faster
on whatever terain it is. if you dont
want to splash out and buy a new
areo bike you can still take adavan-
tage of this by lowering your front
end and riding at a lower and more
aerodynamic postion.
If you have spacers between your
frame and stem this should be pret-
ty easy to do. Simply just remove
the fork and take out a couple spac-
ers so that you can lower your front
end. However, be careful when you
do this, as your body might not be
able to cope with a sudden change
in position. take them out maybe
one at a time so that you can cope
with the heiught and that this does
not injur you.
37
4. Adjust pedal tenstion
The bad news is that if you don’t properly adjust your pedal ten-
sion, then you may as well be using toe clips. Different pedals sys-
tems will have different ways to adjust the spring tension, so you’ll
need to do your own research here, but make sure you adjust it to
give a small amount of float to avoid injuries, while still holding
your cleats firmly when riding out of the saddle.
Adjusting the pedal tention will allow your pedals to float ef-
feciently and to go with the movement of your feet rather than
against it. This will allow all your effort to be put into use, so it is
worth doing.
6. Make sure your saddle height is right
It sounds really simple and easy, but its amazing how many people
either have their saddle height too high or too low. Having your
saddle height at the incorrect height can cause you injuries not
just discomfort, but this will also make you slower. Decreasing
the efficiency of your pedal stroke and not allowing you to put full
power through the pedals.
The distance between your bottom bracket and the top of the
saddle should be your inseam measurement minus 10cm,
this shopuld now give you an idea about the right saddle
height, and now therfore you should be able to go faster.
5. Check your tyre pressure
Of all the tips on this list, making sure your tyres are at the
right pressure is not only the easiest, but might also give
your the greatest benefits too. Having a low tyre pressure
will give you more resistance, therfore more grip on the
roads, having a higer tyre pressure will give you smooth-
ness and will allow you bike to glide accross terains.
Running a lower tyre pressure of around 90psi might not
be as fast on smooth roads, but will mean increased grip,
allowing you to go round corners quicker, and improved
comfort, decreasing fatigue in your legs over long miles.
The varies depending on the type of tyre and ammoiunt of
grip the tyre had upon it, but this should give you an idea.
7. Make sure your gears are adjusted properly
Poorly adjusted gears can ruin any bike ride. In fact, I have to
admit to coming to home after only a mile or two on a couple of
occasions when my gears have been skipping all over the place,
due to not being adjusting properly. Making sure your gears are
working properly will increase the efficiency of your drivetrain
and leave you more confident to to power through terainsm
particularly on steep and fast gradients knowing that you’re not
suddenly going to be thrown into another sprocket and mess up.
We’ve written a step-by-step guide on how to adjust your front and
rear derailleurs on page 46 so there should be able to do it your-
self, it might get abit fiddly but the guide should get you through it
all smoothly and correctly.
8. Make sure your brakes are properly adjusted
Making sure you can brake properly might not seem like
a way to make you faster, but if you can brake later going
into corners and carry more speed out of the other side,
then you’ll quickly see your speed increase and go faster.
Especially if you ride is through tight, narrow and techni-
cal lanes.
Especially over winter and bad weather, your break pads
are going to wear quite some much so ensure to tightne
them to keep the distance between the pads and rims
consistant for maximum performance. Also make sure to
check you braking cable for signs of wear and tear to en-
sure that it does not get jammed mid- break and during a
ride, which will not result nicely.