My non cycling friends: “you rode 40 miles?!? That’s crazy” My cycling friends: “you rode 40 miles? So it was a recovery ride?”

My tip: Pasta makes you fasta 🤣

‘Gradual changes’ is such a great piece of advice. I spend a lot of time with the pace partners in zwift, doing zone 2 bulk miles. I wanted to build up to the next pace partner, so I started adding in 10min here and there, increasing the time each week or so. It took a couple months, but now my zone 2 is .4w/kg higher than it was. Totally worth it, it gave me a medium-term goal, and I’m faster for it.

It's funny - I just recently adjusted my hood inwards as discussed at 4:13 and it's made my riding position immensely more comfortable. I think my hands/wrists naturally want to pronate inwards so it feels great, and it's easier for me to hold a more aero position for a longer period of time. Your mileage may vary but I'd say give it a shot if you're curious!

For beginner riders like myself, my tip would be to adjust your bike to fit comfortably (Cade Media videos with James are a good starting point :D) Once you are comfortable, riding more will be more enjoyable and you'll start to develop into these other habits Francis showed here :D

This new Van Rysel looks really neat. Very informative vid btw

I feel that tyre pressure is a big one. When I started out, I was running 23mm tyres at 120psi as I remember being a kid and that being the done thing. At the moment I run 43mm tyres at 35 psi and feel more confident and controlled on the bike, thus I feel I can push myself more. It's not necessarily the faster of the two set ups if you were testing both back to back at the same effort but for real world riding that most of us actually do I feel like this confidence matters a lot more than we normally give credit. Love the vids btw! 😊

For those looking to bring carbs and calories on the bike with you, here's a free tip: Make your own. You will need sugar, lime juice (buy the big bottles at Sam's Club or wherever you buy things in bulk), and salt. That's it. There are 13g of carbs in a tablespoon of sugar. I mix 6 tablespoons of sugar along with a few tablespoons of lime juice and a quarter teaspoon (a pinch) of salt. It actually tastes really good and will give you the carbs and electrolytes you need for pennies per bottle. If you look at all the expensive sports drinks, you'll find that the three main ingredients are just what I listed. If you're going out for a slower ride, maybe do less sugar. But anyway, there you have it. I also make my own energy bars from oats and seeds and nuts, but that's for another time.

How about a video on how to ride your bike further? Not all of us want to ride fast, especially us oldies. I like to ride long distances (Audaxes usually) nice and slowly - Zone 1 and 2 all the way, set using a heart rate monitor and the little LEDs on my Wahoo Bolt. If you do that you don't need the constant refuelling. My usual diet is very low carb, almost keto, and I do my long rides with minimal eating. I recently did a 165km (100 mile) Audax ride eating a small bacon and egg breakfast and one small flapjack with my mid-day coffee stop. 8 hours of riding, 20.5 km/h average speed, 130bpm average heart rate, no bonks and I felt absolutely fine afterwards

High quality tires with the correct pressure, light weight butyl inner tubes or better (aerothan, latex or even going tubeless) → usually starting at 70-80 quid for a full set when shopping on local online bike discount sites. Fairly reasonable price/gains ratio.

4:39 Bike fitter here: Many people, I would say most of my customer's find a little inward tilt to be MORE comfortable than straight levers. I put this down to most bikes coming with bars that are too wide for their body. I find for myself once I came down to some narrower bars I don't need to inward lever tilt. Also the Shimano 12 speed line does have some natural inward tilt so that if you install the lever straight, on the bar, it will tilt in. Give this a try for comfort alone, it's a nice bonus that it's aero too.

That intro was scarily accurate that I’ve been cycling a while and signed up for an event in a few months. Great vid as ever.

Some great tips there. Thanks 👍

Brilliant information thank yiu

4:45; personally I have found tucking in the hoods a little improves comfort by reducing outward wrist flexion. Used to do this back in the 90's and recently did it again on my main road bike and the relief was instant. The other day I hopped on my fixie which is set up square and it felt horrible. In fact I going out to the garage to tuck them in right now!

I'm a one ride at the weekend guy, need to start doing more shorter ones midweek. Can confirm there's very little progress with just the one longer ride.

A squeeze tube of cake frosting actually sounds like a good idea!

Re. Angled brakes, my bike fitter told me that he talked to a Shimano engineer at Interbike and was told that they intend for the levers to be turned in as it's more ergonomic for most people. I turn mine to match my flared bars

excellent video as always mate.

Tremendously logical info! Great video. Thanks, Frances.

Proper maintenance of your equipment to include optimized tire pressure!

This is excellent well said!

after seeing u ride in blazing hot n humid Malaysia, this tips are definitely gonna work!

thank you guys

On goals - alongside outcome goals (e.g. ride 100km, 250FTP) it's good to have process goals too (e.g. train 4 times a week, drink x litres of water etc). To an extent, the outcome goals aren't fully in your control, but the process goals can be and are more short/medium term so not as daunting.

I did turn my shifter inward not because of speed but for comfort - I feel much more relaxed when they are lightly tilted in.

Get your bike tuned up, tires at right pressure, and clean your chain! Just giving my bike some TLC gave me back +10% average speed.

Very Helpful videos. I ride 5 times a week @ 2 hrs at a time and I feel the increase in power and AVG (16.5). Looking to take it to the next level.

I will use my commute home from work as a training session it is around 35km, I also use the challenges on Strava to keep my motivation as it is fun and rewarding and very satisfying to see that you are faster than your mates over our favourite segment.

Moving the angle of the shifters so they point inward can also help to achieve a more neutral wrist position, this in turn can help with wrist impingement or load bearing. On the other hand, it can also be conducive to flaring out your elbows and potentially taking a big hit to aerodynamics.

I have 30 minute lap I regularly ride right outside my door so that one is just a habbit sometimes I have to fight my self a little bit to get on the bike but I know I will enjoy it if I´ll do it. Also whats great there is a 24h marathon running on the exact same lap so that a nice thing to train for even tho I´m bussy at the moment with final exams it´s important to do other stuff than school.

Thank you Francis for the tips. When is ur next cycling trip to Malaysia ??

My fitness improved most due to my ebike. Sometimes I'm just lazy but I know I have the motor on tour or eco. This makes me pick my ebike way more than I would usually ride my bike. I don't want to get everywhere all sweaty. After 5 minutes on the bike I end up at around 200 watts anyways so I have my zone 2 training. Bike has mudguards, proper light and large bags in it so I have all the rain equipment with me too plus it's insured so I can ride it to the city etc. Of course I also ride my heavy steel gravelbike but a lot of the volume comes from my ebike. I have to get it serviced in 2 days and the period without being able to use it really shows in my weekly km...

Sort and often is good advice

That Replica Bike from World Tour Van Rysel is something! Keep the good videos coming from Portugal 🇵🇹💪

Hey Francis! Where did you get your necklace chain from? Seems a good plan for riding and removing the risk of losing a finger from jewellery :D Cheers!

I heard the fridges of a certain pink protourteam is stacked with blocks of icing.

It usually takes me ~20 mins to warm up and start enjoying cycling, i feel like stopping after just 30 mins would quickly make me stop cycling altogether because it's not pleasurable like that

Oh hiiiii. Wish I was actually riding with you, Dani & Lucy!!! 💖💖💖

Is that Mrs Cade I see??? Lovely video Francis. Are you moving to LA? 😊

Thanks Francis ...could all the rides be in LA...please ? I felt faster , I swear !!

Francis.... sir, you are the voice of reason.....*doffs cap..... and somewhat inspirational, not in a soft mushy way, in a proper, you and Laurence have kept me cycling over the past 5-6 years.... I know of Sigma, TPU tubes, sungod, veloforte, I know about bike fit basics due to James, and dogs due to Laurence......keep going my friend..... you no doubt have days when you doubt everything, and don't, the silent majority listening to you, no doubt like like wait for the bell ping to see your weekly content.....keep going, and thanks.... also get over the pennies and ride the Ribble Valley Ride in June this year.... :)

Some excellent points a lot of people will say ohh 20-30 minute rides are pointless but it all adds volume

I have increased speed doing all those things, so I know they work. Also, go with a slightly faster group. Because of all the drafting, you end up going a lot faster, and once you get used to that, you go faster everywhere after.

1:39 I love how your mood and energy are nicely paired with the nice view also :)

Do a video on riding in the 4 zones

If you have to change any of your bike to upgrade or update your 'game' you are in the last resort for the small amount of gains... Do the right thing... Upgrade your habits your diet your fitting your fitness... Then if all is set and done... Bike upgrades

I find that riding down hills or with a tail wind makes me faster.

Love the videos and the expertise from real world racing , bike fit and mechanics. It certainly makes for great educational watching. I do have one question. I have a Reilly titanium gradient and wanted to know what is the largest cassette I can have on the rear. I have a 105 2x group set and have just brought a 11-34 tooth cassette as it is hilly in Devon. Is there scope to go bigger and if so what are the things I need to consider like rear mech cage length but what are the perimeters I need to look at before needing to change the rear mech? Many thanks tim bridgman

With nutrition I use an app called eat my ride which tells me how many carbs I burn on each ride so I know how much to take in

I'm the opposite to people who need goals. I just love to train a lot and be the fittest I can be, maybe get a few koms in the way.

Number 1 for me in specific: Dump the converted MTB and get a road bike

Rope attached to Motorbike. Always works best for me!

getting green lights i use my bicycle to commute, and a ride can be 2/3 the length of another. same time of day, same effort, same weather etc.

That white powder they are chopping isn’t icing sugar 😮

Great Tip: Hit Pause on the Wahoo whenever you're going uphill 👍

Nice bike

Another "zero cost" tip would be finding your personal optimal tire pressure (that depends on so many things such as your weight, your type of bike, what rims and tires you use, etc): too little and you will lose energy, too much and it will feel quite uncomfortable in the long run so it will slow you down you in other ways

My biggest speed gain was simple........aero! 50mm aero wheels, aero bars, faster tyres and lighter tubes. This gave me on avg 1.5mph over 20-40miles!

How did you attach your pump to the bottle cage at 3:39 ?

Just like on GCN: I install Dura Ace cranks on my 10 year old bike and instantly gain 50 watts in my FTP.

I find riding 20 miles, first thing in the morning, before eating anything, gets me in shape the quickest.

On the topic of bike snacks, people are sleeping on flapjacks for real! I'm a big fan of Higates. 125g per flapjack, come in many flavours, and 500kcal of natural, locally sourced ingredients - mostly oats. It's about as close as it gets to eating pure body fuel IMO, and for me is much nicer to eat solids with low sugar content rather than gels and such.

Excellent advice - see people get this wrong all the time...

Nepalese blood transfusions are my top tip for riding faster, for longer

I ride faster by pedaling faster.

What are the 2 red things sticking out of your pocket. I also saw them on other riders during Malaysia ride

Push hard up the hills, and coast down, just lightly moving your legs to keep circulation going. Overall speed is higher, recovery is better, sense of accomplishment is better.

always fascinated me people taking 60 to 100g of sugar per hour, I have eaten exclusively meat and eggs for over 6 months now. Granted I don't generally ride longer than 4 hours but have no need to feed every hour. Includes last weekend, ran 21km on saturday and rode cross country for 3,5 hours on sunday. ate 4 eggs a day and around 700g of beef. All i do ensure is I have salt in my water for electrolytes. Mix about a teaspoon per 2 l.

What about when you take food with you, remember to eat little and often, and STILL bonk? That was me on the last club run 😂

I’m looking for a circular route that is mainly downhill.

Your glasses are nice

I only have one tip, a structured training plan. This one thing will get you faster than anything else, for the Americans, period, for everyone else, full-stop.

I would say, being comfortable would be more important than aero

Good tips but I don’t agree about the fuel side… over reliance on carbohydrates is ironically counter productive on your long zone 2 rides. I’ve found that when I used to neck loads of carbs I’d be really reliant on them. All my rides under 2 hours I don’t use food, if you’re bonking during 2 to 3 hour rides you’re going way too hard (I’m not talking about racing)… when i first started I’d eat loads but now I’ll ride 2 to 4 hours and I won’t eat a thing, I recently started wearing a glucose monitor to see how my body is reacting and riding at my zone 2 I’ll sit at a consistent 6.5 to 7.0 mmol/L

is a 15 cm stem long too long for handling 62 cm frame

8:13 Yes, just push the pedals with more force. You're welcome!

I have heard in the drops it is harder to reach your brakes with the levers turned in. True? False?

I've found pushing harder on the pedals usually does the trick🧐

Good advice re 'manageable amounts of riding'. I am recovering from being run over before Christmas- ligament damage, so not too bad- and I had been riding regularly up to at least 15-20 miles a day. I was out for about 6 weeks and found getting into the habit of cycling harder than expected. Felt short rides would be waste of time. Weather was not helping as too windy or wet, which in the past not a problem. Anyway, decided to be kind to myself and set a time limit of an hour max. Creeping up slowly in miles and time out but feel much more inclined to ride, as I don't feel I am wasting my time. I know that it is making me feel more likely to ride more. An hour is better than nothing and if I don't feel like even that, I know I can shorten the ride, maybe increase the intensity- although, I am 57 so 'intensity' needs the inverted commas.

ergomometry vs weight vs aerodynamics

you can also use baby food pouches

As I don't like the UCI anyway I will never have to measure the angles of my shifters or so any small steps of improvement at all. I will just chew off the biggest chunk and cheat myself into a velomobile.

all the tips are great.. apart from the tighter clothing.. if youre an old bloke like me!

A few times I found that a stranger was drafting behind me. Or as it's known in the automobile world, tailgating! Is this rude or normal human behavior? Lol. I never ride in groups, only solo. Is there some etiquette regarding this? Like "hey, mind if I catch a draft off ya?" "Ok, but I have gas, so you might want to rethink."

Loosing weight... Nothing beats that

cycling with better , more experienced riders will push you to be better

Skinsuits? Do you know that I´m currently 40 pounds overweight?

TLDR: 1. Sustainable and gradual improvements 2. Consistent and incremental training 3. Appropriate calories 4./5./6./ Optimizing aerodynamics (handlebar width, body position) 7. Drafting 8. Goal-setting

I’m still convinced that a red colored bike and/or clothing makes you faster

I was told that bicycling is good for diabetes but my blood sugar goes up when I ride 10 miles but I want my blood sugar to go down so 20 miles works

I feel like cyclists actively discriminate extensions for no reason. Your video mentions aero socks which do absolutely nothing up until 60kph wind speed and you still didn´t mention the one way to get more comfortable and faster at the same time without having to change a single component in your system.

Tires!

get enough iron and a avoid caffeine after 3pm. oh and alcohol is bad for recovering

"the cleaning routine after..." The what now?

Paint your bike red. Automatic speed gain.

You forgot to say to have fun Francis... surely if you're not enjoying your rides, you won't feel like gaining anything.

GET A BIKE FIT! I never actually got a bike fit myself but have watched all of the bike fit tuesdays videos religiously and after getting myself dialed in, I noticed I was riding 20-50 watts more with the same perceived effort. Getting a professional bike fit will 100% make this process faster (took me a few weeks tweaking things till I got it right and only because I consider myself to have pretty good proprioception).

Speed is over-rated. Having fun is what matters.

Inny Shifters? Inny Shifters? I thought they made a spin-off of Peaky Blinders.