So I am getting used to the Mango Sport ("The Carrot"). I am now logging new speed records on my commute. My average speeds are going up which is making me quite happy. I think I will start doing Washington Lake loops on the weekends since that is the route I have the most recorded history on. If all goes well I can get some record times on my Lake loops. I want to get my century speeds up and do some 200K permanents without officially logging them with RUSA. So first I will train, then when I feel ready I can try a 200k permanent.
I might even be able to get some respectable times, which would be very nice. My eventual goal is to finish the STP one year BEFORE Jim Broadus (a co-worker). It would be nice to not be passed :)
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It always takes some time to ' dial in' a new machine. Even though Jenease is my 2nd Mango, it takes time to get used to the handling and alike.
Be aware that speed can be addictive!
Duncan:
What's your average speed now for typical 30 mile ride? Preparing for STP, I trained for speed. Intervals are essential for that...Short fast bursts. Riding more miles a little bit faster won't get you the speed improvement you are looking for. Typically recumbent riders rarely train for speed. Speed training is essential to get the most out of any recumbent. The benefits of recumbent aerodynamics don't really kick in until you reach 22 mph. Many recumbent riders never reach that cruising speed. The bike/velomobile may be fast, but the engine needs to be powerful to move it along! Short time trails are also a great way to train. We need to find a local time trial course where we can really go all out for, say 5 miles . There has to be a smooth, flat, low traffic, wide shoulder road we can ride near Woodinville. I'll let you know when I find one.
Keep training, I fully expect to see the carrot whizzing by me @30mph some day soon
-Brad
Brad:
I haven't ridden the Mango enough to have a good baseline for the typical 30 miler. Since the STP I have commuted my normal 10 miles to work and 10 miles home.
My cruising speed on the SRT is about 23, with slight downslopes getting me to 25 easily. I was playing around a bit yesterday and pushed it to 29 mph on a clear section of the trail. My previous cruising speed was about 18mph on the raptobike. 25mph if I was chasing you on your Zox trying to keep up.
Let me know when you find a nice training spot for intervals, that would be great.
I have been trying to clean up my pedalling. Switching away from the Q-rings made me more aware of my dead spot and my pedal stroke is not as round as I think it should be. I am also working a bit on getting the cadence up.
My self-training has been inconsistent, I would benefit from more focus. One of my issues is I mentally switch modes during climbing and tend to put out less power than I could sustain on climbs. My best times on any given route are days that I pushed on climbs for some reason or another.
Cadence and dead spots are a big issue for me. I assume the mango has round rings? I just can't get my cadence up above 100 on the zox. I used to spin at very high cadences on my diamond frame bikes which has a number of advantages.
I am waiting on the CAD drawing of a new 68 tooth oval ring for the Zox...Hoping that will smooth things out a bit at my typical 85-90 cadence...if not then maybe a rotor crank is in my future.
Sounds like you can crank the mango up to speed well enough...30 mph is the very top end on my zox and I can't hold that for very long.
Climbing depresses me. Mainly because in my racing days I would seek out hills. I loved climbing . The longer the hill the better. I got really good at it. Like cat 2 good. Now grandmas, kids, and fast insects pass me on a climb even though I'm in decent shape. Perhaps a moving bottom bracket design would climb better than the FWD lowracers?
I keep thinking the zockra bikes might climb better. If I can ever confirm that another recumbent climbs better than what I have then the zox may have to step aside...
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