Whether you are a road, gravel, or mountain biker, we all want to go faster. Any cyclist will tell you that a critical component to progressing as a rider is the ability to ride faster.
But we’re not just talking about who can spin their pedals the fastest and the longest. Riding fast without remaining in control of the bike is simply a recipe for disaster. Of course, power and stamina go a long way in your ability to ride faster, but you must also develop proper bike handling skills. Yes, going fast requires power and stamina — going fast confidently requires bike handling skills.
Fortunately, you can get this equation's power and stamina components from an indoor cycling trainer, which has pros and cons. In one 2019 fitness survey, nearly 57% of respondents said they had incorporated indoor cycling as a regular workout rhythm. That percentage dropped to 32.6% in 2022, likely due to people switching to outdoor cycling during the pandemic.
One area where indoor cycling falls short is teaching proper bike handling skills. All the power to go fast is there, but the skills needed to ride fast are absent. Just like you worked hard to build your cycling fitness, you can also slowly gain the necessary bike-handling skills to complete your cycling portfolio.
Whether you’re an amateur cyclist wanting to step up your riding game or an indoor cyclist looking to switch to the outdoors, being able to ride fast with confidence takes your cycling to a new level. In this article, we’ll discuss the skills you’d need to develop to sprint, corner, descend, and ride in a group with confidence.
Develop bike handling skills
Fast is only fun if you are in control; going fast on a bike is quite terrifying when you are not in control. Going fast requires maneuvering, handling, and controlling the bike properly. To develop these skills, it’s best to start slow and focus on technique, gradually increasing speed as you progress. The fastest, most confident, and safest riders have gotten to where they are today because they have worked on these bike-handling skills:
Riding in a straight line
We all know that the fastest way to something is a straight line — point A to point B. However, the ability to ride in a straight line goes beyond developing speed as a cyclist. Yes, weaving back and forth in the bike line will hurt your speed, but it also puts you at a higher risk of coming into contact with a car passing by.
Let’s say you and a buddy have a Saturday morning ride you look forward to every week. This Saturday ride is more casual, and you enjoy catching up with your friend rather than pushing hard. Riding side-by-side is optimal for this ride, so you can easily chat, but that depends on whether you can ride in a straight line. Two cyclists riding straight and tight can fit shoulder-to-shoulder in a bike lane. If you keep bumping into your buddy, you will likely ride single-file, shouting over your shoulder. If you cause him to crash, he may not be your riding buddy for much longer.
Riding in a straight line seems simple enough, and it mostly is, with some practice. Keeping a bike upright and moving forward requires a rather complex and ever-changing balance of forces, and the harder you pedal, the more exaggerated they become. To minimize these isolations, you must relax your upper body, shoulders, and arms and focus on making perfect circles with your feet rather than mashing the pedals. Being in the correct gear is also critical: if you’re bouncing on the saddle while trying to keep pace, you’re in too low of a gear and should upshift; if you’re upper body is moving around, you’re likely pushing too hard of a gear and should downshift. Finding the right cadence that’s both sustainable and allows you to keep the bike in balance while putting down power takes practice but eventually becomes second nature.
Focus on a point ahead and keep your gaze up without wobbling. Looking at your front wheel or what is directly in front of you is tempting but will cause you to break your line. In time, you will soon be able to develop a sort of “split-vision,” where your main focus will be up ahead, while your peripheral vision will help you avoid immediate obstacles such as rocks, cracks, and potholes.
Start slow, keeping a steady cadence, and gradually gain speed as you practice looking ahead and building confidence. Keep a relaxed grip on the handlebars, but also be mindful of your arms, shoulders, upper body, and neck. If you’re tense, you are more likely to have jerky movements rather than smooth and subtle adjustments.
Riding in tight spaces
Whether on the road or the trail, navigating your bike confidently through tight spaces can be tricky. Doing it at higher speeds can be downright scary. This could mean squeezing between two cars or scraping your handlebars on two goalpost trees on your local trail. Navigating these sorts of obstacles will help you maintain speed on your bike. But, before you head out and squeeze your way through real-life scenarios, it may behoove you to practice riding in tight spaces to build your confidence.
Setting up obstacles to ride through at home can be a great way to practice those tight squeezes. Cones can be good, but provide little in the way of practice when it comes to banging your handlebars into things. Try grabbing your garbage and recycling bins; they’re often tall enough that you need to consider handlebar clearance.
Start with the bins a comfortable distance apart so you can easily ride through at a relatively fast pace. Once you’ve established that comfortable distance, scoot them closer to where you need to slow down — this will be the distance you’ll start working at. Choose a straight line directly through the middle and focus your gaze ahead. It will be tough not to focus on the bins, but that will likely cause you to crash into them. Continue to build your speed as you confidently pass through each time. You’ll be surprised how much this exercise translates to the road or trail.
Braking
It may seem counterintuitive, but a good set of brakes and a solid braking technique will help you be a faster rider. It is difficult to confidently ride fast when you also can’t stop quickly and effectively. Predicting the braking distance and knowing exactly how to execute the braking maneuver allows you to keep moving faster for a more extended period of time, effectively increasing your average speed.
Before you get started, it’s time to forget that childhood worry of grabbing the front brake and flipping over the handlebars. With your body properly positioned over the bike's center, you won’t summersault over the bars by using the front brake. A proper braking technique will allow you to use both brakes effectively and in the manner in which they were intended. The front brake’s main job is to help you reduce speed, while the rear brake enables you to keep control of the bike under the braking forces. Using both brakes evenly will help you learn to stop smoothly and quickly at higher speeds.
The fastest way to get comfortable with hard braking is to get a feel for the biting point of your brakes – how much the brake lever needs to be squeezed before the brakes engage. Understanding how long it takes you to stop at different speeds will help build confidence when you’re out on the road or riding in a group. Finally, being able to execute emergency braking, bringing the bike to a complete stop from a very high rate of speed, and effectively using the full power of the brakes without breaking traction is a maneuver that one day may save you from an accident. It will also give you the confidence to go fast. The more you ride and practice braking, the easier it will be to anticipate when you will need to begin braking and how much brake to apply for the speed you are going. To practice, simply go on a ride on a quiet road. Start slow and apply light brake pressure. Once you feel confident in the brake feel and how your bike responds to the braking forces, add more speed and harder braking.
Cornering
Braking correctly is critical to turning on your bike efficiently. While you must reduce your speed for almost every turn, a properly executed corner will help you maintain your speed and set you up to gain more speed upon the corner’s exit.
Don’t ride into a corner without a plan — choose your line through the corner and stick to it. Every corner will be different, but the general rule is to enter and exit a corner wide but have your line remain tight at the corner’s apex. Remember to be on the lookout for obstacles. Your line might go through rocks, gravel, or a pothole — adjust accordingly.
Body and bike position are also essential factors to consider. Remember to keep your body relaxed and centered over the bike, with your back flat and your arms relaxed on flat corners. Keeping your hands in the drops while cornering will give you more control over the bike and lower your center of gravity, helping stabilize the bike. Lean the bike into the corner while trying to keep your body balanced over it, with your outside leg straight and applying pressure on the outside foot. Keep your eyes focused on the corner exit, where you want to go.
Many of these same skills apply to gravel and mountain bikes when on trails. Especially for mountain biking, the “attack” or ready position is strongly encouraged. This looks like:
- Loose and relaxed–don’t death grip; allow the bike to move underneath you
- Stand up–getting up out of the saddle allows for greater control
- Weight distribution–push your weight down through your legs, not onto the handlebars through your arms
- Heels down–pushing your heels down gives you greater control and maneuverability
- Head up–focus down the trail
- Elbows up–bend and move your elbows away from your body to help lean and control the bike
- Engage your core–try to keep your back straight and use your core to help maneuver the bike
- Cover brakes–keep your index finger over each brake lever
The attack position is crucial for descending and riding technical terrain and helps mountain bikers properly corner. While the jump from road to trail differs, many road bike cornering fundamentals apply. You still need to lean the bike and balance your body over the bike, dropping and putting pressure on the outside pedal. Line choice may differ, but you still need to choose a line. It will vary depending on the turn, but it usually enters high and exits low to maximize speed through the corner.
Whether on a road, gravel, or mountain bike, the best way to perfect cornering is to find a corner and practice. Start slowly, work on technique, and gradually gain speed. And try to ride the corner both ways. Most people favor one side or the other when cornering, so try to work on leaning both ways.
Climbing
Climbs are one of the biggest speed zappers, but they don’t necessarily have to be. Yes, every climb will slow you down, but there are ways of efficiently and effectively tackling climbs that will have you riding faster overall.
Settling into a climb at a solid pace is what you want to think about. Find a good pedaling cadence that you can keep up most of the climb. Keep a steady pace and consistent rhythm, pushing yourself without overdoing it. A max power push to the top of the hill may make the climb over faster, but it will likely have you struggling to recover for the following flat section.
Try to keep your shifting smooth and in rhythm with your cadence — the more you ride your bike, the more you know when to shift. Keep your butt in your seat as much as possible to help maintain traction over the rear wheel. Shifting your body weight around on your saddle is okay and is something you may find necessary for steeper sections of the climb. Don’t be afraid to practice shifting your weight and changing your body position while pedaling so you know what it feels like. And, if you have to, you can get out of the saddle to finish the climb when things get steep.
Descending
Pointing your bike downhill is the reason many ride. The thrill of going faster and faster and earning that descent keeps cyclists returning for more.
When going downhill fast, rough road surfaces, potholes, road debris, roots, rocks, and obstacles may come at you faster than you may have time to react. It sounds counter-intuitive, but staying relaxed is the best way to prepare for such obstacles. A relaxed body will allow the bike to move and bounce around more freely under you, absorbing harsh vibrations. With knees and elbows slightly bent, your body is effectively suspended over the bike, so the impacts and vibrations transferred through the bike will be effortlessly dissipated. In contrast, if the body is stiff, all the jarring vibrations will be absorbed by the muscles and the skeleton, resulting in a very tiring descent.
Keep your eyes up, always looking where you're going and anticipating obstacles. Be light on the brakes, applying even pressure to both brake levers to help control your speed rather than quick, harsh speed dumps. By moving your body over the bike, from left to right and fore and aft, you can set up your bike and yourself for the upcoming maneuver, whether that is a tight corner or a technical section of a trail.
Cornering while descending is practically a skill of its own, and when learned and practiced, it will make you a much faster rider on hilly or mountainous terrain. The common mistake novice riders make is entering the corner fast and applying the brakes mid-corner and often through the apex; that’s arguably the worst time to apply the brakes. Braking while cornering significantly reduces traction; the sudden shift of the center of mass towards the front wheel can cause instability and force you to adjust your line or angle through the corner, putting you at risk of a crash. To get through a corner smoothly, you should scrub the speed before initiating the turn while the bike is upright. Right before going into the turn, release the brakes and lean your body into the corner while putting pressure on the outside foot. This position will allow you to “slingshot” around the corner and, when executed well, will allow you to exit the corner faster than you went into it.
Following an experienced rider is the best way to learn the nuances of descent. But be cognizant not to get drawn into descending faster than you’re capable. When the rider in front of you is getting away, recognize your limits and back off. When following another rider, maintain ample space – it makes it easier to see the line and gives adequate time to make a correction or execute an emergency maneuver.
Track Stands
An overall speed killer is starting and stopping. This procedure typically involves slowing down to a stop, unclipping from your pedal if you’re clipped in, putting a foot down, and reversing the process once you move again. One may only take a few seconds, but the entire time spent gets longer when added up over a long road ride passing through several traffic lights. Rather than repeating this process repeatedly, learn the track stand's art.
Track stands are perfect for traffic lights, jammed-up group rides, rock gardens, or any situation in which you must stop. A track stand lets you keep both feet on the pedals clipped in while you balance the bike, waiting for your moment to go. And while balancing on a bike seems counterintuitive to everything you learned as a kid about riding bikes, track stands actually aren’t that hard to learn.
To practice, first, replace your clip pedals with flat ones, or at least wear flat shoes. Then find a slightly slopped bit of concrete — driveways are often perfect track stand training grounds. Slowly roll up, keep your pedals level, and turn your bars to one side. The direction you turn your bars and which foot you have forward is up to you, whatever feels most comfortable. Balance in the track stand by applying pressure back and forth to the pedals and bars. As you think you are falling in one direction, shift your weight to the other side by applying pressure, then switch back as you feel you’re going the other way. At first, these movements may feel more drastic, but they will become more subtle and intuitive in time. Eventually, you will be able to track stand for as long as your legs will hold up.
Pro-tip: track stands are fun to practice in the garage on a rainy or cold day.
Bunny Hops
Most of the time, the fastest way over an obstacle is over, not around. Whether it’s a pothole, a rock, or a water bottle dropped on a group ride, knowing how to bunny hop over a small obstacle is a great skill to have. When riding clipped-in, getting both wheels off the ground is quite easy; you simply need to pull on the bars and jump up, but it will feel forced, and the timing will likely be sub-optimal. Learning the proper bunny hopping technique will make you a faster and safer rider.
Bunny hops are all about timing. To execute a proper bunny hop, you must pull the handlebars to your chest, followed by “scooping” your rear wheel into the air. This is done not by simply lifting your feet on the pedals but by applying rearward pressuring and pushing them back as you lift, bringing the rear of the bike up. A well-executed bunny hop will have the rear tire following the front tire to its apex.
This maneuver is best learned in a parking lot or a driveway after watching a few instructional videos. It’s not an easy maneuver to learn, and for most people, it takes a solid week of practice – this is time well spent because once you have it down pat, you’ll have one of the most effective “power moves” in your cycling arsenal.
Pro-tip: Bunny hop over something small like a rag that won’t cause you to crash! Use your phone to video yourself to see if you're clearing the obstacle. Once you do, start working toward bigger and better bunny hops.
Riding in a group
All of these bike-handling skills will not only help you ride faster, but they will also help you mesh more efficiently into a group ride. However, learning the ins and outs of a group ride is a whole different animal that will also help you hone your bike-handling skills and help you ride faster.
Riding safely and smoothly in a group doesn’t mean that you just happen to be riding next to other people who happen to be riding next to you. Instead, the group works together to efficiently and effectively get to where they are going. Expect to draft and signal to communicate while on group rides — expect significant amounts of communication in general. After several rides with the same group, you will learn the group dynamics, verbal and nonverbal communication, and proper etiquette during the ride.
Getting comfortable with the dynamics of riding close to other cyclists can feel daunting, but the only way to figure them out is to join. Your first group ride doesn’t need to feel like the Tour de France. Talk to your local bike shop or look online to find the best group for you.
Looking over your shoulder
Being able to look behind you while riding will allow you to keep moving and maintain speed. Whether you need to check traffic or communicate with a rider behind you, you will eventually need to look over your shoulder. The problem is that a quick peek over your shoulder will likely have you veering off in that direction.
Looking over the shoulder while maintaining speed and direction is critical for all cyclists, especially those riding on public roads or shared trails and in groups. It will significantly increase your safety, and you will employ it multiple times on every ride.
You veer off in the direction you’re looking because your center of gravity is shifting that way. A trick to counter this is to push — not turn — the handlebars slightly in the opposite way you’re looking. If you look over your left shoulder, push those bars to the right just a bit. Of course, this will take time and practice.
Relax
Riding at high speeds means that road chatter, bumps, and other obstacles will come at you faster than your body can react to them. If you are tense, you will likely be bounced around and experiencing quite a bit of fatigue. Or, what’s worse, your rigidity on the bike mixed with a rough, high-speed section could result in a crash.
Our natural reaction is to tense up — with one of the first signs being a death grip on the handlebars. The intensity of high speed, especially when riding downhill, makes riders grip the handlebars too tight, which in turn tightens up their arms and shoulders, making minute corrections imprecise. Practice keeping your grip and upper body relaxed with your index fingers on the brake levers and your body balanced over the bike. Remember that your knees and elbows bend, and using your body as a suspension-of-sorts will ensure that you won’t get thrown off-balance or bucked from your bike. Let the bike “float” and move under you; you will also notice that you can make minute adjustments to correct the course of the bike by continuously adjusting your position on the bike. Staying relaxed and positioned on the bike correctly will ensure that the bike will do most of the work.
When going fast, safety is of the utmost importance. Keeping your brakes covered with your fingers on the brakes instead of the handlebars or the hoods will give you that fraction of a second that might be the difference between a non-event and a serious crash.
Body position
“Relaxed” seems to be a common theme when talking about body position and riding fast. While your body should most likely be centered over the bike, ensuring you are relaxed will allow it to move as needed. Smoothly moving your body weight on the bike is the key to a stable and fast ride. Cornering and descending are great examples of times when you will need to shift your body weight to different areas on or over the bike. Stay loose and relaxed, and be ready to shift and move as required.
Look Ahead
You’ve heard the expression: Don’t miss the forest for the trees. This is true when cycling at high speeds, as they can often make you look down and focus on the immediate (trees) but be unprepared for all the other obstacles and corners down ahead (the forest).
Focus your primary gaze down the road or trail, and let your peripheral vision deal with the immediate obstacles you encounter. Knowing what is coming up gives you enough time to adjust your body position or maneuver the bike accordingly. It also helps to ensure that you will provide a fellow rider in front of you with plenty of space.
Manage Cadence
Massive improvements in power and speed can be made by dialing in your cadence. You must produce lots of power at low and high cadence to maintain blistering speeds. The fastest way to develop this skill is to do cadence drills. These drills will improve your pedal stroke and pedaling efficiency. They also increase your maximum cadence, effectively giving your cardio engine a better transmission.
Build Endurance
Along with bike-handling skills, riding fast requires power and endurance. While it was emphasized earlier that bike handling can’t be learned on an indoor trainer, power and endurance absolutely can.
A great way to intentionally build power and endurance is by focusing on high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and Zone 2 training. HIIT involves rounds of quick bursts of exercise followed by short rest periods before starting the round again. They significantly up your cardio and help you gain strength quickly. HIIT workouts, performed at or above your threshold, are the fastest way to improve your Functional Threshold Power.
Zone 2 workouts focus on maintaining a reasonable output level for a significant time, translating to endurance.. Because they aim to maintain output for a long time, Zone 2 workouts are typically low-intensity, where you work at 60-70% of your max heart rate. Combining Zone 2 and HIIT will help you to build the endurance needed to ride your bike faster.
Join a Group Ride
Joining a local group ride is the next logical step once you dial in all your bike handling skills and have decent power and endurance. Simply put, the group will go at a particular speed, and you will see if you have the skills to keep up comfortably. Group rides tend to quickly highlight the rider’s skill or fitness gaps.
If you don’t feel challenged by a particular group ride, it might be time to step up to a faster one. If you went on a novice ride, consider checking out the intermediate ride, where you will be pushed to be a better rider.
Get Bike Insurance
When riding your bike, the element of danger is undeniable. Being on two wheels is inherently unstable, so if you ride long enough, you will eventually crash. When the element of speed is added to the equation, the odds of something going wrong increase.
Specialty bike insurance is designed specifically to address the risks cyclists take on with their hobby. A crash can happen for many reasons, like going too fast, misjudging a turn, or hitting an unforeseen obstacle. While crashes can be frustrating, painful, and potentially costly, they also offer valuable lessons about a rider's limits, technique, and equipment. Sometimes, you're fortunate and only deal with minor cosmetic damage or none at all. In worse scenarios, however, the entire bike could be ruined, and you may suffer injuries to boot.
Crashing isn't the only way to damage your bike. Accidents can happen even when you're not riding it: the bike might fall off your car rack, or you could accidentally drive into a garage with it still on the roof rack. One especially unfortunate way to ruin a bike is by backing over it with your car.
Crash and accidental damage coverage is only available through a specialized bicycle insurance policy. Velosurance offers this type of coverage, including up to $500 for riding apparel like your kit, helmet, shoes, gloves, and sunglasses. Additionally, spare parts, such as a race wheelset, are covered with up to $500 per loss and a $1,000 limit for the policy term.
A bike insurance quote can be gotten in as little as 5 minutes, and policies are issued within a business hour.
Overcome the fear
The reality is that riding fast can be damn scary. It is okay to recognize the fear, but it is also good to overcome it.
How, you ask? Practice. Put into practice all the things discussed in this article. Focus on the bike handling, but don’t neglect the fitness aspect needed to be a confident rider. Remember to relax your body while on your bike and to keep your eyes up. And, for god’s sake, don’t find the biggest hill in town and start there. Start small and work your way up, progressively building speed as you gain confidence.
The biggest hill isn’t going anywhere.