Noob to bicycles, a few fitness questions

[EazyDuz]

I have a front suspension mountain bike. Its pretty heavy.
Just started cycling again as i do no exercise, and ive gone from feeling dead after 2 miles, to feeling pretty good after 5 miles. I aim to ride from here to leicester soon which is about 16 miles. Though the route for the first 8 miles is very hilly, some steep inclines. So:

1. My main issue is what feels like lactic acid in my thighs when on inclines. I'm not often out of breath (like i get when running) but instead the pain in my thighs is awful, so i rest or slow right down. Does this improve with time?

2. I dont intend to buy a new bike, as its only for fitness, i dont need it for anything else. But is 15 miles a bit of a stupid thing to attempt on a mountain bike?

3. Is it more efficient to ride down a hill hard to gain momentum and use whatever you have left to ride up the next hill, or free wheel down the hill then put the power on when going up the hill?

4. What kind of speed should i be doing? I have a speedo on my bike and im usually doing 10+mph if its flat, but on inclines i can get as low as like 7mph. Obviously fitness will improve this though.
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To shreds you say? Tss tss tss

[G]

1. Yes, you'll be fine given some practice. Take it easier until then.

2. Not at all. I've done getting on for 50 mile off-road rides with only a few drink stops.
Similarly, did London to Brighton on a mountain bike - it was the people on BMXs that I was impressed by.
Make sure you stay at a sustainable pace and you're fine.

3. Going fast is fun?

4. Whatever speed you want which is sustainable for your journey.

[The Shaggy D.A.]

I had a Trek Navigator hybrid jobby - front suspension, wide tyres, heavy. When prepping for my cycle trip in France I started from zero (seriously - fucked after 2 miles) to doing 15 mile jaunts in a few weeks.

It seemed comfort was the main thing holding me back initially, so the changes I found that improved the situation was putting the seat higher so my legs were almost at full extension, wearing padded cycle undershorts and padded fingerless gloves.

I recall it's around 14mph where the wind resistance factor starts to kick in noticably - I think I've read that past that point rolling resistance stops increasing and something like 80% of your effort is pushing air out of the way. Putting a higher pressure in the tyres reduced the rolling resistance noticeably, cycling faster in a lower gear helped too but going to drop bars and wearing lycra would be the next step.

Personally I'm happy as long as I'm doing more than 10mph
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[stinkwheel]

Aim to pedal all the time but to stay within your aerobic range.

This will almost certainly involve increasing your cadence (the speed you pedal at) and lowering your gear. You want to be spinning along. Power is the wrong concept. Power on your bike and you'll have to stop very soon.

Coasting is bad for you, it lets your muscles cool down and the pumping action of the muscles helps increase circulation and clear the lactate. So pedal downhills too, but you don't necessarily need to pedal hard.

Riding 15 miles on a mountain bike with knobbly mountain bike tyres is stupid. With pumped up road tyres, not quite as stupid.

Go as fast as you can without exceeding your aerobic range. This speed varies from person to person and with degree of fitness.

Get your riding position right. If you're not exceeding 10mph, aerodnamics is largely irrelevant (as the Shaggy D.A. correctly pointed out). So arse over or slightly behind the bottom bracket, forearms paralell to the ground, legs slightly bent (sit on the saddle, your leg should just be straight with the heel on the pedal. In other words, sit up, hands up, back straight, you're not doing a time trial.

There is a lot on the theory of cycling on Sheldon Browns website. The articles "Hands up" "standing", "Pain and bicycling".

Remember cycling never gets easier, it just gets faster.
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[JonB]

Most thigh pain is actually due to incorrect seat height.

Put one pedal in the six o clock position. Then with the shoes you cycle in, place your heel on the pedal, your leg should be ever so slightly bent, but almost straight.

If the seat is too high your hips will be rocking, too low and you will just be in pain and not achieving max power potential output.

I've seen people cycle 60+ miles on a mountain bike with knobblies. But they were extremely fit individuals.
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[EazyDuz]

I'd rather increase fitness on the inferior mountain bike than buy a road bike and go further for longer, after all my aim is fitness, not distance.
The mountain bike tops out at about 18mph anyway, in top gear going as fast as possible before pedals make no difference to speed.
I'll check the seat height out tomorrow, i know its not particularly low but it might benefit from raising an inch?

Tyres are at 50psi as well, im assuming thats around max for a mountain bike?
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To shreds you say? Tss tss tss

[JonB]

It will state the max pressure on the sidewall of the tyre.

Speaking of which, seeing as you are increasing distance, probably worth taking a spare inner tube, tyre levers and hand pump with you incase of a puncture.
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Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it?s worth.

[J4mes]

I bought a pair of schwalbe city jet tyres for my MTB and its made road riding an awful lot easier.

£30 off eBay.

[EazyDuz]

Also, can anyone recommend a more comfortable seat?
The one on my bike is as hard as bone and really narrow. I'd sooner have something a bit bigger and softer. Im assuming they are pretty much a universal fit? I'll get a pic up of the bike too
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To shreds you say? Tss tss tss

[stinkwheel]

[EazyDuz]

Thanks. I just adjusted the seat height, i was going to adjust the handlebars but on closer inspection you cant. They just have spacers and they are currently as high as possible.
The bike is a Falcon branded one, cost about £130 5 years ago but i barely used it. It looks brand new. I think it is made of aluminum to make it lighter, but i cant remember the sale that well.
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To shreds you say? Tss tss tss

[G]

For the seat comfort, riding more will sort it.

I do have mountain bike shorts which have padding in (no lycra, even hidden inside ), but rarely bother. However, haven't ridden much for a while, so may notice it the first few long rides I do.

[stevo as b4]

I like mountain bikes best even on the road. The 26'' wheels and MTB geometry make for quicker steering at low speeds IMO. Also you can ride up and down Kerbs and not worry about a fragile road bike falling apart or damaging your expensive rims etc.

If your only going to ride your MTB on the road, then I recommend you get some smooth road tyres in 26x1.5'' size. They will instantly make the bike quite a bit quicker and much less hard work. Downhill speeds will also increase due to the much lower rolling resistance.

I find that with full off road tyres my MTB naturally seems to top out on the road at 13-14mph and it's hard to get it any faster with more effort. It feels comfy at 12-13mph on the flat, and your very lucky to get it above 25mph downhill. I don't like to use the outer chain ring much though, so the useable gearing has a lot to do with how fast you can go, (basically a little bit less than as fast as you can pedal is my normal cadence or 13mph).

I'd like a spare set of wheels for mine with road tyres fitted so that I can swap them out, but I have another far older cheaper bike for road use, so there's little point in doing so, and if and when I've got the cash saved for a spare set of wheels, I'd rather buy a better spec set of forks and a bigger front brake disc conversion as these upgrades would be more useful to me.

[The Tot]

Tyres would be the first thing that I'd look into! Junk the knobblies if you're not intending to even visit a bridleway.

I've experimented with all sorts - Scwalbe Big Apple 2.35" balloon tyres can be inflated to 40psi and allow you to ride on a soft cushion. It absorbs bumps and kerbs pretty nicely and the reduction in rolling resistance very noticeable! Saying that I did manage to go downhill on a bridleway on it... not recommended, but dooable.

But, if I were you, I'd go with the schwalbe marathons or marathon plus with the puncture protect. 30-40 mile jaunts with them on and you'll be fine! I didn't need to worry about putting slime in my tubes, or carry a spare tube for that matter. Better than city jets because the protection belt is thicker - I went for 1.5" width. I topped out at 35 down hill on the MTB (Cleeve hill is a pretty steep hill mind) but it didn't feel as stable as my road bike with 700c tyres.

And to what the other guys have said about cadence and keeping in your aerobic range.

My mates at work have all said to ride my MTB on the road more often to build my cardio up! Obviously, you're limited to top speeds, but you'll be able to go out for longer!

But the real fun is to be had on local trails and bridleways! It'll put another element to your riding which you'll learn to love!
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[stinkwheel]

[AndyB1989]

just a small note you will see gains in fitness if you stay within your aerobic range and gradually increase duration of exercise but what you want to do really is mix in some intervals 30 seconds of HARD pedalling followed by a minute at recovery pace then back into the normal range this high intensity interval training will help to increase your V02 Max much faster and make you feel much fitter.