Can my friend cycle 70 miles in 4 hours?

Way too many variables here. 'Old MTB' could mean so many things. Honestly, the older it is, the likely the better it will be for this task (fully rigid frame, skinny tires) assuming the mechanicals are good. If it's truly junk (worn cassette that has the chain slipping under power, rubbing brakes, dry rotted tires, crap saddle) forget it. It's recently tuned up, has decent semi-slick tires, a decent saddle (not some gigantic 'gel' padded thing), etc. then it's a world of difference. Even still, any ride past two hours is a challenge for a new cyclist especially if it's warm. The same 'bonk' that can happen while running can happen while cycling and it's not pretty. Planning the right effort for a four hour ride isn't something that you just do without thought. And keeping hydrated and properly fueled requires similar planning.

Anecdote: I have a cousin considerably younger than me and a way better athlete overall who assumed that a hilly 50 mile ride wouldn't be all that different from a hilly 30 mile ride. We hit the 2.25 hour mark at which point he had only consumed some water and it was game-over for him. We crawled home as a result and he begrudgingly admitted that he should have heeded my warning about drinking more and eating something. It was quite amusing to be waiting at the top of hills for someone who could dust me had he not completely spent all of his energy stores earlier in the ride.

I would love to see the Strava upload from this ride so fingers crossed that this is a total BS thread.

I'm definitely taking fueling into consideration with low-calorie electrolyte drinks and cliff bars.

Success or failure, I'll upload the strava screenshot and link so you all can check it out. It'll be done at 7 AM on May 13 back and forth over the Hudson River. Y'all can believe it or not, but I'll still be attempting it tomorrow. Focusing on hydration today.

Meant May 14th, my bad.

The gig is up, troll. Move on to the next bit.

XCemdee wrote:

Friend here. I'm the one that's doing it on Friday.

I have track speed of 51.8 for 400m and 1:59 for 800m. Also have 15:56 5k and 1:20 half marathon. My legs are meaty.

I'll have someone at each 20 miles for hydration and I am bringing bananas and cliff bars. Watch will click off at 8.75 miles (should be 30 minutes per split).

Give me advice.

It shouldn't be a problem with that kind of running fitness.

Agreed, I'd rather see 21 mph on a borrowed $500 road bike that fits tho

Whiskers wrote:

No. He can’t do it.

Primary reason: The bike. The old mountain bike will make it really really difficult. Any road bike would make it completely doable.

This. I did a 75-mile cycle on roads on a circa $250 (new) aluminium bike in around 2011/2012 for my first proper road outing. Reasonably light, with reasonable gearing. It was on a coast road, not a loop, with very steep glens and rolling hills in places. I averaged 14-15mph for the whole thing - and I wouldn't have said I was anywhere close to my fittest; any fitness I had was all from team sports. I wore normal sports shorts and tshirt.

Pancake flat, I would have been very very saddle sore but could've done 4 hours at 19mph fitness wise. The bike (and the gearset) make it.

I also got a puncture at mile 73...

Raleigh Diamondback Equipe Limited Edition 2012 was the one. If you had soemthing as cheap and cheerful as

OP I hope you (or anyone out there) are actually trying this and not trolling, because it sounds great as a challenge but you NEED more padding. Forget the towel, duct-tape a sponge to the saddle if you aren't wearing cycling shorts. Saddle soreness will be the problem, but you will be able to cover 70 miles. Just not in 4 hours on an MTB.

XCemdee wrote:

I'm definitely taking fueling into consideration with low-calorie electrolyte drinks and cliff bars.

Success or failure, I'll upload the strava screenshot and link so you all can check it out. It'll be done at 7 AM on May 13 back and forth over the Hudson River. Y'all can believe it or not, but I'll still be attempting it tomorrow. Focusing on hydration today.

Uh-huh. With a wobbly back wheel and meaty thighs, right?

lolololololol

Sprintgeezer wrote:

XCemdee wrote:

I'm definitely taking fueling into consideration with low-calorie electrolyte drinks and cliff bars.

Success or failure, I'll upload the strava screenshot and link so you all can check it out. It'll be done at 7 AM on May 13 back and forth over the Hudson River. Y'all can believe it or not, but I'll still be attempting it tomorrow. Focusing on hydration today.

Uh-huh. With a wobbly back wheel and meaty thighs, right?

lolololololol

Meaty thighs? Like Hinault, Lemond, Armstrong?

Maybe you should race him?

Should be done any minute now.

Not a Chance wrote:

he will be using an old mountain bike.

Does he ever take it off any sweet jumps?

Dubious Caesar wrote:

Whiskers wrote:

No. He can’t do it.

Primary reason: The bike. The old mountain bike will make it really really difficult. Any road bike would make it completely doable.

This. I did a 75-mile cycle on roads on a circa $250 (new) aluminium bike in around 2011/2012 for my first proper road outing. Reasonably light, with reasonable gearing. It was on a coast road, not a loop, with very steep glens and rolling hills in places. I averaged 14-15mph for the whole thing - and I wouldn't have said I was anywhere close to my fittest; any fitness I had was all from team sports. I wore normal sports shorts and tshirt.

Pancake flat, I would have been very very saddle sore but could've done 4 hours at 19mph fitness wise. The bike (and the gearset) make it.

I also got a puncture at mile 73...

14-15 mph? Kinda like saying I run a 14-15 minute 5k... :-)

Ok, so not quite that extreme, but c'mon. If you are going to claim you had a chance of riding 19mph for 75 miles on 'your first proper road outing' you better have some pretty clear evidence to support it. While not in my best shape ever, I did the bulk of the work for a small group on fairly flat roads with light winds for ~75 miles on a proper road bike and managed just under 19mph if I recall correctly, not including a few stops. I'd be super-impressed if you achieved your claim.

If your actual ride was closer to 14mph, and not including stops, you are over-estimating your ability on flat roads unless your ride was mountainous (100+ ft/mile elevation gain). For me, flat vs. rolling is more like a 2-3mph difference (average speed) for a loop and I am pretty good at getting aero. The inevitable wind always make flat roads slower than you'd hope.

Oh, 'gearset' has nothing to do with achieving anything under 20mph (neglecting super-low geared 1x bikes). An older MTB will have at least a 42T big ring. That coupled with even a 12T rear cog at a pedestrian 70 rpm is worth 19mph (2" tires on 26" rims). Road bikes have WAY more gearing than that, which while not useless, isn't going to help you average over 19mph on flat roads.

Could we see some pics of the bike???

Long time reader, first post. I’m a mountain runner and mtb XCM racer, many XCO and stage races done all over the world.

The likelihood of the person achieving this feat with the information given is as close to absolute zero as the temperatures Voyager 1&2 are experiencing at the moment.

Must be a troll, 17.5 mph on a half assed mtb for four hours, MvdP would struggle!

Let’s hear the specs of the bike, if I had a well maintained, newish hardtail, 1x and with slicks and spd’s I reckon I’d manage this.

File under F for fantasy.

I am also skeptical of the folks in this thread claiming they hopped on a $200-$300 bike with no specific training and spun out at 17.5-21 mph for several hours without any trouble. Some extraordinary cycling talent on this forum.

Respectfully, this is the kind of talk that kept me away from triathlons and more serious cycling. I didnt like the complexity (for me) of gears, chains, rings, materials for frame, tires etc.... my old Trek 1220 and I couldn't cut it.

Easily

coach wrote:

Respectfully, this is the kind of talk that kept me away from triathlons and more serious cycling. I didnt like the complexity (for me) of gears, chains, rings, materials for frame, tires etc.... my old Trek 1220 and I couldn't cut it.

Gearing does not have to be difficult. There are a lot of good online gear calculators that let you input your tire size, chainrings, and cassette and will spit out your speed at your preferred cadence. You then simply need to know the range of speeds you intend to ride to know if your gearing is appropriate.

If you really want to dumb it down, all the electronic groups let you program your shifters such that one button shifts to a ‘harder’ gear and another shifts to an ‘easier’ gear, even if that means shifting at both the front and rear. You are still bounded by your gearing choice, of course.

Frame material is the running worlds’ special foam. Some make a lot more of it then there really is. Is there a difference? Of course, but it isn’t game changing unless you are already pushing the limits, and 99+% never will get to that point. I ride steel, aluminum, and carbon fiber frames and the majority of the difference between those bikes can be attributed to the tires and the groupset.

Your Trek 1220 is a fine bike. A set of aerobars and an appropriately relocated (forward) saddle would make it a decent time trialing bike. Certainly far better than a flat bar MTB. Some bar end shifters (so you could shift without getting out of your tuck) would be the only other nice-to-have. They can be had quite cheaply, too. Or just buy a used time trial/tri bike from one of the many quitters out there who thought a better bike would make them competitive :-)