this post was submitted on 29 Jun 2025
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Today I did my first 20 mile (33km) ride on my hardtail XC bike. I learned how to ride a bike about 1.5 months ago, but I've been riding pretty consistently since I learned. I ride exclusively in the city, it's a very walkable city, but the paths aren't always the best. I did 33km in 2 hours 53 minutes, not including breaks for water or to eat.

I see people saying that 10MP/H (16KM/H) average is a good average to shoot for, but i can't even get my average above 7.1MPH (11.5KM/H), even on shorter rides. What am I doing wrong here? How are people going so freaking fast on bikes in cities?

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[–] [email protected] -3 points 2 weeks ago (8 children)

As long as you deweight the back wheel as you go down the stairs you’ll be fine.

[–] theskyisfalling 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (7 children)

What does that even mean?

When you go down stairs you want your weight backwards over the rear wheel which is gonna add more weight to the back wheel. To "deweight" the rear wheel you'd need to lean forward which is only going to end in pain going down a stair set.

edit are you referring to going up curbs as opposed to downstairs? In which case this would be relevant?

[–] [email protected] -5 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Correct. You want most of your weight over the front wheel because if you’re over the back wheel you bounce harder and you’ll get a lovely snake bite pinch flat for your troubles. You aren’t going to be completely over the front wheel just a little bit to get the back wheel lighter since you have no rear suspension.

I ride enduro on a hardtail mtb. I used to get the dreaded snake bites until i learned how to ride stairsets.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago

⚠️ Dangerous advice. As others are saying, this is a recipe for going over your handlebars and getting yourself hurt. Check out some “how to mountain bike”videos.

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