Touring bikes: Five helpful tips to increase your endurance while cycling
Fantastic e-bike tours are a great way to increase the fun and enjoyment of cycling while improving your endurance. Find out how to improve your endurance while cycling.
Getting fit with a touring bike? Set yourself a goal and plan your workout. Regular training will get your body used to the extra effort and improve your endurance in the long run.
Try to vary your tours and ride a mix of flat and hilly routes. This will allow your body to adapt to different routes and climbs and increase your endurance.
But the most important thing is that you enjoy cycling and feel comfortable. If you feel exhausted or uncomfortable during a tour, take a break or ride more slowly. Enjoy nature and the scenery. The ideal companion for you: A touring bike from FLYER.
1. Beginnen Sie langsam
Good things take time: Unfortunately, no one has yet figured out the magic formula of how to change from a non-cyclist to a Tour de France winner within a week. But that’s probably a good thing. When you start cycling (again), we recommend that you take it slowly but steadily. Integrate cycling into your everyday life.
It is recommended you cycle 30 to 60 minutes three times a week to increase endurance. So how about planning a longer tour on the weekend and cycling to work twice during the week instead of driving?
An e-bike is particularly suitable for (re)starting. Thanks to the different assistance levels, you can adjust the load according to your needs. This means you don’t overexert yourself and can enjoy the tour. This also avoids the risk of losing motivation too quickly, putting the bike in a corner and then forgetting about it.
2. Ensure good posture when riding a touring bike
When it comes to the correct posture for cycling, there are two aspects you should consider:
Have I set up my bicycle correctly?
Setting up your bicycle is important to make sure you are in a comfortable position, but also to ensure good posture.
A well-adjusted bicycle not only keeps your body and back healthy, but also ensures that you apply strength optimally when pedaling. Your FLYER specialist dealer adjusts your bike to match your height and shape.
How should I sit on my bicycle?
If you want to get the most out of your touring bike, make sure you have good posture. Adjusting a bicycle correctly is an important aspect when it comes to enabling optimum power transmission. If you are on your bicycle for an extended period of time, it is particularly important that you are in the right seating position.
Ergotec’s ergonomics consultants recommend: “The basic rule: make sure you ride dynamically! Activate as many muscles as possible. By changing position regularly you reduce the strain on the three contact points to the bike – your hands, buttocks and feet.” According to the ergonomics consultants, the position of your pelvis is what decides whether the fun lasts for a long time or whether you soon experience back or shoulder pain
So their tip:
- The pelvis is positioned correctly if the spine forms an S, in other words if there is a natural, slight hollow.
- The pelvis is in the wrong position if it is too upright. In the process it tilts backwards a little, the back becomes rounded and the spine can no longer adapt correctly.
On the Richtig Radfahren YouTube channel, you will find practical instructions in German on how to adjust your bikes correctly:
3. Avoid riding too fast
In most cases, you will not be traveling alone. Passers-by will cross your path. You are on the road and must comply with the applicable regulations. Or you go past dogs or horses and don’t know how they will react to you racing by.
It is therefore advisable to drive a few km/h too slowly if you are at all in doubt, thereby reducing the risk of accidents.
With every kilometer you cover, you ride more safely and really get a feel for your bike. You will learn to assess hazards and know how your bike behaves in different situations.
Take some time to get used to your new bicycle. When you switch to an e-bike, it is also important that you familiarize yourself with the various assistance levels.
Therefore, the following applies: Strength lies in calm
If you want to improve your endurance while cycling, consistency is the key.
We recommend that you regularly spend two to three hours a week on your bike and complete a training session of 20 to 30 minutes to help you do that.
This not only helps you improve your health and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, but also improves your endurance while cycling.
It is important that you do not start your tour in a hurry. This will make you exhausted more quickly, resulting in less power when you really need it. Set realistic goals and slowly increase your training plan to make sure you increase your endurance over the long term.
Encourage yourself by becoming aware of the progress you have made and the successes you have already achieved. Over time, you will feel fitter and stronger and be able to spend (even) more time on the bike.
4. Make sure you are in the right gear
By choosing the right gears, you can use your power efficiently and cover more kilometers on your tour.
Choose different gears for uphill and downhill. If you are going uphill, you should choose a lower gear and a higher one when going down. You should also ride with foresight and change gear early before turning or braking. This ensures steady riding and makes optimum use of the motor’s assistance.
Which drive you prefer depends on your personal preferences. We differentiate between e-bikes with chain drive and e-bikes with belt drive:
- The chain drive is widely used and offers several advantages. On the one hand, you can also change gear when pedaling under load. Changing gears is easy, giving you more control over your bike on uneven and steep stretches.
- Another option is the belt drive. This is particularly popular with touring e-bikers, as it is very quiet and reliable. In this case, you never switch under load, which slows down the shifting process a little bit. A belt drive is particularly low maintenance.
Of course, there is not one single correct answer as to which gear shift you should use on your bike. It’s best to try out both of them and see which one suits you the most. Then, you can make the right choice for you.
5. Take regular breaks
Why not make the way the goal? With a touring e-bike, you can master routes that would be beyond your range without motor assistance. That’s why you should stop, take stock and be amazed from time to time.
It also makes sense to take regular training breaks to improve your endurance. If you spend several hours a day running yourself into the ground, you won’t notice any progress – quite the contrary.
On a non-training day, the body has the opportunity to recover and regenerate. Also make sure you eat a balanced diet and get enough sleep .
To make the most of the touring experience, it is a good idea to travel through particularly scenic countryside.
If you are out and about in Switzerland, we recommend the Herzroute (Heart Route) or the Hügu Himu Emmental – the home of FLYER e-bikes.
Find out more
Take plenty of snacks and water with you when you are out touring. If you feel hungry or thirsty on the tour, take a break and treat yourself to something to eat and drink. This gives you the energy you need for the coming stages.
Our tip: End your bike tour with an aperitif. Have a drink, enjoy a beer and regenerate after a successful tour.
