Pushing the 18XL past 40km/h

[brockj]

I seem to be having trouble convincing my 18XL to go faster than 40km/h. I do weigh plenty (111kg or so, with all the kit) but looking at my euc.world tours, I am not pushing too much power to it either. (Like a max 10 amp, 1000w draw as I cruise at my normal cruising speed 32-35km/h on flat ground).

What do you do to really make it go? What changes to your riding style do you make to push it harder?

I leaning about as much as I feel I can comfortably lean. I've tried adjustments to my footing, but my feet are already long (size 12 US) so having half of my foot hanging off the front on the pedal isn't appealing. (I tend to line my heels to the back of the pedal so I already have a couple of inches of toe hanging off the front.) I recently tried turning my toes in a bit (from my default duck footed position) and that felt like it helped. Also I tried gripping the padding more, whereas before I avoided any feeling of the wheel pressing on my legs because I prefer to float it. With all of this, I have been able to accelerate faster, but somehow I hit a wall at 40km/h.

I don't know about 50km/h, I would just like to be able to cruise at 40 and spike it to 45 maybe.

 

[brockj]

Also running about 45psi and the hardest pedal mode

[Chriull]

3 hours ago, brockj said:

I seem to be having trouble convincing my 18XL to go faster than 40km/h. I do weigh plenty (111kg or so, with all the kit) but looking at my euc.world tours, I am not pushing too much power to it either. (Like a max 10 amp, 1000w draw as I cruise at my normal cruising speed 32-35km/h on flat ground).

 

3 hours ago, brockj said:

I don't know about 50km/h, I would just like to be able to cruise at 40 and spike it to 45 maybe.

Just as a "side note" - you know that in regard of overleans the limit is not the power in W!

High(er) burdens (A) reduce the limit speed a bit.

Available Power/current/torque diminishes quickly with higher speeds.

So be sure to use adequate safety gear pushing up to higher speeds (also for "relaxed" riding)

3 hours ago, brockj said:

I leaning about as much as I feel I can comfortably lean

That's great! Once you are "ready" to drive faster you'll get comfortably the right lean for it.

4 hours ago, brockj said:

What do you do to really make it go? What changes to your riding style do you make to push it harder?

One does not need to lean to get faster (if strong accelerations are not the main goal). Just shifting the weight to the toes (like with normal standing on the toes) does it.

So most presumably you (subconsiously) shift some parts of your body back while leaning forward, so your center of gravity stays unchanged ...

[brockj]

10 hours ago, Chriull said:

So most presumably you (subconsiously) shift some parts of your body back while leaning forward, so your center of gravity stays unchanged ...

This is probably what I'm doing as I squat quite a lot to keep my CoG lower to the ground. So much of riding is subconscious, it's fascinating sometimes but it also can drive me crazy 

Edited February 25, 2020 by brockj
typo

[seage]

9 hours ago, Chriull said:

One does not need to lean to get faster (if strong accelerations are not the main goal). Just shifting the weight to the toes (like with normal standing on the toes) does it.

So most presumably you (subconsiously) shift some parts of your body back while leaning forward, so your center of gravity stays unchanged ...

This. Im a bit lighter than you but I usually ride close to the speeds you're wanting. BUT, it depends on terrain. Certain roads, my subconscious just limits me to 35 - 40km/h, and others i'll hit my speed alarm. Also weather. In colder weather, my muscles are more seized up and thus I go slower as my reaction time is lower. The deep lean, if you really want to do it, is more for getting up to speed. Early torque and whatnot. But once you're already going faster, its all about shifting that center. I usually do it by bending one of my knees and applying more pressure to it slowly and smoothly.

And yeah, also as chriull said, be geared for those speeds. Not to baby you or anything, but if you fall up there, prepare for a bit of a slide. And its much nicer to slide on pads made for sliding, haha. 

Edited February 25, 2020 by seage

[brockj]

11 minutes ago, seage said:

I usually do it by bending one of my knees and applying more pressure to it slowly and smoothly.

Thanks! I think this would be the next thing for me to try. I've done something like this to a lesser extent to get up to cruising speeds or maintain speed in a turn.

 

13 minutes ago, seage said:

Certain roads, my subconscious just limits me to 35 - 40km/h, and others i'll hit my speed alarm.

 

11 minutes ago, seage said:

And yeah, also as chriull said, be geared for those speeds.

For sure. I'm only interested in achieving the faster speeds on stretches in ideal conditions, only when I have "full kit." (for me that's MTB Mips helmet, leatt axis knee guards, wrist guards, textile moto jacket, shoes with ankle support... really the only thing missing are full gauntlet gloves and butt protection.)

[RockyTop]

We had someone else with the same problem. They leaned to the point that they could touch the ground and still could not get over 5 mph. I had to get my wheel out and was amazed that I could bend over naturally and pick things off the ground and not accelerate past 5 mph. The key is that you lean at the ankles, not the waist. The wheel will catch up and you will lean back to keep from going too fast. As said it takes pressure on the toes and less on the heels.