Why cyclists make good hypermilers

Published by Matt Polaine | Filed under Cars, Cycling

I was reading some notes about hypermiling and realised that sport cyclists are natural hypermilers, as they drive like they ride a bike. Well, not on the pavements or through cyclelanes, but you know what I mean.

Sport cyclists know that they have finite energy. Indeed running out - ‘bonking’ - is like hitting a brick wall. Each pedal stroke is like turning a water mill with lead boots. So we try to maximise output with minimum energy input. As we think about spending energy as wisely in our car as we do when we ride, we automatically become aware of several major hypermiling techniques:

1 - Ensuring our tyres are properly inflated & vehicle is in good mechanical condition, for reduced rolling & mechanical resistance.

2 - Smart braking: we spend more distance coasting up to stops (we don’t pedal madly towards stop signs and then jam on our brakes). This is why it is intensely irritating when car drivers speed past us to traffic lights, then cut in and brake harshly, causing us to brake hard too. They waste fuel and waste our precious momentum. Motorists could learn a lot from sport/educated cyclists. Obviously some cyclists ride like they drive a car…

3 - We ‘drive with load’ on hills (we don’t usually power up hills trying to maintain our previous cruising speed).

4 - We reduce speed (because cyclists are highly attuned to the relationship between aerodynamic drag and the energy consumed to travel at high speed) to match power output. I can ride at 35kmh on the flat, but not for long, whereas I can keep 22kmh for a whole day.

5 - We take the racing line. We avoid powering up to bends, braking hard, then powering away. Instead we try to conserve momentum through the bends by keeping the racing line.

6 - We use the aero position when we can on long straight cruises. Riding with a parachute tied to our backs would be insane (except for insane training techniques), yet a roofrack is almost as effective, especially coupled with unnecessary ‘bullbars’, external windscreen sun shades, and any other ornament acting as a windbrake.

7 - A boot (that’s trunk to Americans) full of DIY/sporting gear weighing more than ~50kg will add to fuel consumption. Cyclists know that extra weight is evil. That is why they try to keep their own weight as low as possible and spend a fortune on alloy and carbon fibre. Indeed a driver of a typical car weighing less than ~1,500kg, losing 25kg of flab would improve fuel economy - and reduce their odds of heart disease to boot.

8 - With skinny tyres, or muddy tracks, cyclists know they have to watch their traction and grip. Cars are marketed with ‘road holding prowess’ when in reality, few drivers should be using the grip offered on a modern car that was only available to racing cars 30 years ago. Reducing rapid direction changes will keep that precious momentum, although taking the racing line is better than reducing cornering forces in most cases. Smooth, smooth smooth.

9 - Powering off from standstill takes the most energy until very high speeds. Cyclists get rolling first then gradually increase the power. Accelerating rapidly off the traffic lights is like burning a £5 note. Only do this rapid acceleration when really needed.

10 - Hypermiling boring? People are brainwashed into thinking that excitement comes from the thrill of high speed and harsh cornering on the public highways, as seen on racing circuits. Most people however, couldn’t get a car around a racing circuit in any decent time because their driving isn’t smooth enough. Hypermiling is also much harder to do than driving fast - any idiot can drive fast.

If you have a fuel consumption meter in your car which shows real-time mpg, then use it, and see if you can maintain a good mpg and improve your average mpg week on week. Soon you will see this as a challenge and get hooked. And save a lot of money on fuel bills…