judging your "true" average speed
aripallaris
Posts: 294
hey guys, im a little confused on the matter. how do you guys calculate what your "true" average speed is.
heres what i mean... im using my garmin edge 800 and its constantly deliverying a low average. is not all that suprising because i can only ride as fast as the traffic in london allows and thats super slow. mainly commuting at the moment.
when i do get a chance to stretch my legs, i usually hit between 18-20mph (with the daily commute backback that weighs a tone) and can pretty much hold that until traffic builds up again...
whats the best way to find out your true average over a distance? if its finding a stetch of open road to test myself on, then where on this planet (within london) can i find that without being hindered by traffic lights and other cars!
ari
heres what i mean... im using my garmin edge 800 and its constantly deliverying a low average. is not all that suprising because i can only ride as fast as the traffic in london allows and thats super slow. mainly commuting at the moment.
when i do get a chance to stretch my legs, i usually hit between 18-20mph (with the daily commute backback that weighs a tone) and can pretty much hold that until traffic builds up again...
whats the best way to find out your true average over a distance? if its finding a stetch of open road to test myself on, then where on this planet (within london) can i find that without being hindered by traffic lights and other cars!
ari
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I do it by living somewhere civilised, i.e. the Cotswolds. It's possible to ride for more than 100 yards here without putting your foot down.
London sucks for training rides. If you don't want to ride out of town then your best bet is to ride to a big park, reset your computer, do a few laps, log the results in a notebook or something and then ride home.- - - - - - - - - -
On Strava.{/url}0 -
A good way of seeing exactly how much traffic and lights slow you down is to use the splits function on Garmin Connect ,SportTracks etc, every time i get back from a ride and have to cross town the last mile split is usually below 10 mph ave, especially when the ten or so traffic lights and crossings in town are against you.0
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aripallaris wrote:hey guys, im a little confused on the matter. how do you guys calculate what your "true" average speed is.
heres what i mean... im using my garmin edge 800 and its constantly deliverying a low average. is not all that suprising because i can only ride as fast as the traffic in london allows and thats super slow. mainly commuting at the moment.
when i do get a chance to stretch my legs, i usually hit between 18-20mph (with the daily commute backback that weighs a tone) and can pretty much hold that until traffic builds up again...
whats the best way to find out your true average over a distance? if its finding a stetch of open road to test myself on, then where on this planet (within london) can i find that without being hindered by traffic lights and other cars!
ari
your 'true' average is the distance you have ridden, divided by the time it takes - which is what your garmin is calculating, by the sound of it. If you want a 'fake' average, just make something up, like most other people do...0 -
Get the wheel sensor and sit spinning away on a turbo-trainer!
Otherwise, as said - what you see is indeed yout "true" average speed
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Most people say "I hit 20mph on the flat, so that must be my average" thinking that an Average condition for riding equates to an average speed, where in reality, they are much slower due to the factors you mentioned.... My friend does exactly this, and says that he has an average of 18mph where our pootle yesterday tracked by endomondo gives an average of 14.8 mph.... My own solo average is around 17.7mph usually.
Your Garmin is correct. Whether you are stopping at lights, held up by traffic etc, your average speed is STILL going to be point A - Point B time/distance.
If you want a higher average, ride on quiet lanes!
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I assume you mean:
What would my average be if there were no other traffic and no traffic lights/zebra crossings to stop at?
Best bet is to head to somewhere quite in the countyside, pick a loop with only left hand turns, no giveway signs and off you go.0 -
Average Moving Speed. Available on your Garmin.
So that'll ignore any time you're stopped at lights. If you're in traffic in London, then your true average speed for that type of journey really will be as low as 10-13mph, no matter the 18mph short bursts or how good your legs feel.
It's not a subjective variable. It's fact.Ben
Bikes: Donhou DSS4 Custom | Condor Italia RC | Gios Megalite | Dolan Preffisio | Giant Bowery '76
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As I've said in another recent thread, even with stopped time being ignored, slowing down to and speeding up from each junction will eat into your time. I can ride a pretty solid 22-23mph on a flatish local circuit, but my average as recorded is only 18mph.Purveyor of "up"0
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Ben6899 wrote:Average Moving Speed. Available on your Garmin.
So that'll ignore any time you're stopped at lights. If you're in traffic in London, then your true average speed for that type of journey really will be as low as 10-13mph, no matter the 18mph short bursts or how good your legs feel.
It's not a subjective variable. It's fact.
exactly what im finding. my garmin is set to auto stop at 0mph and i find that I can average at around 14.5-15 mph. my ride does see me hitting a lot of head winds too.. just wasnt sure how accurate that is, as ive seen many boasting at 20+ speeds on commutes and general rides. it does make me think how they can be achieving such high speeds on london roads.
think im going to hit the back areas of enfield's country side for a much longer unrestricted ride to get a good constant average over a 10mile run. it should make for an interesting comparison0 -
Yes, get out into the country so you're not having to constantly slow down and speed up because of traffic. Track your average speed by following a circular route (finish at start point). Bends, hills and a longer route will slow you down but it you track the same route you'll get an idea of your progress and true average. There are plenty of strong riders out there who can sustain 20+mph over reasonable distances. but sadly I'm not one of them!0
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Change it from mph to kph & revel as your average speed instantly leaps up to 23-24 and you start to hold 28-32 on the flat.0
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I always leave my garmin running to include all stops as it's a true reflection of what I've done.
On club runs, group rides you always hear the beeping of other's gamins going as we set off from lights etc. I don't understand this as it's not a true reflection.
I even leave mine running during the cafe stop.
The only time I'm bothered about my average speed is in a time trial.
It is what it is...0 -
ahahah good call but i dont think ill be doing that lol0
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If the riding your always doing is with traffic then surely knowing your average speed over a 10 mile empty road is of no use to you. If your commutting to work daily along the same route at roughly the same times then the level of traffic is likely to be around the same, that's the average speed you should be interested in. It might not be a pure reflection upon your physical abilities but riding on open roads never will be (I ride in the country and still get held up by traffic lights and traffic in some areas). If you want to know your average speed for your commute then the only way to work it out is to keep riding your commute, if you want to know for a TT or quiet country roads then ride TTs or quiet country roads0
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aripallaris wrote:whats the best way to find out your true average over a distance?
Enter a timetrial. Simple.0
