What is your average / top speed?

Thebigbee

I only ask as I have read quite a lot of posts on here - the road bike forum - and some guys say that they are doing 30 mile rides on mountain bikes with slicks and they reckon their average speed is 16/17 MPH.

Which to me anyway - seems pretty damn quick - especially on a mountain bike!

You then get other people saying their average speed is "only" 20 MPH. OK.

My average speed over 1200 miles - the majority on a hybrid - is 12.7 MPH and I have a top speed of 38.5 downhill on the hybrid.

I now have an SPD set up and a separate computer on my road bike but haven't got enough real info yet. I think the average is 14.6MPH but I haven't put enough miles in to make that valid.

What is your average speed - say over 500 miles as a baseline - and what is your top speed?

BTW - someone posted a link up to a TDF riders stats over a stage which is 100+ miles.
They were 27MPH average and 54 MPH maximum!!

woodbloke

12.7 mph seems about right to me on a hybrid...mine's a Trek 7.5 with slicks and panniers. I havn't got a cycle computer to confirm that though - Rob

ThatBikeGuy

Shouldn't worry too much about what others are supposedly averaging as all sorts of factors come into play; such as weather, terrain, fitness, road usage etc.
I'm unsure what my average is as the bike computer never really works properly so i don't particularly analyse the data.
You could probably get faster if you worked hard enough, losing weight, building muscle etc.
My average on my old MTB was around 16/17 over maybe 500 miles through the winter before i switched to a road bike.

danowat

Totally depends on too many factors, TT'ing between 24-27mph depending on distance, "normal" commuting / general riding between 16-18mph (depending on route and conditions), fast(er) rides or training sessions, around about 20mph, rarely much, if at all above this.

I've never been above 35.3mph on a bike, so thats my top speed.

You've just got to remember to take quote avg speeds with a very large pinch of salt.

Fat-Boy-Roubaix

So many varibles to take account of, hills wind fitness bike type you will never compare unless you do the same couse at the same timeish of day.

But never missing the opportunity to post stats! This is only commuting the last 30 days

Avg Speed is journey not moving. And in March that was 14.2mph

Count: 40 Activities
Distance: 574.23 mi
Time: 37:14:40 h:m:s
Elevation Gain: 19,818 ft
Avg Speed: 15.4 mph
Avg HR: 118 bpm
Avg Cadence: 85 rpm
Max Avg HR: 130 bpm
Avg Time: 00:55:52 h:m:s
Max Speed: 35.9 mph
Max HR: 157 bpm
Avg Distance: 14.78 mi

CakeLovinBeast

My average is based only on the 2 weeks that I've been riding a proper road bike, and even then is massively skewed on account of the type of riding that I do. The majority of my rides are the 2.2 miles between my house and the station; or the 3.5 miles between the station at the other end and work.

Obviously, such short distances lend themselves to being hammered fast and other riders on the route also add motivation to go faster. This morning I intended to set a new PB for the first leg of my commute, announced my intent on facebook first and then verily TT'd myself 30 seconds off my previous best time. I averaged 19.8 mph, which is great for the willy-waving, but ultimately proves nothing. I'm going to do it without a rucksack on Thursday in an attempt to get that 20mph average!

My overall average speed, incorporating my much more pedestrian speeds over longer distances, sees me capping out at the 13-14mph mark. I used to figure on MTB'ing being roughly 10mph, so that's more than good enough for me. I'm sure these things will increase with time...

Mark Alexander

Right anyone who says that their aveverage speed is 20 mph let alone 'only 20mph' is a very good rider, racer or living in Norfolk. after proper TT training for 6months i've gone from probably 16-17 on a general ride to about 19mph. that's serious training some in the pub of course.

Don't worry about average speed of others. We're cyclists. riding 45 miles is always stated as I rode 50 miles.

CiB

You could take a look at the Stats board (link in sig below). Each user's name is a link to the add / update page, the drop down on there allows you to look at monthly individual mileages and where the user has included the ride-time it displays the average speed for that trip. A lot don't bother with times but enough do for you to waste a lunch break perusing it and getting a feel of what's 'normal'.

As above though, it's meaningless. The only real benefit to recording the avg speed is to compare similar journeys, which is what commutes are - same journey every day; what sort of improvement is showing? It won't relate to your journeys though so it's as useful as comparing the colour schemes of apples & oranges.

Me? I can blitz it in an hour at 20mph but most days it's 17-19mph, depending on A, B & C and also X, Y and not too much Z.

suzyb

If you want an ego boost look at my stats

I wonder CiB, would it be possible to find out if I am the slowest cyclist on the stats board (at least of those who enter times).

thecrofter

Average speed over almost 800 miles since April is 16.4mph, that's a variety of cycling. Max speed is 51..4 mph

No BS, it's all recorded on endomondo

CiB

suzyb wrote:

If you want an ego boost look at my stats

I wonder CiB, would it be possible to find out if I am the slowest cyclist on the stats board (at least of those who enter times).

As it's you, I reckon I could come up with the right query to fish that info out. Don't hold your breath though - it'll be an evening job, and I have to remember to remember to do it; not always the easiest task tbh.

the_spooks

Wouldn't worry about ave. speed etc against others, use it for your own records i.e are you improving over the same route?
Checking my first few months over the commute to work/local routes on a MTB on knobblies I was ~9-10mph, then improved to 10-12. Fitted semi slicks and got to ~ 12-13 and now I have a road bike (not on the same route) and ave. 16mph.....does that say anything about you or anyone else? No, but it tells me I'm improving very slowly and need to find my mojo and do something about it.

unixnerd

Right anyone who says that their aveverage speed is 20 mph let alone 'only 20mph' is a very good rider, racer or living in Norfolk.

I average 20 on 20-30 mile routes and it's very hilly up here. What did it for me this year was a good start to my training this season. The LBS runs a 10 mile time trial from Aviemore but finishing at the top car park on Cairngorm! Training for that boosted me to new heights. I'm 43 and not a natural athlete, but persistence pays off.

I find the wind a far bigger issue than hills. I managed to climb Slochd summit at a steady 16mph the other day with a light headwind. You get used to hills eventually and develop a rhythm. A few years ago my average was <16, much less my climbing speed.

My problem is that I run out of power above 75-80rpm so it's hard to get my speed above 27ish even going downhill with a tail wind. I could fit a taller top gear but I'm determined to raise my cadence instead.

suzyb

CiB wrote:

suzyb wrote:

If you want an ego boost look at my stats

I wonder CiB, would it be possible to find out if I am the slowest cyclist on the stats board (at least of those who enter times).

As it's you, I reckon I could come up with the right query to fish that info out. Don't hold your breath though - it'll be an evening job, and I have to remember to remember to do it; not always the easiest task tbh.

Is anything to do with computers ever easy

thecrofter

Measuring your ave speed or top speed against others is completely pointless. Measure it against yourself, then you know if you're improving. You'll find that your rate of improvment will slow down, that's where I'm at just now. I don't reckon I'll be able to allocate more time to cycling so I'll have to up the intensity when I'm out to improve.

Zoomer37

Thank f*ck for this thread. Been waiting for it all week.

Top speed 63.1mph last Sunday. Am i the best?

briantrumpet

unixnerd wrote:

I find the wind a far bigger issue than hills.

Ditto. I find hills much easier to deal with motivationally/psychologically. I don't know if my average would be any higher if I lived in Norfolk - probably not, as I'd be getting my head in a bad place too often with the winds. Anyway, currently running at 19.1 average (travelling time) over 2300 miles since Feb on my >30mile solo runs (average run 59 miles). As measured by Cateye, so no Garmin logs to prove it. I do have the advantage of living right on the edge of the town, so I'm straight out onto country roads with no traffic lights or traffic to speak of - makes a big difference. Oh, and top speed - a fairly measly 41mph coming down into North Molton a week ago. Still, it felt fast to me.

kettrinboy

Stats for 2011 so far
Scott CR1 Pro 1152 miles ave speed 18.02 mph top speed 45.7 mph
Raleigh Record Ace 673 miles ave speed 17.70 mph top speed 38.0 mph
Giant FCR2 hybrid 961 miles ave speed 16.73 mph top speed 40.4 mph
Giant XTC-SX MTB 444 miles ave speed 13.89 mph top speed 34 mph
a fair bit of the MTB mileage is off road, if it was all on road it would be about 15-16 mph ave,and surprised the old Raleigh is so close to the Scott on average speed.

markos1963

About 9 inches

danowat

Look, stop all the Norfolk bashing, it ain't all flat you know!!!!, if you wnt proper flat, you need to head out west to the fens.

keef66

I seem to average 14.4 whatever I do. Round here the fastest I've managed downhill with a tailwind has been 38pmh.

briantrumpet

danowat wrote:

Look, stop all the Norfolk bashing, it ain't all flat you know!!!!

You know we're all just secretly jealous.

Speedmenace

average ride I tend to get 17 - 18mph, thats usually a sub 20 mile ride, best average over 10 miles fairly flat is 21mph. Top speed 41.7mph on my SS...

MountainMonster

I have an average of between 30-31kmh on 120km rides, so I think that works out at about 19 mph or so.
It doesn't really matter anyways.

sloppyschleckonds

Any ride sub 80km isn't worth recording

geoff_ss

suzyb wrote:

Is anything to do with computers ever easy

I've been playing with computer hardware and software on and off since 1961 and the answer is 'No' it's never as easy as you think it is

I've never bothered with average speeds. The important thing is that you enjoy the ride. I've done a very hilly 24 miles this morning which included a long stop gazing at the scenery over Wirksworth towards the Peak District. No idea how long it took me - it was either as fast as I could manage or as fast I wanted it to be.

The only average I've got any independent evidence for is the 1990 CTC 400k audax which took me 19 hours and 50 minutes, which is roughly 20kph average including all stops for food and changing clothes. I was quite proud of that at the time.

I'll hear nothing against Norfolk. It's not flat but is pleasantly rolling with delightfully quiet lanes which provide some of the most enjoyable cycling in England. And I speak as a lover of my native Derbyshire

nickel

danowat wrote:

Look, stop all the Norfolk bashing, it ain't all flat you know!!!!, if you wnt proper flat, you need to head out west to the fens.

Ahem, this is a county with a highest point of 338ft OD, :P

briantrumpet

Geoff_SS wrote:

I've never bothered with average speeds. The important thing is that you enjoy the ride. I've done a very hilly 24 miles this morning which included a long stop gazing at the scenery over Wirksworth towards the Peak District. No idea how long it took me - it was either as fast as I could manage or as fast I wanted it to be.

Agreed about the enjoyment bit, though I do try to enjoy the scenery even when pushing somewhat (and for me the pushing is also part of the pleasure too.) The best way for me to stop worrying about averages is to go out with friends as it's much more about the scenery and the chat. (And I can blame them if the pace is slow, of course.) I'm just not strong-willed enough to take the computer off the bike, which is the best way to stop worrying about the speed. I don't have a computer on the commuting bike, as I don't want any temptation to do anything unsafe just to get a good average.

I'm very glad I don't get hung up on average speeds when I'm going on walks - as long as I get back to base before it gets dark, I'm happy, and I'll stop as often as I feel like to take photos.

thescouselander

The biggest problem for average speed is traffic lights IMO. For example, on my ride to work this morning I was easily doing 20 mph while I was moving but having to stop for juntions all the tiime left my average speed at 15 mph. Its a bit depressing how quick the average drops when you need to stop.

suzyb

That's where my Gramin is handy. Gives you moving time and average moving speed.

Peddle Up!

suzyb wrote:

That's where my Gramin is handy. Gives you moving time and average moving speed.

Even so, stopping and starting take quite a bite out of the average. Don't worry about it though.