speed or the lack off

tony m

i cycle to work 6 days a week and find myself stuck at between 18.5 and upto 21 mph depending on the traffic and weather conditions,as i always cycle to work and back on me own i finding it difficult to increase my avarage speed .im 44 so im not a spring chicken and i use a boardman road bike for my rides .is it worth me upgrading the wheels or is it that im just an old fart who,s reached his peak.any advice good or bad will be gratefully received

declan1

I'm over the moon if my average speed is above 16mph, but then I'm in the Highlands which is full of hills, and I have a 13kg bike, plus the roads are rubbish. I think 21mph is very fast! You shouldn't be upset by that.

teisetrotter

Aren't you a member of a club? A fast chain gang will get you to push yourself ............. but hey it'd be a lot faster than the rides this little 45 year old would be in!

skaboy607

Why do you need/want to faster than 21mph?

Mikey23

21mph sounds fine to me... Can't do that in hilly cornwall

amaferanga

If all you do is ride the same distance to work and back every week then you'll plateau. You need to do something different (longer rides, focused intervals, etc.) to continue improving. Having said that though, you're not exactly slow - why do you want/need to get faster?

BelgianBeerGeek

I'd be pretty happy with that as an average, too.

nwmlarge

i'm happy if i get to the top of 16-17mph on my commute!

i'm 32 6' and 85kg

dw300

It's because as you get faster you create more wind resistance. It takes 8 times more energy to do 24mph, than to do 12mph.

Add to that most commuters don't have great aerodynamics, due to clothes, bags, the bike, and finding a position where you can make fast adjustments in your trajectory along the road, and of course your age. If those all apply to you, then you're probably not far off terminal velocity for a commuter who isn't doing any extra training other than the commutes.

ScreaminWargasm

I'd be happy with up to 21mph average mate. My average is between 18.5 and recently 19.5mph but I'm working my nuts off for that!!!
I weigh 12.3 and ride a Cannondale CAAD 8 which I guess is about 9kg

I tend to do 20 mile short local loops or 60+ if I'm going for longer rides.

ShutUpLegs

Pedal harder

houndlegs

Am I the only one who enjoys their ride more if they're going slower and not busting a gut?
Or am I too bone idle lazy to put the effort in

Steve V

houndlegs wrote:

Am I the only one who enjoys their ride more if they're going slower and not busting a gut?
Or am I too bone idle lazy to put the effort in

No, you're not alone. I think the biggest mistake I made was buying a cycling computer, always pushing to increase average speed.

I enjoy the ride much more if I just pootle about taking in the scenery.

Garry H

Nobody's asked the obvious question;how far's they guy's commute?