Is 16mph a decent average to start

KevChallis

As title says, as I have no idea.

My 12mile ride in silly wind was 15.6mph average, my 6 mile was 16mph average, therefore my only to rides so far, yet the distance is not massive yet, the longer I ride, the more I want the average to stay the same.

If that makes sense lol

englander

Depends hugely on terrain (flat vs. hilly), weather conditions (head wind vs. tail wind) etc etc. Certainly not a bad average though.

denniskwok

An average of 15 - 16mph is a good start, even on flat terrain.

Mikey23

Nearly 5000 miles now and still don't go that quick...

andy9964

You'll get a better idea how it compares once you've done the ride a few times, in different conditions. Then change the route a bit to include something a bit more challenging or longer when your fitness improves
I'd be happy with that

supermurph09

Do you use Strava? Can you post up your ride link?

KevChallis

Thats 2 different routes, both have a couple of hills, the 6 mile route worse hills than the 12mile, but both in bloody wind!!! Lol

KevChallis

I have strava, how do I post link, only used it for 6 mile one tonight

This?
http://app.strava.com/activities/52926230

supermurph09

Yeah that's it.

Bobbinogs

Here's a tip, if you have only done 2 rides totalling 18 miles, forget about Strava...ride your bike and forget about bloody average speed for now.

KevChallis

I like to know the distance, and gauge my fitness though, if I can hold a certain average, that's what my benchmark will be, I always track my runs, why should my bike be any different?

Bozman

If you can't average 18mph over any route you might as well throw your bike in a skip, if your age is below forty it's even worse.



Enjoy the ride, watch the munchies and the rest will come.

ForumNewbie

KevChallis wrote:

I like to know the distance, and gauge my fitness though, if I can hold a certain average, that's what my benchmark will be, I always track my runs, why should my bike be any different?

As well as terrain and wind, your age, weight and general level of fitness will have a bearing on what is a good average for you. Also if you ride in a group or with just a few others, you will be able to go faster than on a solo ride.

Whether you starting average is 15/16 mph or was only 10/11 mph, that is a starting average for you and the more you cycle that is likely to improve, especially if you train and set targets etc. However once you have done a few longers rides of say 30 or 40 mile circuits, see what you averages over these distances are and then set targets to improve them over these same circuits.

Celt100

Keep at it KevChallis as has been said the more you ride the faster you will become over time, and I would say yeah that's ok for a start I would but it's all relative to your base fitness really when starting out but as I have found it's good to keep track on Strava from the start as you always can reference back and compare in 6 months or even a year or so from now.

Keep at it and the miles will come, good luck

KevChallis

Thanks for th comments, really encouraging,

VTech

Bozman wrote:

If you can't average 18mph over any route you might as well throw your bike in a skip, if your age is below forty it's even worse.



Enjoy the ride, watch the munchies and the rest will come.

That's a joke of course

Wirral_paul

I all seriousness - 6 miles is barely enough time to get warmed up really and so as has been said - dont worry about your average speed for now. Build the miles up first without worrying about your averages - start chasing it from cold and you're more likely to end up injured - and right back to square one. Maybe i'm odd but my legs dont even start to feel like they're working properly for about 15 or 20 miles - seem to take a while to really get going.

Of course you can ignore those who suggest not worrying about your average and try and average 16mph on any length ride. You'll probably end up very good at averaging 16mph too. You'd be a bit knackered however if you went out with someone who could average 20mph - you'd probably not last very far.

As suggested, watch the diet (probably not an issue if you're a runner) and just enjoy it for now. If you're fit already and not trying to ride to averages all the time - you'll probably be a fair bit quicker than 16mph by the end of the summer. Build the miles first, speed later.

Grill

Wirral_Paul wrote:

I all seriousness - 6 miles is barely enough time to get warmed up really and so as has been said - dont worry about your average speed for now. Build the miles up first without worrying about your averages - start chasing it from cold and you're more likely to end up injured - and right back to square one. Maybe i'm odd but my legs dont even start to feel like they're working properly for about 15 or 20 miles - seem to take a while to really get going.

Of course you can ignore those who suggest not worrying about your average and try and average 16mph on any length ride. You'll probably end up very good at averaging 16mph too. You'd be a bit knackered however if you went out with someone who could average 20mph - you'd probably not last very far.

As suggested, watch the diet (probably not an issue if you're a runner) and just enjoy it for now. If you're fit already and not trying to ride to averages all the time - you'll probably be a fair bit quicker than 16mph by the end of the summer. Build the miles first, speed later.

This.

Base mileage is king when you're getting into cycling. After your legs develop you'll be surprised at how far and fast you can go. My legs don't start to warm up until 30-40 miles and even then I don't get truly strong until 60+. Average speed is too dependent on other factors to be your main measurement of fitness. You'll know if you've had a good ride when you get home and have a smile on your face and a feeling of satisfaction in your veins.

KevChallis

Thanks for the input guys, I will do as you say, and there is only one reason I haven't gone further yet, my bibs aren't here yet!! After 12 miles, my rear was just starting to ache quite bad haha

Anonymous

Guess you could just be getting used to your seat, but you might need a new one if you are aching so much after 45 minutes that you do not want to ride anymore.

Is it set up ok now re height and angle?

Mikey23

And before somebody else mentions it, do the privacy option on strava. It would be very easy from your upload to find out where you live and nick your bike!

KevChallis

I think I will follow a set up video off YouTube, not sure about angle, height may go up a bit more, but until my shoes arrive, I don't know how it will feel with cleats, didnt know you could change the angle

Bozman

VTech wrote:

Bozman wrote:

If you can't average 18mph over any route you might as well throw your bike in a skip, if your age is below forty it's even worse.



Enjoy the ride, watch the munchies and the rest will come.

That's a joke of course

Yes but no.
I use average speed on set routes as a goal and guide when I cycle alone, the weather does change everything but I still use that average as drive. I found that the answer to average speed was mileage, the more you do, the fitter and faster you get, the weight falls off and then naturally your speed increases.
I've only been pushing myself for two or three years and that has worked for me, on Monday I only had an hour for a quick ride so I went on a route that I used a couple of years ago. The route is an undulating 19.7 miles, two years ago in favourable conditions I could just average 18mph but it was generally 17, on Monday in still conditions and after a skin full the night before I averaged 20.8.
I've cycled for twenty years and for seventeen of those I quite happily plodded along between 15 and 16 mph , Its only since I increased the mileage and hills that my speed has shot up but with that the enjoyment has decreased.

Anonymous

KevChallis wrote:

I think I will follow a set up video off YouTube, not sure about angle, height may go up a bit more, but until my shoes arrive, I don't know how it will feel with cleats, didnt know you could change the angle

Yours looked angled up quite a bit. The saddle seemed to have an upturn at the front too, which made my eyes water :shock:

I need mine angled down a bit otherwise it feels uncomfortable on my dangly bits :oops:
Mine is a less relaxed geometry though so just do what works for you.

NITR8s

I started riding in March last year and initially I would average 14-16mph on my 7 mile commute to work Proof http://app.strava.com/activities/41604473(would also be very tied after this, this stayed the same until about march of this year when all of a sudden my averages increased to about 17 to 18mph, plus ive increased my distance to 9 miles and I dont even feel like ive done anything afterwards. Proof http://app.strava.com/activities/52825243

Just carry on if your anything like me it will just click and all of a sudden your pace will increase. Im hoping by next year my averages will increase again to 19-20mph average

KevChallis

Carbonator wrote:

KevChallis wrote:

I think I will follow a set up video off YouTube, not sure about angle, height may go up a bit more, but until my shoes arrive, I don't know how it will feel with cleats, didnt know you could change the angle

Yours looked angled up quite a bit. The saddle seemed to have an upturn at the front too, which made my eyes water :shock:

I need mine angled down a bit otherwise it feels uncomfortable on my dangly bits :oops:
Mine is a less relaxed geometry though so just do what works for you.

Yes, Mau have been the angle of the photo, as the seat looked lower than it was, but I will adjust anyway, as I feel it needs to move back slightly too, a shop fit is just that then huh, lol...

drlodge

16mph is a decent average speed, but better to be measured over a longer ride say 30 miles or 2 hours. If you can keep up this average over a hilly route too, then that's pretty good going.

I did 100 miles on Monday, took about 6 hours 10 mins so that's about 16mph average, although the "moving time" average (5 hours 50 mins) was over 17mph.