Help with average cycling speed

Loridenn

Hi, Iam new to cycling as an adult...I rode an incredible amount as a kid, but am just getting back to it.I bought a Trek 7300 fx Hybrid and have rode a bunch of times each ride being between 13 and 24 miles. My concern is, does the hybrid bike, like this one restrict speed? I mean Iam in pretty good shape, male, 34 and I ride fairly hard and I only average about 12 m.p.h.... the terrain is average with normal conditions......I know road bike riding averages anywhere between 17and 25 m.p.h. under similar conditions.....I just don't if that bike wasn't made for running or Iam just a weak rider.....

azshidog

You're riding a much heavier bike than my road bike. Your tires are bigger than my skinny tires and the gear ratios are designed for slower riding. Road bike wheels are also bigger in circumfrence. Your front gears are smaller than mine which results in slower speeds even with equal effort. Your body position is upright and not as aerodynamic as a roadie position which is significantly lower than yours. With all this against you, you can't expect much better than what your doing right now. I used to commute to work on a bike like yours. It took me an hour to get there now it takes me 35 minutes on my road bike.

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Bob N.

My wife and I are 39 years old and cycle on hyrbids as well (Marin San Rafael for me, Bianci Advantage for her) which have the wider tires that enable us to ride on multi surfaces. We hover in the 10-15mph range usually, but you should certainly be able to get it up over 20 on a well paved, flat surface. We like the fact that we can still do the same speeds (slightly less) on towpaths, etc. where skinny tire rooad bikes can't even go. It's a trade off, speed for versatility.

We recently did 36 miles on the W&OD trail in Virginia with my younger (26yrs) brother. He rode a fixed gear homemade bike and whupped our rears!! Don't be discouraged though, ride MORE, not less. You are, like the other person said, at a distinct disadvantage with respect to speed, not distance though.