Road Speeds and Durations?

[lagriff]

So I've been riding now for about a month. I'm a heavy smoker and maybe a tad bit on the heavy side. I've been trying to increase my stamina with every ride as well as speed but I have nothing to compare it to. All I know is that both are increasing with every ride.

What are the average speeds and corresponding durations for some rider categories (beginner, intermediate, etc.). Assume the terrain is flat. Any input would be great. Thank you.

 

[daveryanwyoming]

Originally Posted by lagriff .
...What are the average speeds and corresponding durations for some rider categories (beginner, intermediate, etc.). Assume the terrain is flat. Any input would be great. Thank you.

I've seen beginning riders that struggle with 10 miles per ride in an hour and others that can manage forty or more miles at 15 to 18 mph average speeds right from the beginning of their riding. Sure the latter is unusual and they often continue into racing or long riding very rapidly.

IOW, it varies a lot depending on sports history, age, genetics, lifestyle, etc. No simple rules, but what is reliable is that both speed and endurance on the bike are both improved by regular and consistent riding as in five or more days per week on the bike even if some of those are shorter and easier rides. Ride a lot and things tend to improve.

Good luck,
-Dave

 

[jhuskey]

Don't get caught up in comparing yourself to others. Individuals vary along with the terrain they ride. 10 miles an hour can be a great average up a steep hill.
Doing something is better than doing nothing so don't think you need to be a world class cyclist to get out and have a good time.

 

[Volnix]

Originally Posted by lagriff .

So I've been riding now for about a month. I'm a heavy smoker and maybe a tad bit on the heavy side. I've been trying to increase my stamina with every ride as well as speed but I have nothing to compare it to. All I know is that both are increasing with every ride.

What are the average speeds and corresponding durations for some rider categories (beginner, intermediate, etc.). Assume the terrain is flat. Any input would be great. Thank you.

The speeds can vary greatly from day to day depending on wind etc...

 

[vspa]

between 12 and 15 mph in flat terrain is a good starting point for a begginer, 1 hour is a minimum base duration out on the road, training indoors is less because it is harder mentally, watch your breathing because smoking will make it harder, you need to keep a pace where you can hold a conversation while riding, depending on your age i would do a medical screening test to gauge your ability to practice sports,

 

[lagriff]

Thanks for the input. I currently average 13 mph for a continuous 2.0 hour ride on typically flat terrain. When I started a month ago, I was struggling to maintain 10 mph for 30 minutes.

 

[San Remo GT]

50mph fastest ever speed. Slope was 18% but it felt like I was riding down a ****ing cliff. Typical speed on a nice flat road is about 20mph or so although my overall average is anywhere between 14-18mph. I will never get much faster than this because im always getting ******.

 

[lagriff]

Originally Posted by San Remo GT .

50mph fastest ever speed. Slope was 18% but it felt like I was riding down a ****ing cliff. Typical speed on a nice flat road is about 20mph or so although my overall average is anywhere between 14-18mph. I will never get much faster than this because im always getting ******.

50 mph.....I think I'd be scared as hell.....corrected, I know I'd be scared

 

[Volnix]

Originally Posted by lagriff .

50 mph.....I think I'd be scared as hell.....corrected, I know I'd be scared

With the right wind, slope and road you might think that you are going much slower...

 

[alienator]

With the right wind, slope and road you might think that you are going much slower...  

Unlikely.

 

[Volnix]

Originally Posted by alienator .


Unlikely.

I get the impression that I am doing around 30kmh when I am on a good paved road with some tail wind and when I go back home and check strava its got max speeds of around 50kmh...

 

[daveryanwyoming]

Originally Posted by Volnix .

I get the impression that I am doing around 30kmh when I am on a good paved road with some tail wind and when I go back home and check strava its got max speeds of around 50kmh...

Sure, but 50 Miles per hour is a very different thing.

A few times after races I've seen that we broke 50 mph on a descent and I didn't know it at the time, I knew it was bloody fast but wasn't glancing at the speedometer during those descents. When I've broken 50 mph on a training ride I've always known it at the time. At 50 kph you can lock up the brakes and pull the bike to a stop in a couple of seconds, at 50 mph you'd better have some runway for emergency stops or avoiding something as there's an awful lot of momentum to deal with at that speed.

-Dave

 

[alienator]

I get the impression that I am doing around 30kmh when I am on a good paved road with some tail wind and when I go back home and check strava its got max speeds of around 50kmh...

There's a big jump, though, from 50km/h to 50 mi/h, a jump a hair over 30km/h. At around that speed little things want to hog your attention if you let your mind wander, things like what a great flesh grater pavement is at that speed; how you hope you don't get surprised by an inconveniently placed rock, pothole, or mountain animal; how you hope it doesn't rain harder; how the terrain seems to drop off quickly on the other side of that guardrail; or how you really hope something unfortunate doesn't happen to someone ahead of you or that something stupid doesn't get done by someone around you. With that said, the speed is addicting and a great payoff to the pain of and the time spent climbing.

 

[Volnix]

Originally Posted by alienator .


There's a big jump, though, from 50km/h to 50 mi/h, a jump a hair over 30km/h. At around that speed little things want to hog your attention if you let your mind wander, things like what a great flesh grater pavement is at that speed; how you hope you don't get surprised by an inconveniently placed rock, pothole, or mountain animal; how you hope it doesn't rain harder; how the terrain seems to drop off quickly on the other side of that guardrail; or how you really hope something unfortunate doesn't happen to someone ahead of you or that something stupid doesn't get done by someone around you. With that said, the speed is addicting and a great payoff to the pain of and the time spent climbing.

80kmh sounds well dangerous... I saw some of those Tour de France guys doing something like that but it doesnt seem like a good idea at all.

 

[daveryanwyoming]

Originally Posted by Volnix .

80kmh sounds well dangerous...it doesnt seem like a good idea at all.

Danger is in the eye of the beholder.

Is it 'safe'? No, but riding a bike on public roads at all likely seems very dangerous to many pedestrians and motorists, it's all a matter or risk tolerance, skills and a degree of luck when it comes to objective dangers.

80 or even 100 kph carries plenty of risk but it's not insane risk if your equipment is well maintained and you've got the skills to deal with those speeds. Can something really bad happen, sure but bad things can happen at much lower speeds as well.

-Dave

 

[MotownBikeBoy]

My speed varies drastically day to day. Good days I can average 15-16 mph on good days, and 9-10 on bad. One funny thing, I seem to average about 1-2 mph faster on my 26" Cannondale than on my 29er Specialized. At first it puzzled me, but I think it is probably due to two things - the Cannondale is quite a bit lighter and I have less "stuff" on my "dashboard" to cause wind resistance - no GPS, no iPhone hard case, no extra emergency light.

 

[daveryanwyoming]

Originally Posted by MotownBikeBoy .
...One funny thing, I seem to average about 1-2 mph faster on my 26" Cannondale than on my 29er Specialized. ...

Are you using a conventional cycling computer or GPS to measure speed and if the former have you done a loaded wheel rollout test on both bikes to program into your cycling computer? If not a lot of that speed difference may not be real with the different wheel sizes.

 

[MotownBikeBoy]

Actually, I use both. I have a Sigma BC 1909, and I use MapMyRide on my iPhone. They are pretty consistent, usually the Sigma shows 2-3 one hundredths less distance pr 10 miles than the phone app. That's how I know I set the wheel size right on the Sigma. It's only a minor pain to update wheel measurements at bike changes on MapMyRide.

 

[MotownBikeBoy]

The other distinct possibility is that the rides I did about two weeks ago on the Cannondale were on days I felt better, and they were under ideal weather conditions, warm, little wind.

 

[RunBikeDog]

When I started riding I was in the 14mph range for a 16 mile ride. Recently I've had the pleasure of introducing a few new cyclists to the sport and on our rides we're right about 14mph for a 16 mile ride. In the beginning I think it's mostly mental, ass conditioning and building new muscle groups. You'll also gain avg MPH initially just from time in the saddle even without a set wourkout program.