Average speed on a road bike

[marinyork]

12mph up something like prince of wales, on a mountain bike, in rush hour, with all those chuffing lights would be pretty impressive...

 

[AdamBlade]

Mine is from Ecclesall Road South down to Meadowhall. Great in a morning, mainly downhill. Average about 12mph on way home and 8-10mph up Ecclesall Road from hunters bar upwards.

 

[Cycling Naturalist]

Intensely variable. My commute of 7 miles has varied between 13 mph and 23 mph. Long runs vary between 12 mph and 20 mph. Most are in the bottom third of the range.

 

[Over The Hill]

.

Take front wheel off, roll it for two complete revolutions (mark start, 1 rev, 2 revs) and then measure the distance marked and divide by two. I never trust those tables in the manual (spot on for my contis, but out for my Stelvios by a few mm)

If you are trying to get exact then you need to be on the bike when you roll it as your weight will flatten the tyre by a good few mm (If it did not you would have almost no contact with the road) Shorten radius by say 3mm (x pi) will make you about 1cm out on your calculation.

 

[bonj2]

Mine is from Ecclesall Road South down to Meadowhall. Great in a morning, mainly downhill. Average about 12mph on way home and 8-10mph up Ecclesall Road from hunters bar upwards.

bet banner cross to hunters bar is bloody frustrating in the morning...

 

[AdamBlade]

bet banner cross to hunters bar is bloody frustrating in the morning...

It's not to bad with the bus lane. Corner of Encliffe Park can be a bit of a nightmare. This is where I came off a couple of weeks ago. Cars always pulling across traffic without checking bus lane

 

[bonj2]

It's not to bad with the bus lane. Corner of Encliffe Park can be a bit of a nightmare. This is where I came off a couple of weeks ago. Cars always pulling across traffic without checking bus lane

hmm... with no traffic though you could absolutely hoon it down there at about 40... but there always is traffic there :?:
it's what's known in mtb circles as a 'waste of altitude'

fox house to whirlow is a nice descent, steeper than it looks - 5 miles in about 9-10 mins!

 

[GrahamG]

I never go much over a 15mph average. I'm a slacker, me.

 

[punkypossum]

I'm clearly a snail...about 13mph is pretty good for me (although that is on a mountain bike)

 

[jgulliford]

On a route I usually take (12 miles) I average between 16-17.5 with up and down hill..I need to get out on my bike more though, just don't always have that motivation after work.

Anyone in the Frome area cycle? (Yes, thats home of the farmers..Somerset)

 

[Liveaxle]

I feel a lot better now I've read this thread I average 15-17mph (aged 51, fairly hilly routes)

 

[postman]

Don't worry about speed.We i am 58,average about 14mph.But we enjoy tea and dinner stops.But we are retired and have all day when we go out.

 

[Abitrary]

Don't worry about speed.We i am 58,average about 14mph.But we enjoy tea and dinner stops.But we are retired and have all day when we go out.

Actually, in a seven and a half hour day, with 2 twenty minute tea breaks and an hour lunch break, you're probably averaging closer to 20mph!!

 

[yenrod]

Actually, in a seven and a half hour day, with 2 twenty minute tea breaks and an hour lunch break, you're probably averaging closer to 20mph!!

Brilliantly put into context by Arbs!

 

[walker]

averaging over a 55 mile course I average around 18-20 mph, including hills