Are these times any good for a beginner.

[gzoom]

As others have said the first ride outdoors after training indoors can be quite a shock, I have posted a couple of tables below off a web page that I trust, it is one of mine.

These are general purpose numbers for a 60 year old who weighs 70kg riding a 10kg bike and are of course debatable up to a point.

Those figures I assume don't include wind + hills!

I did a FTP run today, 20 minutes of smashing it, just under 300watts average, but thanks to been on my 17kg hybrid, some hills to go up, average speed was sub 15mph!! I now know why people ride with power meters, they make you feel better when you end up with a slow average speed

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Those figures I assume don't include wind + hills!

I did a FTP run today, 20 minutes of smashing it, just under 300watts average, but thanks to been on my 17kg hybrid, some hills to go up, average speed was sub 15mph!! I now know why people ride with power meters, they make you feel better when you end up with a slow average speed

View attachment 579651

Something not quite right there. Riding at 292 Watts would see you well over 20 mph. Even 200 watts would bring you up to 18-20 mph. 345ft over 5 miles is rolling rather than hilly.

 

[DRM]

Something not quite right there. Riding at 292 Watts would see you well over 20 mph. Even 200 watts would bring you up to 18-20 mph. 345ft over 5 miles is rolling rather than hilly.

He's on a heavy hybrid, so would be putting in a big effort, without going very fast

 

[Ming the Merciless]

He's on a heavy hybrid, so would be putting in a big effort, without going very fast

The weight won’t make that much difference on a gently rolling route like he’s posted.

 

[DRM]

The weight won’t make that much difference on a gently rolling route like he’s posted.

But it's the uphill bits and a breeze that kills the speed, the extra weight means more watts, just to go at the same speed on a light drop bar bike

 

[Sharky]

Need to get a bike first

It might help !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[vickster]

He's on a heavy hybrid, so would be putting in a big effort, without going very fast

I thought he had an ebike

 

[Dayvo]

PtC - not the slow left-arm spinner!?

Well-inflated tyres, clean cassette and oiled chain, and properly adjusted cone nuts will add a few extra mph without any extra work from you.

 

[Once a Wheeler]

Lots of good comments on here. However, apart from the distance, 'Can I do 42.7km in an hour?' is thinking like a runner. Nothing wrong with that, but as you convert from running to cycling, or add cycling to your repertoire, it is a good idea to get in with the bikey brainset. An hour is a magic timespan for cyclists but the fundamental question is 'How far can I go in an hour?' The question of 'Can I do a particular distance in an hour?' revolves around some set-piece timetrial distances where beating the hour is a milestone acheivement but, as will become apparant when you try it, doing a certain distance in an hour takes a completely different mindset from riding for an hour in order to cover the greatest distance possible. Some heroes to emulate:

Fausto Coppi 1942


Roger Rivière, 1957


Eddy Merckx 1972


Graeme Obree 1993


Chris Boardman 1996


…on your bike, and pedal. Have fun.

 

[IanSmithCSE]

Good morning,

Those figures I assume don't include wind + hills!

That is correct they were assuming a level road and zero wind speed.

I never created numbers for a gradient as this was well outside the scope of the page.

The wind resistance table for riding at 12mph and 18mph with a full frontal head wind are below

The whole page is at http://www.iansmithcse.co.uk/WLC/Article_Exercise.aspx

Bye

Ian

 

[gzoom]

I thought he had an ebike

It is, but its also the only bike I have a power meter, so though I try and do a 20 minute FTP ride with no support. Basically loads of effort, for not much speed .

 

[gzoom]

The weight won’t make that much difference on a gently rolling route like he’s posted.

Having ridden that route loads of times on my road bike I have to politely 100% disagree.....on the flat bits it was OK, but on any gradient the extra 10kg compared to the road bike really makes it self felt, not to mention a frameset that flexes if you just look at it the wrong way.

300watts+ to go under 10mph on a sub 5% average incline.....who says you cannot get fit ridding an eBike (with the motor off) .

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Having ridden that route loads of times on my road bike I have to politely 100% disagree.....on the flat bits it was OK, but on any gradient the extra 10kg compared to the road bike really makes it self felt, not to mention a frameset that flexes if you just look at it the wrong way.

300watts+ to go under 10mph on a sub 5% average incline.....who says you cannot get fit ridding an eBike (with the motor off) .


View attachment 579679

The power numbers are wrong. There is no way you put out 294w and only hit 17 mph on a for all intents flat road. Something definitely not right. You should hit that speed with about 170-180 watts of power through the cranks, given weight of bike, assuming you weigh about 80kg, and sat upright.

 

[gzoom]

The power numbers are wrong. There is no way you put out 294w and only hit 17 mph on a for all intents flat road. Something definitely not right.

Why?? Have you seen the chart above. Science says to go at 18mph on a hybrid into a mild 6mph head wind needs 320watts of power. My figures from the ride today wasn't that far off, the headwind was about 5mph.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Why?? Have you seen the chart above. Science says to go at 18mph on a hybrid into a mild 6mph head wind needs 320watts of power. My figures from the ride today wasn't that far off, the headwind was about 5mph.

View attachment 579680

You weren’t doing 18 mph 😂😂😂 I guess you must have been wearing a parachute to slow you down 😁