Can you really average 20MPH?

[weely]

I have an old MTB (about 10 years old) but it was a free gift it is a german make- Bergamont. Has anyone heard of them?

Well This bike is of good quality, but it is heavy. I commute 16 miles 5days a week so I do 80 miles a week on a cycle path made of tarmac and fine gravel. It takes me 40mins to do 8 miles both ways and that averages out at about 12 MPH.

Will this improve if I upgrade to a road/tourer/hybrid?

Oh i have a budget of £500

David

 

[Soltydog]

I struggle to average 20mph on my hybrid (Spesh Globe)doing a 16 mile commute on similar surfaces to you, but due to the number of barriers & gates on the TPT this brings my speed down somewhat. I reckon on a good day I can average 17mph, with a tailwind but normally nearer 15-16mph.
On my road bike (Allez Elite) over a similar distance but all tarmac roads, best i've averaged is 22.5mph, but that was going for it most of the way, normally i average 18ish on the road bike.
i would imagine your speed would improve with either a hybrid or road bike, but best improvements would certainly be a road bike

 

[sleuthey]

Looking at my speedo I average 15 mph on the same terrain on a City Bike with slick tyres and no suspension.

When I had a dual suspension MTB I was averaging about 12 so there is a significant difference.

I do find however that Ill average 15 when going flat out but because of the crossings, braking to avoid dogs / children etc. that Ill only do 12 miles in one hour. It all adds up.

Before spending £500 on a new bike it might be worth spending £25 on some slick tyres. If your allready using knobblies you may get an extra 2 mph. Maybe some Schwalbe City Jet or other 26*1.5.

 

[dudi]

I can average around 20mph for up to 15 miles on my fixie.
I went on a 55mile trip today and average about 16mph.
this is on a road bike though, I know i'd be nowhere near that speed on a MTB.

 

[Tynan]

with lights and traffic london rush hour stylee I average16mph, I reckon I'm always in the in low 20s on the flat

so yeah, with a proper set up roadie

 

[HLaB]

On my heavy commuter (Ridgeback Velocity Hybrid) with a steep uphill I only average around 13mph I can really work and get it a bit faster but its not sustainable over time. On my flat bar road bike I'd average around 14.5mph on a hilly route. I've got it up to around 17.5mph average for a flatter route. On the drop barred bike, I was only 15.2 mph for the hilly 102miles today but its usually faster than that. Over a varying course I'd average around 16.5-18.5mph on the flat it'd be around 20-22.

 

[wafflycat]

20mph average is achieved by a lot of cyclists (not me, alas..). Depends on route, bike, weather conditions...

 

[Angelfishsolo]

I'm so very glad to read this thread. Although I have no Cycle Computer I estimate my average speed by time to cover a known distance. Considering my Apollo Kaos MTB bike is now around 17 years old I am averaging 12 mph over South Wales Valleys roads (ie flat. hilly, flat, hilly - lol) and I was unsure if this was any good or not.

 

[pinkkaz]

I do a london commute and only average 12mph. Although this is with 60 pairs of traffic lights (which I stop for!) zebra crossings and innumerable give ways (not to mention looking out for dozy pedestrians and REALLY slow cyclists on central London cycle lanes). I'd love to see what I could do on the open road but I'm new to cycling (ish - started in April) so haven't had a chance yet. I'm cycling from London to Salisbury at the end of October though - can't wait!

When I look at my computer I'm usually doing 15-19mph.

PS - missed the point! This is with a hybrid. I don't think I would actually go any quicker on a road bike as it's all the stopping which slows me down. Saying that, I wouldn't like to do it on a mountain bike - I'm always overtaking them!

 

[Tynan]

a road bike really is a league ahead of a hybrid, far quicker acceleration as well as an higher and more easily sustained top speed

 

[pinkkaz]

Actually I would like a road bike. However, I think my next bike will be a tourer!

(when I can afford it...)

 

[Nick1979]

20mph average is achieved by a lot of cyclists (not me, alas..). Depends on route, bike, weather conditions...

I don't agree. Average speeds you read on forums seem frequently inflated to me. 20mph average is definitively fast and only a very fit, trained cyclist (competent club cyclist or 4th/3rd cat racer) can really go faster.
Of course I talk about real average speed, i.e. measured on a circular route of more than a few miles, with a properly calibrated computer. It's easy to do 23mph average on a 5 miles route with a tailwind
Soltydog, 22.5mph average is a very respectable 10 miles time trial speed, if the figure is accurate and on a 16 miles loop, you should definitively give your local TT/races a try!

 

[RedBike]

Not any more.

I used to be able to average that sort of pace if the conditions were right. In other words no hills and few reasons to have to slow (lights/ junctions). It didn't take much to cause my average speed to tumble.

To average 20mph you normally have to ride at 23/25mph pace to compensate for the bits where you're slower. Now, due to lack of fitness, I seem to ride at 18mph on the flat and therefore only average about 15mph if i'm lucky!

If you look at the results for sportive / audax rides you'll see that even on the flat routes very few riders get close to averaging 20mph.

 

[domtyler]

My commuting average on my fixed wheel road bike is 19.1 mph through London.
Over a longer distance, say 120 miles, on a geared road bike I can get a shade over 17 mph.
I have never beaten the hour for a 25TT although only missed it by a few seconds.
On my recent touring holiday in Germany my average was just under 10 kph!*

*That was mainly off road and with my parents, wife and two year old on the back though!

Edit: Just to pre-empt any wise cracks from Fnaar/Maz etc., it was just the kid on the back, not my parents and wife as well, they had their own bikes.

 

[thecyclingsyndicalist]

Gosh, you fit people. I don't reckon to average more than about 16mph on a longish run, say 40+ miles. Mind you, I go much faster than that when I cycle home from work! To get back to the origional thread, I wouldn't want to ride the tow paths, etc on a bespoke road bike, surely far better to fit smooth tyres on the mtb?