lets talk speed here!

[fossyant]

If you go for a Pro TT bike, and aero bars/wheels/helmet then yes - maybe 2-3 mph....

But a £500 road bike vs £5000 road bike - nah 1 mph.... say both with same tyres..

The £5k one will have lighter wheels, so will accelerate faster, same going up hill. Yeh a £5k bike is very nice and feels great, but it ain't loads faster on the flat than a good £500 one..

If you've got a twisty course, up-hill, down dale, then a £5k bike helps a fair bit.... there are too many variables - i.e. stiff vs compliant frames - i.e. stiff is hard to ride for very long times.....

Don't get too put off by flash bling - it's the rider that counts.......

I ride an old rigid MTB to work with a mix of XT and LX on it on slicks....the number of road bikes I pass, Scott CR1's, you name it.... and my MTB is about 3 mph slower than my road bikes.... and even they are 'officially old (both 15 plus years old)....

Oh I generally 'forget' to tell the road bike riders I am a roadie too....just the MTB takes guards and is good at surviving car crashes....

Chill..it's not about speed..it's about being in one piece and having fun.....

 

[HLaB]

My commute is fairly slow on my heavy, wide tyred hybrid. I usually only average 13.5mph including all the stops, hills (Dundas St), wind etc. I can pick it up to 15mph average but I have to work hard for that and as my commute is short and my work has no showers its not really worth it. I get better speed on my other bikes and don't have to work to achieve 15mph.

 

[fossyant]

I once, and I'll say it again, once did 40 miles at a 20mph average (last summer). On my commute it can be anywhere from 13 mph to 18 mph average.

And this is the fella you see chasing cars at 30 for about 5 mins on his vids..... OK a slight down hill.....must be a bugger coming home....

 

[jimboalee]

Usually average about 16mph 12.5 miles commuting on Dawes Giro 500.
Going to increase the distance to 14 miles tomorrow.

Sunday club 'D' run average around 13 - 14 mph, 25 miles.
Sunday club 'C' run average around 14 - 15 mph, 25 miles.

'A' run averages about 2/3 pro riders' pace, over 40 miles.

'B' run ? I haven't been on a 'B' run.

 

[jimboalee]

Did ( Listen carefully, I shall say this only once )

Land's End to Wellington, Somerset in 10 hrs 6 minutes. 144 miles.
Wellington to Solihull in 10 hours 20 minutes. 138 miles ( the next day ).

Got bumped off the bike on the second day and rode the last 30 miles with a cracked arm.
Abandoned the E2E.

 

[Tharg2007]

on my geared steel road bike computer said average 16mph , that's commuting to work so theres the slower speeds in traffic and coming up to lights and pulling away from lights. Looking at the speedo on straight flat runs and I would be doing 19 to 22. I recon I do better on the fixed now but dont have a computer on those. I'm 37 and just shy of 14st

 

[Chrisz]

I generally average 18-20mph on the way into work (17 miles) but only 16-17 on the way home (46, 210lbs, too much weight!). Having said that, I always end up going hammer and tongs in and cruise home Weekend rides tend to be more of a social thing so much slower than I'd really l(15mph) ike but I enjoy the company.

 

[Scratch]

I think everyone seems to be working out their average speeds in different ways. Many bike computers stop when you stop so only count the time you are moving others count the time when you are actually stopped (at traffic lights etc). This could change your average speed by quite a lot depending how you work it out.

Since this is commuting, and the time it actually takes you to get to work is what matters, I think everyone should just do length of commute over time taken and that will be your commuting average speed. Depending on how much you stop this will probably be a lower number than what your cycle computer shows you.

Worked out this way my average is 12mph on the way in and 15mph on the way back. I must want to get home a lot more than I want to get to work

 

[spandex]

When I had a computer on my old bike a (06 Marin Highway one) I was doing 20-24mph. But I was doing somewhere around 70 going up to 90+ miles per day if there was a lot of work on and I broke the frame twice in doing so.

Now on my SS I do not know for shore but I would (love to) think it is around 18-21mph

 

[mr_cellophane]

Commute 12 mph
Went out on Saturday for a country run lots of 20+ stretches and one big hill, still only managed 12 MPH

 

[dodgy]

There is a big difference between pros riding in a peleton or even in a chain and a solo rider. I can average 18mph on 70+ mile rides solo, but it goes up if I ride even with just one other mate.

 

[numbnuts]

forget speed sit back and enjoy the ride

 

[biking_fox]

The day to day variations are too large, so I normally look at a weekly average, which varies from 15.8 in winter through to fastest ever of 18.x as calculated by the machine. I cruise at 20+ depending on the wind. Or the other way of looking at it I do 5.5miles in 20-25mins depending on traffic and just how many red lights I get. I beat lots of cars in everyday and very seldom get passed by other cyclists which is all that really matters!

Stay safe and enjoy the ride - from in front of course

 

[Bodhbh]

Think there's 101 variables. I'm a general fitness/get about rider I average 15-16mph including lights etc on the commute on a MTB with semi-slicks, about the same if I do a 20mile run out into country without stops (Chilterns or thereabouts so moderately hilly). Anything over 30miles and speed will drop pretty sharp, but then won't even try and the pace sets itself.

Had a record low over the weekend coming back west through Belgium on the bike. Pancake flat flemish plains, headwind nothing to break it, no hedges, nothing. Struggling to keep ticking over at 7-8mph, not including stops. First time I've come across that kind of wind, had to phone in and take Monday off to get back .

 

[Watt-O]

I cycle daily from Beckenham to Canary Wharf (flat 10 miles) and back on an old MTB with rubber pedals and average 15-16 mph. I use some sh1tty cycle paths and have to carry the m/c up and down @ 20 flights of stairs using the Greenwich foot tunnel, so that slows you down a bit. If I upgraded to a Bianchi 928 or Kiron Scandium or a Felt Z35 or a Ribble Carbon and cycled in on a the road route on a Sunday morning I am sure could improve that average speed!