What's your average speed?

[stefan-west1]

Hi all

Just thought i'd see what response i get as I'm looking to buy a new bike in a few weeks. This will be my first proper bike and I'm using to both save money and lose weight.

I want to use it to travel to and from sixth form and my girlfriends. Both between 9 and 10 miles away.

I estimate that I'd be able to keep an average speed of around 10mph after a month or two so will only take me about an hour to get there which is perfect

But I just want to know what sort of average speed everybody else is getting on here just to see if I'm in the ballpark. Or if in fact 10mph average is fit person speed haha.

Oh the bike I'm looking at getting is the triban 3. I assume using a proper road bike will aid my quest for higher speed haha

 

[derrick]

16mph over 40+ miles. but i am nearly an oap.

 

[Boris Bajic]

Mine is usually 2mph above the maximum speed recorded for the same ride.

This is a lie, but just typing it gives me the confidence to repeat it in company.

 

[JtB]

Lots of factors involved, but I get about 15mph over 40 miles. That's slow compared to most of the speeds that you will see posted in this thread, but my bike is nearly as old as me and I'm the wrong side of 50 :-(

 

[gaz]

There are a lot of factors which can affect your average speed.
Traffic, punctures, mechanicals, lights, pedestrian crossings, weather...

My average to work over 17 miles is around 15mph, this is due to lots of traffic and lots of red lights.

However weekend rides with lots of hills and strong winds will see my average up to around 16-17mph.

 

[Lyrical]

There are a lot of factors which can affect your average speed.
Traffic, punctures, mechanicals, lights, pedestrian crossings, weather...

My average to work over 17 miles is around 15mph, this is due to lots of traffic and lots of red lights.

However weekend rides with lots of hills and strong winds will see my average up to around 16-17mph.

</3 Red Lights... atleast they're practice for track standing!

Avg is ~14/15mph on commute of ~8miles.

 

[Peteaud]

12.5 over 33 miles

 

[4F]

Between 13 - 18 mph depending on wind, weather, mood, traffic lights.

 

[ianrauk]

my morning commute over 20 miles is usually at about +/-15mph. Through the mean streets of South East London so have about 50-60 set's of traffic lights to content with. If I didn't have those the avg would be much higher.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Between 12 and 14mph usually depending on which bike I use and what route I'm riding, but it can be up to 16mph on a good run or down to 10mph on a really hilly route.

My bikes are a trekking bike and a cheap mountain bike fitted with road tyres, so I'd hope to be faster on a racer.

 

[gbb]

Average speeds are a funny thing...at 54, with a lot of effort i can average almost 17 mph over 20 / 30 miles, usually average 15 to 16 mph when riding up to 60 miles.
BUT...potter along at just 13/14 mph....i can ride all day like that and barely break into a sweat.

Youve only got to knock off a couple MPH, the result is an easy ride.
Conversely, try and add 1mph to your normal average speed...you have to work very hard for it.

Whatever you average starts at (and you wont know what its going to be until you actually get out there)....it'll soon increase with your fitness if you keep it up.

 

[curzons246]

whilst out on the tarmac I managed 67miles at 14.9mph i'm 53 and my bikes 37yrs, I'm out on my boat for the summer and struggle around 8mph on the tow paths - still on the Carlton :-) Cheers Bill

 

[HovR]

I'd suggest you might be under-estimating yourself! The Triban 3 is a good bike, and you should find it a joy to ride. You may start at an average speed of around 10mph, but as you get more miles under your belt you will soon see you average speed start to creep up, as well as your comfortable cruising speed.

 

[palinurus]

For distances of 10 miles and over anywhere between 9 mph and 25 mph depending on type of ride (lower end is touring with a fair old load or perhaps towing a trailer full of junk to the dump, top end is time-trialling). Maybe even slower for off-road touring. Riding to work typically in the range 14-18 mph.

 

[Sittingduck]

It's going to depend on terrain, conditions and traffic lights. On urban rides, I avg about 16 these days and sometimes a tad faster in the sticks, if pushing it.