Road Cycling - 27 MPH, what's this all about?

Okay, every time a roadie posts here about a group ride somebody is pulling the pack at 27 MPH. Not 25, 26, or 28...but always 27.

What's up with that? First of all, when I was racing Cat 5-4, the pack usually went somewhere between 23-25 MPH until the hammer went down, and some of the breaks, even at that level, went 30 flatland and 22-23 false uphill.

When I ride alone, I ride the flats somewhere between 21 and 25MPH, depending on my ride goals that day and my fitness. I can do 27, but it's never been an actual goal. As a matter of fact, I averaged 25 MPH for a 20 mile TT ten years ago in open 30+ division and finished 12th. 27 MPH would have given me top 5. With aero gear and all!

Now that I see how critical 27 MPH seems to be for real roadies, I'd like to know the following:

1.What training did you use to hit the magic "27" number?

2. Did you do this on a triple or a double?

3. When you slacked off a little and "only" rode 23MPH, did your bike respond poorly?

4. Are you Time Trialing at National record levels? Cause you should be!

Thanks in advance,

Z

Nobody pulls at 27 on a flat for very long do they? When I took a training ride with the local race organization - Team Oregon - they did a series of side-by-side pacelines with 30 riders participating. 10 - 12 miles each around a loop and no person pulled for more than 10-15 seconds.

Average speed - 27 mph. Never in a million years could I have done it for so long on my own.

55/Rad

Nobody pulls at 27 on a flat for very long do they? When I took a training ride with the local race organization - Team Oregon - they did a series of side-by-side pacelines with 30 riders participating. 10 - 12 miles each around a loop and no person pulled for more than 10-15 seconds.

Average speed - 27 mph. Never in a million years could I have done it for so long on my own.

55/Rad

See what I mean? There is something about the 27MPH number? And, no, nobody but the elite can pull at 27 on their own for any real length of time...most guys I knew from Cat 3 (and those guys are FAST) could pull at about 24-25 all day if there were no real hills.

To give you some perspective on how fast the pros really are, Hincapie pulled the pack for 3 miles straight in the Tour at over 28 MPH, with his hands on the hoods! Try that for one mile...that's why I was spoofing on 27MPH (posters sometimes say they pulled somebody at 27MPH for 5 miles when they are complaining about wheel suckers), because it's just FAST.

Z

28 is way too rough............26 is way too easy................27 is juuuuuuust rught.

I think there is a little embelishment going on at times. Sort of like "I was in Cambodia over Christmas". :)

I can't avg 27 on flats yet but I can carry the ball over 290 into the wind. :lol:

No doubt there is a similar effect on here.

I can't avg 27 on flats yet but I can carry the ball over 290 into the wind.
With a soft landing on a island green no doubt. :)

55/Rad

I can't avg 27 on flats yet but I can carry the ball over 290 into the wind. :lol:

No doubt there is a similar effect on here.

I can putt one 290 into the wind these days...ouch

With a soft landing on a island green no doubt. :)

55/Rad

with a 3 iron....Grasschopper is a PLAYER

24 becomes 27 real easy with a tailwind.

Try that for one mile...that's why I was spoofing on 27MPH (posters sometimes say they pulled somebody at 27MPH for 5 miles when they are complaining about wheel suckers), because it's just FAST.

Hay I think that was me, here is how, tail wind, ever so slight downward grade, I was feeling unusually strong that day, and I was absolutly blowing up to keep that pace. Basically I had everything going my way, will that ever happen again? Probably not.

went 30 flatland and 22-23 false uphill.

what does false uphill mean?

where I live, our tailwinds turn 27 into 35 REAL fast. It's great. There's no wind resistance against you at all. It's completely silent at 35mph

"I was in Cambodia over Christmas". :)



Why would you go to Cambodia for Christmas, and what was the biking like there? Do they also pull 27 mph :D

what does false uphill mean?

I meant false flat...I was typing at 27 MPH, lol

where I live, our tailwinds turn 27 into 35 REAL fast. It's great. There's no wind resistance against you at all. It's completely silent at 35mph

What;s creepy and cool is when you are descending at 40+ and you feel that floating sensation and the bike feels like a part of your feet...and you are right...it's silent

Hay I think that was me, here is how, tail wind, ever so slight downward grade, I was feeling unusually strong that day, and I was absolutly blowing up to keep that pace. Basically I had everything going my way, will that ever happen again? Probably not.

I was actually just goofing on the 27 number...we used to laugh about golfers saying they hit it 290 because anybody who knows jack won't say 300, it sets off the BS meter. I actually believe you went 27, I remember your post...

The group rides I did over the summer would occasionally see semi pro riders tag along just to taunt the rest of us. Hell I had a hard time keeping up when they took off. We would carry 27-30 for a mile or two, a couple of guys hammering up front and the rest of us scattered out over a quarter mile with numb legs and no breath. Makes you think about how hard it is to race in Pro,1,2 races.

There was also a pro or semi pro tri chick that would come out on the flat rides. She could carry major speed for a long time. We had a tandem show up one week that kept going off the front. She got tired of them doing that so when they hammered off the front on a stretch that was free of stop signs for a few miles she said something about the tandem pissing her off and there she went. Probably carried 30+ to catch and pass them. The looks on the tandem rider's faces were priceless.

Let me get this straight.

27 mph = 43 kph.

I'm about to get really friggin depressed here. I usually average around 27kph/17mph at an average cadence around 90-100rpm on my usual 100 k road ride. And you guys are telling me, you average 43kph! Sh*t, I think I'll keep riding solo. :eek:

27 kph = almost 17 mph

I do round about that too so you can ride with me if you're ever over here!

hmm just though of something
for Americans put your bike comp on kph and it will look like you done more :)

I've got my average up to around 21mph and thats about 85%-90% effort...i can't imagine going 27mph or even 25mph.....seems unatainable for me.




kern

hmm just though of something
for Americans put your bike comp on kph and it will look like you done more :)

good idea. you could also input a larger wheel size.

Let me get this straight.

27 mph = 43 kph.

I'm about to get really friggin depressed here. I usually average around 27kph/17mph at an average cadence around 90-100rpm on my usual 100 k road ride. And you guys are telling me, you average 43kph! Sh*t, I think I'll keep riding solo. :eek:

No man...100K at 17 MPH is pretty strong. I averaged about 19.5 during my racing days...on race day you get3-4 MPH more...and sometimes even better just from the adrenaline. It's pretty easy to hold 24 MPH in a draft...a lot harder to bang away all day long at 20 MPH into the wind...that's why those TDF guys look like they are out for a lunch ride when they are tucked into the pack and cruising...it's just a different deal.

I think the thread is meant to be a tongue-in-cheek jab at those that post that they attain the magic 27 number. I think it's fair to say that most of us can do 27 for short bursts and maybe longer, especially in an organized group setting, but to AVERAGE 27 mph for an entire ride over 15 or more miles (with hills) would put us into the world class category.

I don't know about you guys, but I'm certainly not there.

55/Rad

No man...100K at 17 MPH is pretty strong. I averaged about 19.5 during my racing days...on race day you get3-4 MPH more...and sometimes even better just from the adrenaline. It's pretty easy to hold 24 MPH in a draft...a lot harder to bang away all day long at 20 MPH into the wind...that's why those TDF guys look like they are out for a lunch ride when they are tucked into the pack and cruising...it's just a different deal.

Whew! Thanks. Here I am sitting thinking to myself, yep I'm doing alright and then a post like this comes along and I'm like, "ah crap! You gotta be kidding me, right?" I'll head out for my usual ride on Saturday secure in the knowledge that I'm not a snail. ;)

Whew! Thanks. Here I am sitting thinking to myself, yep I'm doing alright and then a post like this comes along and I'm like, "ah crap! You gotta be kidding me, right?" I'll head out for my usual ride on Saturday secure in the knowledge that I'm not a snail. ;)

Here's one more reason not to worry. I've started riding again, in a very hilly area, where it is a struggle (some of the climbs are 3/4 to a mile and a few have true wall status) to "average" 16 MPH for 40 miles. The other day I was waiting on somebody at lunch so I took a spin from my office on a loop that included only one false flat and was amazed when I got back to see that I had averaged 19 MPH just kind of cruising in the 42...and like a light bulb it came back to me that the hills kill your average speed way more than the downhills help...going straight up at 10 MPH for minutes at a time really has an effect. So average speed is only one thing to look at...I was told by a top racer that your high end flatland speed it a better reflection of what you could do if you trained for racing...I could crank it up to about 29 at that time (33 now) and hold that for about 1 mile...he said that meant I should have no trouble holding 25-27 in a pack and that was pretty much true...could cruise at those speeds in races. He had a top end speed of 36 MPH on flats...and he was the kind of guy who could win a solo breakaway...

good idea. you could also input a larger wheel size.
you mean smaller wheel size :)

you mean smaller wheel size :)

depends on how you look at it. if the computer is reading the same RPM for a larger wheel size (easy to change the settings), then you'll be increasing the speed - according to the computer. if the computer is reading the same RPM for a smaller wheel, then you'll be decreasing the speed - according to the computer.

EDIT - i was actually referring to artifically changing the wheel size in the computer (making it larger) - which is basically the same as physcially putting on a smaller wheel.

I stand corrected :)

quick question from the new guy...for those of you with mountain bikes too, what types of average speeds do you post on your mtn compared to you road? I am curious to see the difference one type of bike makes towards the other. Reason I am asking is I do all my riding now on and Alum MTB and soon will be acquiring a descent road bike. I am wondering how much my avg speed will jump up on the new rig. Right now I get only about 15 to 16 mph with my 2.10" hoops...always riding on the large chainring(which is only like a 43 ot 44 tooth anyways)

quick question from the new guy...for those of you with mountain bikes too, what types of average speeds do you post on your mtn compared to you road? I am curious to see the difference one type of bike makes towards the other. Reason I am asking is I do all my riding now on and Alum MTB and soon will be acquiring a descent road bike. I am wondering how much my avg speed will jump up on the new rig. Right now I get only about 15 to 16 mph with my 2.10" hoops...always riding on the large chainring(which is only like a 43 ot 44 tooth anyways)

I noticed a big difference. Can't say exactly how much, however I know I was getting into work a lot quicker. I'm not sure if thats a good thing.....

hmm just though of something
for Americans put your bike comp on kph and it will look like you done more :)

I just throw another magnet on the front wheel.

g'day,

27mph/43kph....wheew, you seppo's are too good for me...i'd have to change to the big chainring to average that for more than a few minutes!. There's an Aussie term to describe those riders (ammo's), that reckon they can pull 27mph all day......."bull**** artists"

cheers,

Hitchy

You guys are my motivation. I've been road biking for a little over a week now, and I can only average about 15 miles an hour on my 20 mile rides, I could not imagine averaging 27 on an even longer ride.

I for one don't claim to average it for the ride, But I am able to do it for several minutes when it matters.

I for one don't claim to average it for the ride, But I am able to do it for several minutes when it matters.

I buy that...but haven't you, just once, maybe twice, averaged 28 or 26? LOL.

Could 27 be the Bike Forums equivalent of Spinal Tap's 11? Just a thought.

Yeah man! We clock our speed at 27mph not 26 like other forums. Because we're faster then everyone else!

I'm twice the weight and pull at half the speed. For those of us shaped like pears, 14 is juuuuust right.... :)

Just to clarify, this is 27 MPH uphill, right?

Ha, I just looked back and I may have been one of those "magic" 27 posts. Someone described a 3 mile TT classification, so I found the flattest 3 miles on my commute and gave it a shot (panniers and all :)). I recorded 6:40, or 27mph average.

But, I should add, that I suspected that it may be a slight downgrade, so I tried it again on the return trip, and recorded 8:00, or 22.5mph average.

So really, 27 may just be everyone's favorite number to toss into a conversation...when they see that on the speedo, they feel obliged to mention it :)

you could also input a larger wheel size
:roflmao: