Jarrett2

I have a Specialized Expedition Sport that I'm riding. I have an app on my phone that I use to track every ride I do. 192 miles total so far since I bought it on 5/24. It has all the stock stuff on it. Bigger tires that look to be partial road/partial trail tires. I ride on asphalt or concrete bike paths almost 100% of the time now. It also has 3x7 gears. At first I found myself riding in the lower gears, but lately I spend almost all of my time in the highest gear which is 3-7. Is that 21st gear by the way?

My average speeds and overall distances are going up with each ride for the most part, but I assume they will flatten out now that I'm riding in the highest gear all the time.

What I'm wondering is what's normal for a big guy on this type of a bike in terms of average MPH and total distance per ride?

And If I want to go farther/faster, should I change something on the bike? Change bikes all together?

FatherAlabaster

If your average speed and distance are going up with each ride, then the best answer is right there in front of you - just keep riding and get more fit! Pedaling the same gear at a faster cadence will give you more speed and endurance, with a little bit of practice.

Gears are usually talked about in terms of the ratio of front teeth to back teeth; in the case of your bike I think your top gear is 42 teeth in front to 14 in the back. That's not exceptionally high. If you really need to push harder, it's not unreasonable to consider changing your rear cassette out for something with smaller cogs. Try Sheldon Brown's gear calculator to understand what you've got and what you might be looking for, and his excellent articles for beginners. Another easy upgrade for you would be better tires with less tread. I personally love the Schwalbe Marathon Plus, although there are many "faster" tires out there.

You may also be losing energy to your suspension fork and seatpost, but it's entirely up to you whether you like the comfort. The more you ride, the more you'll understand what works for you and what doesn't. I guess my last piece of advice would be not to turn your bike into a money pit by upgrading it too much - save that money for the bike you'll really want once you've gotten a better handle on things.

chasm54

There is no "normal".

Riding in the highest gear all the time may not be the greatest idea, though I note that the highest gear on that bike is only a 42-14, which isn't terribly high. It is usually better to pedal faster in a lower gear rather than pedal slower in a higher gear to achieve the same speed, itis easier on the legs and gives a better cardio workout. You don't want to be spinning like a hamster on a wheel, but turning the pedals at upwards of 80 rpm is a sensible plan.

Going further, faster? Get fitter and pedal harder. Find some hills and ride up them, using the gears as appropriate. You're heavy, even moderate hills will challenge you and you'll find your fitness increases rapidly.

Eventually, if you get keen and want to ride more seriously, I imagine you'll want to graduate to a rather sportier bike, maybe a road bike. But so far you've ridden less than 200 miles, there is plenty of room for increasing your performance on the bike you've got. For what it is worth, riding in your highest gear with a cadence of 90 rpm will move you along at over 21 mph. Not electric, but not so dusty, either.

Astrozombie

Hills hills and more hills! Be in a lower gear than you think you should be in and spiiiiiiin

10 Wheels

Someday get a road bike with a crank set 52/42/30. Then you will go farther and faster.

I got a used one about 6 weeks ago from Craigslist.

Mr. Beanz

The tires on your bike rate about 35-60 psi at size 1.9. If I were you, I'd go with a tire at 1.5 at 90 psi. Should roll a little faster.

Won't be near a road bike speed but will be better than what you have.

brianogilvie 

There is no "normal." Depends entirely on your genetics and your level of fitness. When I started out, I would ride 5-10 miles per ride at 8-12 mph depending on the terrain. These days my average ride (other than my 6-mile round-trip commute) seems to be about 20 miles at 13 mph, though that includes rides with my wife, who is slower than I am--my solo average speed this year is 14 mph. I'm sure there are folks here who would think that's laughably slow.

If you're riding on pavement most of the time, smoother, more supple tires would make you faster. I like Panaracer Paselas. Learn how to fix a flat, and you can use tires that don't have Kevlar or other flat-resistant belts; they are faster because they have less rolling resistance.

There's no need for front suspension on a bike that's used on the road; it adds weight without giving any significant benefit. So eventually you might want another bike. But that can wait.

If you're using your highest gear (42x14, about 80 inches) most of the time, then either you're fast for a beginner, or you're pedaling too slowly. The late, great Sheldon Brown said that most experienced cyclists have a cadence of 70-90 RPM. Pedaling fast ("spinning") is a lot easier on the joints than going slow in a big gear ("mashing"), and it's easier to sustain for a longer time. If you're mashing, try spinning; it might seem strange at first, but it will become second nature.

Tel0004

I agree with the above post. I would find out what your cadence is. Find a flat section of road, with little traffic and no stops.

Use a watch, or clock on your bike computer, and count how many times your left (or right) foot makes one complete rotation in one minute. That is your cadence.

I agree with the other poster that 42x14 isn't very big. If you are spinning it out at a good cadence, it will limit your ability to go faster, but I find that unlikely as a new cyclist. When that does become a problem, you can swap the cassette for something like 11-28, which will give you higher gearing, but I think by the time you outgrow the cassette, you will probably be looking for a different bike as well.

So i agree with the other poster. Find out what your cadence is, and aim to make about one rotation a second, which should speed you up.

Jarrett2

I did this today on my Specialized and just cruising I was doing 60 RPM in my highest gear. That wasn't even really pedaling fast. My legs are fairly strong, not sure if that makes a difference or not. My lungs are starting to catch up and allowing me to use my leg strength more.

Too late!

They had a bike run in my town today and I got smoked by a guy sleep pedaling on a road bike and it drove me to the bike store for more speed. I came out with an ergo-modified Trek FX 7.2

This time I got a good sales guy that worked with me and sized the bike to me. Where the first store/salesman had me on a Small size frame Specialized Expedition Sport. Today they had me on a 22.5" Trek FX frame and it felt much better. Not so scrunched up. Then they replaced the stem, bars and pedals and really dialed in the fit for me while I waited. I really appreciated that. This was at a different store than my first purchase. Kinda feeling like I might have made the wrong purchase the first time, but live and learn I guess. Now I have a bike for a buddy to ride

I took it for a spin and just riding around slowing pedaling in 3/4 gear, I immediately added a MPH to my previous best average speed on the old bike. On just an 8 mile test run I averaged 13.3 MPH. I can't wait to see what I can do with this bike once I get used to it. Thanks for all the info!

brianogilvie 

OK, you definitely need to work on spinning faster. 60 rpm is great for slogging up steep hills. Try to get yourself up to 85-90 rpm when cruising. Your legs will thank you!

And enjoy the new bike! It does sound a lot better for the kind of riding you want to do. And good thought on the old one. It's nice to have multiple bikes, not only because you have friends visiting, but also because you need something to ride when the other bike is in the shop, or you discover a flat just before you want to head out. There's a reason that the correct number of bikes is N+1, where N is the number you currently own. (My N=6 right now....)

Bill Kapaun

I'm an old guy with a bad knee and spin 80-85.

You'll probably find that you can spin the next lower gear faster and increase your speed slightly and your stamina immensely. Since I have emphysema, it really helped me.

digibud

One thing the new bike store may not have bothered to address could be the tire. If the stock tire is 23mm, move to a 25mm at the first chance. It will roll better and be more comfortable. A rare win-win with no downside. With any new bike, pluck each spoke and feel them to just double check that there are no obviously untuned spokes. It happens. Look carefully at the wheel when it goes through the brakes to see it is nearly perfectly true. There should be no more than a mm of wobble. You won't move from 60rpm to 80 over night but keep working on that cadence. Consider a heart monitor/computer to help you keep a good eye on how hard you are working your heart. Subjective effort is one thing but even the most experienced among us can be fooled. Enjoy.

DoninIN

It seems you're already figuring it out, and that you're getting the cycling bug, congratulations on both! Keep riding!

Wanderer

Check the pressure ratings on your tires, as they may be quite high - I think the OEM Armadillos were rated to 80 psi. Pump em up, and see how they do.

Oops, I was speaking to the Expedition..... What tires came on your Trek? S/B 700X35 Hardcase. You will appreciate the ride of those 35s.....

johde

Congratulations on the new bike. I bought a 20" Trek 7.2 FX about a week before you bought your first bike. It's a nice bike. The only major mod I just did was swap out the stock 10 degree stem for a 17 degree stem to raise the handlebars up and take some pressure off the hands. Otherwise, it's been a great bike. I alternate between 2 days a week Biking and 2 days a week running and have about 130 miles on the bike. To give you idea about what they are saying about cadence. My average speed once I hit the paved trail is nearly identical to your and I seem to spend most of my time in gears 2/4 to 2/6, and I could probably use some work on my cadence as well. For right now, the best suggestion I've gotten is to ride more.

Most of my experience comes from running, there general rule for a newbie there is to focus on either running further or running faster but not both at the same time. I'm assuming the same rule can apply to biking. So, if you're working on extending the length of your rides, don't worry about speed, let it change naturally. Likewise, if you're working on increasing your speed, don't extend the rides as much.

IBOHUNT

Or do like Vesteroid and me... walk up them

I'm in the ride more hills and spin faster club. A guy I asked in Jan of this year to help me said... "Come back when you have 3,000 miles this year and we'll talk"
I was at that point (~3,000 miles and 172,000' gain) right before my ...

My mantra when reading posts here is... When chasm54 speaks I listen. I've learned a tonne in the past couple of years.

jsigone

LOL I wish I can be at 3k miles by summer. I'm not even at 1200 miles, but I ride a crap load of MTB and that's small 7-20 mile chunks at a time with 1-3k climbing per ride.

FrenchFit 

When I got into riding in my mid-50s a 20m r/t averaging 10-12mph was a serious ride. Nothing wrong with that. One of the things that advanced my riding speed and endurance greatly was going to spin class, but a spin class geared to cyclists not the "groove" crowd. The rest just comes, don't worry about it. If you ride with faster riders it will be obvious what you need to work on. You'll know when you've arrived when you start looking for hills & distances that will challenge you.

Notgrownup

I just got back into cycling and i try to concentrate on my cadence...I have started with 3-7 miles per day at a decent cadence to get my endurance up slowly but surely...I haven't rode a bike in 22 years....Forgot how i like it....i try not to compare myself to anybody else for now....No hills here but small inclines do test me a bit...245 lbs... was 275 8 months ago...new Diabetes meds made me lose 30 lbs so it's up to me to keep going lower ....also to keep going farther and/or faster on the bike...

rumrunn6

I'll speak for myself, meaning from my own experience. I started biking again in my 40s when I found a mountain bike, I got faster and went farther when I added slicks, then I tried changing the bars, then I got a hybrid and went faster farther, then I changed the tires and then the bars and saddles and went faster and farther then I got a dam road bike and I am where I am today. nothing left to change except training. right now my speed is my speed and that's pretty much where it's gonna stay. at 54 it will probably decline since I don't ride enough to call it "training". change what you can, accept what you can not.

DnvrFox

N+1 strikes again!!

Watch out or soon you will have a garage full of bikes, if every time you get smoked you buy a new bike.

The best advice here is to increase your cadence and ride hills. Have fun.

bbeasley

Couple of thoughts
N+1 on the loose. Aero matters, going from hybrid to roadie makes a difference.
Famous cycling quote from the prophet Eddy Merckx "Don't buy upgrades, ride upgrades"