What is a good speed?
06-05-14, 06:52 PM
#52
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06-05-14, 07:28 PM
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If you really want to know specifically how we ride with precise data, go look at this page. It will give you plenty of data about the commutes we do:
Bike Forums Commuters | Strava Club
Bike Forums Commuters | Strava Club
06-05-14, 07:31 PM
#55
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Fast enough to not get in trouble for being late!
06-05-14, 07:39 PM
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Most amatuer road races (licensed) tend to be in the mid 20's, but a pack moving at speed will easily go into the 30's. Personally I race track. My hour record is 24 miles in an hour (yes that is 24mph, and I'm not the fastest guy), our relay races average about 33mph for 10 miles, and sprints peak around 40mph. That is on a fixed gear bike (at well over 110rpm)
No reason why a strong rider can't sprint in the 30+ range at 110rpm on flat windless ground - especially if he can shift gears! :-)
Last edited by chas58; 06-05-14 at 07:46 PM.
06-05-14, 07:54 PM
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Record speed for me is 29.8 MPH on my fixed gear commuter with 69 gear inches. I can do that for only about 8-10 seconds on flat as a pancake road with no wind...I am guessing my cadence must of been around 144 rpm's and I just spin out and need to slow down. This was done while wearing a backpack, carrying a heavy lock and being a little tired from working all day. My bike is not set up for sprinting, it has fenders , front rack and non-racing tires...
06-05-14, 08:00 PM
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Record speed for me is 29.8 MPH on my fixed gear commuter with 69 gear inches. I can do that for only about 8-10 seconds on flat as a pancake road with no wind...I am guessing my cadence must of been around 144 rpm's and I just spin out and need to slow down. This was done while wearing a backpack, carrying a heavy lock and being a little tired from working all day. My bike is not set up for sprinting, it has fenders , front rack and non-racing tires...
06-05-14, 08:04 PM
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This is way better than the top speed of your motorcycle thread on this other forum I visit 
06-05-14, 10:34 PM
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What ever speed you do, is a good speed. I'm serious. Enjoy the commute .
06-05-14, 11:33 PM
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12-18mph, but it does get irritating with all the stopping that you just end up holding back
06-06-14, 12:14 AM
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Compare race speeds
Bike Ride Profile | E3 near Folsom | Times and Records | Strava
With commute speeds
Bike Ride Profile | commute near Sacramento | Times and Records | Strava
YMMV
Bike Ride Profile | E3 near Folsom | Times and Records | Strava
With commute speeds
Bike Ride Profile | commute near Sacramento | Times and Records | Strava
YMMV
Last edited by caloso; 06-06-14 at 12:23 AM.
06-06-14, 05:10 AM
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I’m a decades-long, year-round commuter and occasional centurian; much more a mileage junkie than a speed demon. I reconcile my average speed to my personal satisfaction with this approximate quote from a few years ago on a Bike Forum, ”My 15 miles per hour is to me, as your 23 mph is to you.”
06-06-14, 09:14 AM
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06-06-14, 09:27 AM
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It does depend a lot on the bike. A lot of commuters like panniers and wide tires with flat protection. A bike like that might have a typical 10-15mph average speed.
I get a 20% improvement switching to high performance skinny tires (i.e. 25mm gatorskins).
As for racing, I can add on another 20-30% improvement for riding in a pack (which reduces aero drag when drafting) and maybe a 50% improvement from the adrenaline used in an actual race.
But for commuting, I purposely go out of my way to slow down, ride through parks and green spaces, and just enjoy parts of the commute and being outside in the morning or evening.
I get a 20% improvement switching to high performance skinny tires (i.e. 25mm gatorskins).
As for racing, I can add on another 20-30% improvement for riding in a pack (which reduces aero drag when drafting) and maybe a 50% improvement from the adrenaline used in an actual race.
But for commuting, I purposely go out of my way to slow down, ride through parks and green spaces, and just enjoy parts of the commute and being outside in the morning or evening.
06-06-14, 11:33 AM
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So, are you now saying that it takes you "a few mins" to complete "a few hundred meter sprint"? If so, that would also be completely hilarious given your initial exaggerated claims of sprinting prowess.
25 mph is a high cat5 to cat4 speed for a flat tt course. Nothing to write home about. And once again if you actually took the time to *read* what I wrote you would realize i was discussing a brief sprint. in fact, hitting mid 30s on a full on sprint is relatively easy (~100 rpm in the big ring) for any fit rider on a road bike. maintaining it for more than 10 seconds is difficult but not impossible. (especially if conditions are favorable.)
The way you're backpedaling from your initial absurd claim of "i can do 36ish for a few mins", you probably should run your chain in a figure 8, pedal backwards on your bike, and actually go "36ish for a few mins".
Glad to see in your case it wasn't your bike computer that needed recalibrating - it was YOU. Else you'd be a hypocrite to go along with being a preposterous braggart.
Last edited by achoo; 06-06-14 at 11:46 AM.
06-06-14, 11:40 AM
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A straw man, also known in the UK as an Aunt Sally,[SUP][1][/SUP][SUP][2][/SUP] is a common type of argument and is an informal fallacy based on the misrepresentation of the original topic of argument. To be successful, a straw man argument requires that the audience be ignorant or uninformed of the original argument.
The fact that sprinting like that actually would be "a blood-doping TdF performance" is, well, completely hilarious.
Last edited by achoo; 06-06-14 at 11:50 AM.
06-06-14, 12:58 PM
#70
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12- 14 mph with head wind. 16-18 mph no wind or hills. Slower on the mt bike with studded tires. Hit 46 on a mt bike in a tuck. Giant paved downhill. Knobby tires were screaming. 41 with a loaded touring bike, big downhill.
06-06-14, 02:03 PM
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06-07-14, 11:02 AM
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... or ...
A good speed is whatever speed you decide is a good speed. If you're not as fast as you want to be, work on it, and you will reach that speed. If you don't know how fast you want to be, decide. Or don't, and decide not to decide.
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Tom Reingold, tom@noglider.com
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06-07-14, 02:04 PM
#74
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ALL of this is on flat land:
- On cross country bike tours with loaded panniers and wide open spaces I average 13mph. I am not in a rush when on vacation.
- On city streets I try to stay at or above 20mph as I find motorists treat me more like "one of them" if I can stay above 20. I have cut across town for 7 miles at 23mph average - by far my best time ever catching mostly green lights and running a red or two.
- Twice a year I do a 150 mile day ride. My average speed is 16 mph. So I assume this is a fair guess at how I would act if I were not keeping up with cars in the city grid. 16-18mph - depending on wind direction - is very comfy for me.
Here is a short video shot from a handlebar cam that illustrates my sprint from stop in traffic. If I just made claims in words somebody here would call B.S. and I would have to post the vid anyway.
06-07-14, 02:21 PM
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My two mile commute takes anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes -- so 8 mph to 12 mph. Faster than walking, slower than my Vespa, and more enjoyable than either! - JP