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16.6 mph avg decent for a beginner?

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Old 08-15-16, 06:46 PM
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16.6 mph avg decent for a beginner?

I went for a ride used the MapMyRide app on my phone, It said I traveled 16.5 miles with 800ft of climbing and stops in 59:56 minutes at an average of 16.6 mph. I am quite a beginner with cycling but I am not that out of shape and am quite lean. I ride a single speed with a 48 16 gear ratio. Is that speed average or am I very slow because I always hear people do 20mph+.
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Old 08-15-16, 06:49 PM
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Got up to 31.8 mph with my 53-12 gearing.

Had a few touring 100 mile rides at 16.0 mph average.
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Old 08-15-16, 06:51 PM
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You're doing ok for somebody who is riding a singlespeed... Keep on riding and you will get stronger and faster.
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Old 08-15-16, 06:51 PM
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Originally Posted by 10 Wheels
Got up to 31.8 mph with my 53-12 gearing.
Was it a tt?
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Old 08-15-16, 06:53 PM
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Originally Posted by RMoudatir
Was it a tt?
Back when I was a young 68 y/o racing another rider.
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Old 08-15-16, 07:00 PM
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16.5 miles in an hour is very respectable for a beginner. Yes, many ride faster, and most can ride faster for a shorter time, but the truth is that most riders would not have done that stretch as fast.

Also consider that average speed will drop with distance. Just because you rode 16.5 miles in an hour doesn't you can ride double that in two hours.

Anyway, the only time your speed counts is when riding with others or as a guide for trip planning. So, ride and don't sweat what doesn't matter.

BTW - if you want some sort of frame of reference, use google maps to plan your route, check bicycle, and it;ll give you distance and estimated time. Google does factor terrain, so it's a decent reference for planning, though their time estimates are very generous.
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Old 08-15-16, 07:07 PM
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Did you enjoy the ride?
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Old 08-15-16, 07:10 PM
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That is a good speed for beginners and it is also slow from the perspective of people who average 20 mph. I think it shows that the latter is within your reach, given consistent work and enough effort.
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Old 08-15-16, 07:13 PM
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Back when I was just 14 y/o I covered 12 miles in 24 minutes. I friend was timing me.

1956 on my sisters bike.

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Old 08-15-16, 07:40 PM
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I think that you did very good for a beginner, keep it up. Ride often and keep it fun with a bit of a challenge at the same time. The more you ride, the stronger and faster you will become.
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Old 08-15-16, 07:48 PM
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I got 22mph on my first ride ever.
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Old 08-15-16, 08:12 PM
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Originally Posted by RMoudatir
I went for a ride used the MapMyRide app on my phone, It said I traveled 16.5 miles with 800ft of climbing and stops in 59:56 minutes at an average of 16.6 mph. I am quite a beginner with cycling but I am not that out of shape and am quite lean. I ride a single speed with a 48 16 gear ratio. Is that speed average or am I very slow because I always hear people do 20mph+.
You'll go faster if you exaggerate.
A few days ago I rode 12 miles at about 16.5mph - faster than my norm but slower than many.
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Old 08-15-16, 08:26 PM
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Originally Posted by 10 Wheels
Back when I was just 14 y/o I covered 12 miles in 24 minutes. I friend was timing me.

1956 on my sisters bike.

Isn't that like 30mph average pace? Proof that steel is real!
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Old 08-15-16, 08:30 PM
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16.6 is not bad at all. Just remember, speed it relative.... to a whole lot of other factors. Don't take it too serious, just keep improving and have fun doing it.
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Old 08-15-16, 08:51 PM
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How much of the ride was going downhill? I average 17mph on all flat with a headwind on a 55 mile ride. I have peaks of 20mph + when going down some not too steep bridges and faster when riding in a group. Some days are better than others. I have been doing the road biking for less than a year now.
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Old 08-15-16, 09:02 PM
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Originally Posted by deex
How much of the ride was going downhill? I average 17mph on all flat with a headwind on a 55 mile ride. I have peaks of 20mph + when going down some not too steep bridges and faster when riding in a group. Some days are better than others. I have been doing the road biking for less than a year now.
I dont know exactly how to explain how much downhill but all I know is I max 35 mph down hill and climb about 12 mph avg on 48 16 and it is about 800 ft of climbing in total of the 16 mile loop I took. Do you think gears would make a difference in my speed?
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Old 08-15-16, 09:10 PM
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Don't trust mapmyride's max speed. I once hit 40mph on a flat according to it. Lol

Why are you riding fast on a single speed? Where do you live? Why are you climbing on a single speed? Serious questions. Of course gears will make a difference unless you really hate your knees.

If you look at the mapmyride stats on a computer it will show you a graph of speed vs elevation. There is other stats as well.


Good luck!
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Old 08-15-16, 09:17 PM
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I rode 16.8 miles in an hour 5 minutes. On the beach. With my Fat-bike. Hurrah.
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Old 08-15-16, 09:24 PM
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Originally Posted by jseis
i rode 16.8 miles in an hour 5 minutes. On the beach. With my fat-bike. Hurrah.
👍 .
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Old 08-15-16, 09:42 PM
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Originally Posted by deex
Don't trust mapmyride's max speed. I once hit 40mph on a flat according to it. Lol

Why are you riding fast on a single speed? Where do you live? Why are you climbing on a single speed? Serious questions. Of course gears will make a difference unless you really hate your knees.

If you look at the mapmyride stats on a computer it will show you a graph of speed vs elevation. There is other stats as well.


Good luck!
Thanks ��. Well I originally wanted a geared road bike but I had very low budget since I had saved up about $200 and my parents were going to help me with a bicycle for commuting to school for my birthday I told them what is the budget they can help me on the bike with and the best bike I could get was a $300 windsor road bike but I researched about any decent ones for that price but all I heard was that they were not good bikes so I decided to buy a single speed bike that has way better quality parts with carbon fork for the same price. I live by Corona California where most climbs are 4.5 -5%. What do you consider steep for climbing?
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Old 08-15-16, 09:44 PM
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Riding is all about being Safe and having Fun.
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Old 08-15-16, 10:56 PM
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Depends if you are 26, 46, or 66 years old.
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Old 08-15-16, 11:47 PM
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Originally Posted by 02Giant
Depends if you are 26, 46, or 66 years old.
Just turned 17
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Old 08-16-16, 12:31 AM
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Originally Posted by 10 Wheels
Back when I was just 14 y/o I covered 12 miles in 24 minutes. I friend was timing me.

1956 on my sisters bike.
Really? Fabian Cancellara won the gold medal in the 54.6km time trial at the Olympics this year at an average speed of 28.2mph (54.6km in 1:12:15) but 14 y/o you managed to ride 12 miles at 30mph?

I know this is BF so we can expect a fair bit of BS but really?
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Old 08-16-16, 01:08 AM
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Originally Posted by deex
Don't trust mapmyride's max speed. I once hit 40mph on a flat according to it. Lol

Why are you riding fast on a single speed? Where do you live? Why are you climbing on a single speed? Serious questions. Of course gears will make a difference unless you really hate your knees.

If you look at the mapmyride stats on a computer it will show you a graph of speed vs elevation. There is other stats as well.


Good luck!
Yeah, none of the data from mapmyride is accurate. There are numerous threads about this

https://www.bikeforums.net/electronic...ccuracies.html

https://www.bikeforums.net/electronic...ccuracies.html

https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycli...ata-wrong.html
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