cyclist2000

57 years, 235#, I normally ride a 20 mile loop, 15 mph and when I get into shape its 16 mph. I think I have more age penalty than weight penalty.

bigfred 

I hate to tell you, well no I don't......, but, I ride with a few 65+'ers who can manage averages in the low 20s. Don't chock it up to the age thing, which you can't do anything about. Fitness and weight you can.

volosong

On road bikes, for anything less than about a 20-mile ride, I'll average somewhere around 17 mph. For rides longer than that, I usually end up right at a 15 mph average. Depends on the amount of climbing on the ride. The more the hills there are, the slower the average speed that will be recorded. I'm early 60s and tip the scales between 215-225, (depending on how much I exercise and how much I stuff my face in the evenings).

MSLiechty

at 222 lbs and on a single speed MTB with cross tires on a mostly flat rides along PCH I average 14-15 MPH.
I've changed gearing recently to get the cadence up.
Been averaging mid 70's so i expect the speed to drop.

ML

bbeasley

Yeah, I ride with a 56 y/o who can rock low 20s while sitting up and talking to you. Of course I'm unable to hang with him let alone talk back.

WonderMonkey

I like it.

Astrozombie

I've heard this before, eat right and pump it up! You will gain muscle and as you do you also lose fat.
What a nightmare, been once and never again!

TrojanHorse

Yeah, if @IBOHUNT would ever show up here again (yoo hoo!) I'm pretty sure he fits that description.

You've been on my very own greenway trail? How fun. I highly recommend Friday afternoon when Whittier High gets out. Teenagers with earbuds texting each other walking about 8 abreast on the bike path. Oh yeah. I tend to only use it during rush hour if I'm commuting to or from the SGRT, and only part of it.

It doesn't get much more East in East LA than where I am, you must not be far.

IBOHUNT

At 55 yrs old and an FTP in the 2.FAT Watts/Kg I'm not sure I fit into that description. I get shelled off the back in team trainer sessions


One of the Strava reports from my typical flat training ride route:

37.3mi Distance
1:45:53 Moving Time
1,614ft Elevation Gain

Avg Max
Speed 21.1mi/h 37.4mi/h
Heartrate 145bpm 182bpm

West Virginian TT championship that was dead flat

15.1miDistance
38:48 Moving Time
246ft Elevation gain


Avg Max
Speed 23.3mi/h 31.3mi/h
Heartrate 156bpm 162bpm

and a flat ride I did last year in Z2


89.7mi Distance
5:10:21 Moving Time
4,117ft Elevation Gain

Avg Max
Speed 17.3mi/h 38.9mi/h
Heartrate 131bpm 159bpm

TrojanHorse

See? Told you.

IBOHUNT

But the avg speed goes down if I get into a barely made it into the hilly category ride.

101.7mi Distance
6:28:28 Moving Time
10,618ft Elevation Gain

Avg Max
Speed 15.7mi/h 45.6mi/h
Heartrate 143bpm 198bpm

Fat doesn't crit or go up hills well

TrojanHorse

Barely hilly...

198 bpm? Are you sure you're 50 something? 177 is my observed max and I'm 9 years younger than you!

I hear you about the fat and the hills. Being slow and weak doesn't help anything either.

IBOHUNT

Well it depends on the length of the ride as well. I don't consider it a 'ride' until 25 miles has gone by.

Elevation gain defined:

Watch your dog run away for a week flat = < 35'/mile
Flat = 36 - 50'/mi
Moundy = 51 - 75'/mi
Bumpy = 76 - 100'/mi
Hilly = 101' - 125'/mi
Climby = 126' - 150'/mi
Really? >151'/mi

Yep, race license says I'm 55
That is probably an anomaly however at the Philly TT last year I had a 6 second average HR that was 191. Doc about wigged out when I told him. Resting HR of 46.
My 20 min HR the last time I did an FTP test was 171.

Another Animal House quote (not directed at anyone, just reminded me of it)

Dean Vernon Wormer: Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son. Mr. Hoover, president of Delta house? 1.6; four C's and an F.

aggarcia

43 year old , 205-208 , I am back cycling after 13 months off. When I started cycling in JUly I was 240+ and very slow. Here are my stats for 2014.

[TABLE="class: rich-table dr-table, width: 740"]
[TR="class: rich-table-row rich-table-firstrow dr-table-firstrow progressRow, bgcolor: #F5F5F5"]
[TD="class: rich-table-cell dr-table-cell"]Count:[/TD]
[TD="class: rich-table-cell dr-table-cell"]17 Activities[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: rich-table-row progressRowAlternate, bgcolor: #F5F5F5"]
[TD="class: rich-table-cell dr-table-cell"]Distance:[/TD]
[TD="class: rich-table-cell dr-table-cell"]582.65 mi[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: rich-table-row dr-table-firstrow progressRow, bgcolor: #F5F5F5"]
[TD="class: rich-table-cell dr-table-cell"]Time:[/TD]
[TD="class: rich-table-cell dr-table-cell"]34:36:44 h:m:s[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: rich-table-row progressRowAlternate, bgcolor: #F5F5F5"]
[TD="class: rich-table-cell dr-table-cell"]Elevation Gain:[/TD]
[TD="class: rich-table-cell dr-table-cell"]6,714 ft[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: rich-table-row dr-table-firstrow progressRow, bgcolor: #F5F5F5"]
[TD="class: rich-table-cell dr-table-cell"]Avg Speed:[/TD]
[TD="class: rich-table-cell dr-table-cell"]16.8 mph[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: rich-table-row progressRowAlternate, bgcolor: #F5F5F5"]
[TD="class: rich-table-cell dr-table-cell"]Avg HR:[/TD]
[TD="class: rich-table-cell dr-table-cell"]151 bpm[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: rich-table-row dr-table-firstrow progressRow, bgcolor: #F5F5F5"]
[TD="class: rich-table-cell dr-table-cell"]Avg Run Cadence:[/TD]
[TD="class: rich-table-cell dr-table-cell"]--[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: rich-table-row progressRowAlternate, bgcolor: #F5F5F5"]
[TD="class: rich-table-cell dr-table-cell"]Avg Bike Cadence:[/TD]
[TD="class: rich-table-cell dr-table-cell"]81 rpm[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: rich-table-row dr-table-firstrow progressRow, bgcolor: #F5F5F5"]
[TD="class: rich-table-cell dr-table-cell"]Calories:[/TD]
[TD="class: rich-table-cell dr-table-cell"]21,607 C[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

I ride a lot if in town rides, so the stopping and starting kills the averages.

AG

big_al

rode 35 miles sunday and my final avg was 14.7 on a trek 7.7 fx with 700x23 tires...
269 pounder fat boy..

Mark Stone

I think I'm the slowest one here! I'm 61 (this month) and my average speed on my commuter/city bike is around 12mph. But I commute and ride in my city, with stoplights and stop signs and the fact that I'm an old geezer. Also, I am certifiably the oldest Hipster on earth, so I don't care that much about speed, necessarily - unless a dawg gives chase lol

Mark Stone

I consider it a "ride" after about 14 feet

Barrettscv 

16 to 18 mph for a 50 mile ride solo fitness ride. It's not a race.

BigJeff

This is really just a fitness question, not only can fit clydes can carry more speed than unfit clydes.

The real question is what is the power output of a fit clyde vs a fit sub-clyde?

From what I can tell, little guys just spin faster to ,ake up for lack of strength.

chaadster

As several have mentioned, this is a meaningless measure without context. Without knowing fitness level, terrain, wind, riding position, or gear, there are just too many variables that directly impact the result to have a meaningful point of comparison. That said, as someone mentioned upthread, check out Strava for your area, and using the weight filter, you can see what other clydes are doing on the routes you ride.

Also previously mentioned but bears repeating: speed claims tend to be exaggerated when online, especially in forum 41! That said, you can be assured there is someone out there who's faster than you. In fact, you can be assured there are many people out there who are faster. The big question, as Big Jeff gets at, is whether you're as fit as you think you are.

No, not exactly. At some point (or avg. speed) you'll just not have the strength to support going faster. Even assuming you're at pro level fitness, no one has the ability to add strength endlessly, so average speed is limited. The other way of saying it is that you will max out on power.

Okay, well if you're an average height, relatively young male, and lean as you say, then it's very likely that, if you're fit, trained, and strong, you can generate enough power to hang with, and even pace, an A group ride on flat and rolling terrain. When it starts getting hilly, though, power to weight ratios rule. You can bust a lung to keep up on the short hills, but if a lighter rider decides to bust a lung on the same, you'll get dropped. On mountains, like, long, steady climbs, there's really no hope of hanging with the fit lightweights.

But all of this is okay, and I guarantee that if you are well-trained, fit and strong, even at 200lbs, you can be assured that there are many riders out there who are slower. For sure.

My advice is to keep training and do some group rides. You'll get fitter, and have a better sense of perspective. No matter where you fall on the speed spectrum, the important thing is to ride, have fun, and to push yourself a bit.

Mr Sinister

Depends on the bike, my weight, wind, solo or not and the terrain.

Road bike on my own doing flats about 16-18 mph no winds... with a head wind half way about 15-16.
Road bike with a group about 18-20 but not for a full 50 miles.
Road bike with hills and wind about 15-16.
Mountain bike no matter the conditions between 12-14 in the woods. If I do the open area which is 6 miles around an old cranberry bog (Bog 18 google it) its about 12 miles with wind, and 14 without.

Most of these are ending average speeds by my Garmin.

JCNeumann

6' 2 and 245

with a group on a moderately hilly ride with a few short climb beasts (8-10%) about 16-17 including stops.

By myself, maybe .5 to 1 slower, but I tend to go for shorter but hillier rides.

I can keep up with a B ride, but will be very gassed the next day.

My goal is to improve hill attacking this year, as my current approach leaves me wiped and less able to accelerate over the top. I suspect this will make the B rides more enjoyable.

Weight loss is is not likely to be more than 10 or 15 pounds, given my body structure and exercise habits.

lopek77

I'm 285 at this moment. My average speed on my hybrid is anywhere between 12-13 mph. Its mostly trails or city sidewalks/paths so a lot of stop signs and lights. I did some rides on the same bike with average speeds around 16-17mph , but it was on unpaved rural roads with very few stop signs.
Funny thing is that my current mountain bike is much slower, but its the same average speed when riding in the city as on my hybrid. The reason is that I slow down a lot for curbs and imperfections on the road/path when on my hybrid, but I fly over it when on my MTB lol "slow and steady wins the race"

lopek77

Not sure if its just me and my surroundings, but I know a lot of 50-60 years old riders that can kick 20-30 years old butt. Most of them are retired, so a lot of time for riding....still, I'm amazed and jealous at only 37.

Jseis 

FWIW, I've a sample size of 125 from one of my 14.25 mile regular and flatish routes and...17 pound road bike with 90 psi tires v. 34 pound MTB with 70 psi street slicks. All things considered (wind, cadence, weather, clothing, temperature) the MTB is 5% slower. I attribute this mostly to the MTB "on the grips" riding and Road bike "on the hoods" riding and greater windage of the MTB and riding position in general. 20 psi tire pressure differential probably contributes some as the trail is super smooth. The MTB would lose in the hills though as I figure the weight penalty at ~30-40 watts going uphill.