I don't doubt there are people who could maintain 20+ mph riding a MTB on the flats without a ton of effort.

I'm not one of them. ;)

Don't argue with your mother! :notamused:
Go back and apologize. Tell her you wish someday you could ride as fast as her! lol

No way can I average 20 on my heavy commuter with a load.
On my roadie I have a 20 mile after-work route (when not commuting) that I average 17.
But I'm old.

Yep that leave me out however my average on my Full suspension flat bar MTB is over 20+ MPH. Hee hee!

I use it only on downhill runs. I have a friend drive me and my bike to the top. I suspect that average will be higher this summer as I hope to take it to the ski slope. :p

I understand. For a long time my only ride was a Cannondale F500 MTB - I rode that thing forever with smooth 1.5" tires, and a flat bar with the "antler ends". Never had a problem.

Now that I know better though, I prefer drops on my "ride everywhere" bikes, if only to fight headwinds.

All that being said, on my drop-bar motobecane, its not unusual for me to cruise along @ 20mph.

Actually, I paid attention on the way home this evening, and I think the answer is "yes." Every time that I was on a flat or even a mild incline, and I looked down, I was going in excess of 20 MPH, and I am riding with a chest cold right now. There was no significant wind today. My average for the trip was 17.2, but that's because the last 40% of my ride is on gravel road, badly potholed and with constant up/down hills.

Typically I'd be going 22 on the flat, 20.x on a slight incline, drop to about 17 on bigger inclines, and down to the range for 12 to 14 for actual hills.

And I'm not really trying to go fast, I'm just clocking along at what seems comfortable and sustainable.

Since I've started commuting I've been wanting to go faster and faster, on the flats and the inclines, which is why I asked. I don't have a computer on my bike and have been figuring out my average speed using the "dirt" formula. As for sustained, I really meant the whole ride. I should have worded it better. This morning I averaged 15mph, and its usually anywhere between 13-15. I felt like I was doing at least 20 on a slight downhill, I just tucked a bit and sprinted. I didn't last very long and my legs were killing me for the minute or two it took to recover. But all and all it was pretty cool.

The bike I have is the KHS Urban Express with 700c x 32 tires. Its the fastest bike I've ever owned. (only 24) And I really can't wait to get a bike with drop bars. I used to go to and from school on a MTB, but after the 3 or 4 miles it took to get there I was soaked. On this bike I can travel the 17 miles it takes to get to work, be just as sweaty, but not as tired.

Jeremy, Memphis is like Chicago in the urban setting but with way worse drivers. There might be more cars and people in Chicago but people here don't know how to drive.

I don't have a speedo on my bike, but I track my commute sometimes with my phone gps and 'my tracks' app. My average 'moving speed' to work seems to be in the 16-18mph range (around 13 miles one way), with the occasional max speed of around 30-32. I think if it were all flat with no lights, a close to 20mph average would be possible.

when i first started commuting, i was really bummed i couldn't get over 15 mph (huffin' and a puffin'). after a few months (4 or 5), i could sustain 18 mph easy. my lungs and legs had caught up with what i was doing, and all was well. i'm on a fixed gear bike where 90rpm is 19.4mph. pushing hard i'm in the low to mid twenties. if, and i say //if// everything is perfect, i can easily sustain 25+ with a nice tail wind. that's all on flat ground. i max out at around 30mph downhill. 'can't pedal any faster.

i would like to get a road bike with bigger gear selection, to see what i can do. :)

Trust me - almost all members of racing clubs, if plopped onto a mtn bike with 2" knobbies would easily be able to hold 20mph for a long, long time solo on a flat. Not easily, but it wouldn't be incredibly difficult for them.

I average around 16-18mph on my Surly Cross-Check with 1x9 gearing and loaded pannier for sustained periods in average varying terrain. If i was out in a flat area on my fixed gear with flat bars, no wind I think I could sustain 20mph for a few miles. But those are never realistic conditions

You talk like we have notoriously good drivers here. My experience from going to TN is that drivers are a lot more polite there.

If you like the Urban Express otherwise, why not just put drop bars on it? I guess it might be expensive, hardware-wise, but still much less than a new bike.

My total for tDrop bar conversion was around 150 dollars. This included, new stem, Handlebars, Brake Levers, Bar End Shifters, Brake and Shifter Cables, Grip tape, and the electrical tape to finish off grip tape. (Hate the 6" strips that come with writing on them)

Sorry just speaking from my experiences. I can deal with Chicago traffic alot better than Memphis traffic highway wise. People seem really suicidal here.

If, and I mean if, I reach 20mph during my commute, I am overjoyed. I aspired to average just under 20mph with my CrossxCheck, but the Big Dummy doesn't get up there that much. It does much faster after removing the winter studs.

Well it was in a headwind with loaded panniers.

I tried to keep up with some cute young thing cranking along on a road bike yesterday when I was on my commuter/mtb, and I could barely do it. She didn't seem to be an experienced rider but it was all I could do to keep up with her. On my road bike I'd have easily blown past her, not that I would.

I ge3nerally sit on 32 - 35 kmph, about 20 - 22 mph, unles I have a headwind.

My record ride to work for my 12.4 km was with an average of just a tad over 32kph.

I ride a cheap Giant mtb, with 1.95 tyres, rack, guards, two locks and a backpack.

z

With fully loaded panniers for a change of clothing at work. Panniers seem to make me faster.

Heavens no! The view is too nice from behind. :D


{regarding 20 mph average}
Better add your waders too, because it's getting deep in here.

I lack a computer, but imagine than I can get up to 20 on the flats, if not a little higher. I usually ride a drop bar touring bike, but when it was in the shop earlier this year, I borrowed a flat bar, and actually found it faster (it had an aluminum frame, higher pressure tires). Harsher ride quality, though, and I don't know how far I could keep it up...there's not that many places I regularly ride that I can just open up for more than a few blocks at a time, and when I do longer rides I'm more concerned about endurance than speed.

I can get going that fast, but can't maintain it for long. Partly because I'd get tired, but partly due to traffic, cross streets, pedestrians, dogs, potholes and the other stuff that makes my riding interesting.

only when driving.

[QUOTE=JeremyZ;10861014]You talk like we have notoriously good drivers here. My experience from going to TN is that drivers are a lot more polite there.

If you like the Urban Express otherwise, why not just put drop bars on it? I guess it might be expensive, hardware-wise, but still much less than a new bike.[/QUOTE]
the drivers in memphis have to be some of the worst in the entire lower 48.

they suck. and suck hard.

i've worked my way up in the last month to being able to push 20mph for a mile now on my gary fisher kaitai on schwalbe marathon cross 700x38 tires, which have a pretty decent knobby pattern on them. i figure i can get to where i can push it for 2+ miles within the next week or so.

My commute is over 12 miles 1 way address to address according to Googlemaps, probably closer to 13 miles start to stop (since I park my bike some distance in from the front gate at work).
I ride road bikes, on the drops most (~80%) of the way.
If my elapsed time start to stop is >40min, that is typically due to adverse wind or other circumstance (laziness being one possibility).