think it's natural to enjoy going "fast" or "faster" cuz the very act of riding propels us faster than we could manage w our own two feet. so it's part of the attraction to the sport. was interesting watching my kids learn to ride. they started slow but soon wanted to go as fast as possible. still remember my daughter spinning like crazy on her trike trying to beat her older brother on his two wheeler. I've got a road bike which seems to be holding up. cpl yrs ago I picked up a cpl hybrids & have been enjoying unpaved but good quality rail trails. been thinking lately I might like to get drop bar bike that can take 45mm tires. gonna be a challenge finding such a critter, pre-owned, in my area. might have to settle for a cyclocross bike

on unpaved rail trails my average speed can drop as low as 7.5 mph over 24 miles
on a paved trail at night my max has been 26 mph w an average of 14 mph over 18 miles
on the roads in my area I don't usually go much over 30 mph & that's only going downhill (if that wasn't obvious)

this might be a typical unpaved rail trail ride on a hybrid from last January
19.5 miles round trip
avrg 7.6 mph (no max recorded)
2 hrs 40 min saddle time

this is from a gravel ride on the same bike last March
10.6 miles
24.3 mph max
8.7 avrg
1 hr 16 min saddle time

this was a good road bike ride last January
41.36 miles
26.5 max
12.2 avrg (9 of those miles was thru the woods, plus lots of stops to warm & refresh)
3hrs 24 min saddle time
out of the house for 4hrs 45min (12:45-5:30pm)

this was a good road bike ride last June
21.55 miles
32.4 max
14.7 avrg
1 hr 27 min saddle time
left for home 7 pm
reached home 8:52 pm (just after dark)
whole ride 43 miles
32.4 max
13.5 avrg
3 hrs 11 min saddle time

Good, but not the best comparison. The best way is to compare BF post counts.

Another bike is always the answer. At least around here (on BF, not in my house, lol)
S
Speed and mileage vary greatly from day to day and ride to ride. Over the last year I've ridden two centuries, one was actually 124 miles, a bunch of 3-mile roundtrips to the YMCA, dozens of 10-mile commutes to work (and back) and all kinds of distances in between.

On the long rides, I seem to average out at about 14.5, but hills, traffic and navigation are all factors. In a single day, I've sat in a 18mph pace line for almost 20 miles, struggled to stay in the double-digits on a never-ending string of climbs, and a 3-mile, 28mph 'drag race' with another rider for the last 3 miles of an 80-mile day. (It was a slight down grade on to a long flat in to town, and neither of us wanted to be the guy who sat up first)

My commute goes down in the low 15mph range, regardless of which bike i'm riding. My old XC bike is the go-to for that one, as it has the rack and the big light kit installed. Peak speeds are higher on the road bikes, but the avg speed and total time are almost the same, so that tells me that the MTB doesn't need to slow down as much.

Around here, 'MTB' covers anything with straight bars and 2" wide tires, from full-suspension 'Dirt Jumpers' to high-and-tight XC racers, to 30+lb. 'comfort' bikes. Depending on what you're riding now, some MTB's can make good, versatile middle-distance (40-60 mile) mounts with only minor changes.

Better to use inseam. :)

How Far and How Fast

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Originally Posted by Witterings (Post 20194185)

Just interested in general to see how far people tend to cycle both on MTB's and road bikes as a comparison and also roughly what your average mph is to see how it varies from mountain bike toroad bike and also to give myself some sort of yardstick.

I've recently gone from a leisurely ride with the Mrs to take in the scenery and have a picnic to cycling quite a lot more seriously….

My interest is mainly twofold, one to see how I'm doing compared to others and secondly to see if it may be worthwhile getting a road / gravel bike for longer rides which would open up a number of alternative routes. [130 posts]

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Originally Posted by shelbyfv (Post 20196146)

Put Strava on your phone (free) and you can make comparisons in your own vicinity. [4651 posts]

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Originally Posted by indyfabz (Post 20196153)

I don't keep track of miles or average speed. I measure myself against other cyclists by height. [16,183]

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Originally Posted by 2manybikes (Post 20196328)

Good, but not the best comparison. The best way is to compare BF post counts. [16,706]

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Originally Posted by Maelochs (Post 20194270)

…As for how fast or how much faster .... depends on you. You cannot compare with anyone else well, because of different fitness levels, effort levels,training levels .....

how much faster would you be on a different bike? Some. How would you compare with others? Faster than some, slower than others. [8099]

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To restate an approximation of a notable cycling proverb I read on BF long ago, “My 15 mph and 50 miles is to me, as your 21 mph and 100 miles is to you.”

Jim from Boston (5,565 posts)

If you only have one type of bike, by all means buy the other. I was N=1 for several years, until repeated mechanical issues were leaving me bikeless for days at a time. Went shopping for a proper N+1, and when I got ot the LBS I said, "I want to try the bike that's the least like what I have now." I ride my Ritchey Swiss Cross everywhere-- road centuries, climbs, fire roads, horse trails, you name it. I don't care how fast I'm going when I'm on it-- yesterday's dirt ride was 12mph average. It has a recorded aggregate average speed of 15.9mph over 7,250 miles. It's Cervelo stablemate goes fast. That's all it wants to do. 17.6mph average over 3,200 miles.

All I know is I could no longer manage with just one-- if you asked to make the choice, I couldn't. I need them both. So as a formerly dedicated N=1 guy, will 2018 be another N+1 year? I'm certainly not ruling it out.

If you want to ensure that you are constantly growing as a cyclist, ride to the grocery store every day, and buy a half-gallon of ice cream. Eat and repeat. The store won't get any further away, but the challenge will continue to grow as you continue to grow.

As far as I feel like on any given day, and as fast as it also feel right.

But then it probably will be about 30 miles at 12 to 14 mph on the trike, every other day.

9 time zones, at Mach .8, in a 747.. east bound ..

Ounces of post-ride beer per mile might be a useful metric. Although milliliters of beer per kilometer would be even more metric.

I did about 15 miles today and was constantly watching the speedo, certainly the minute you go off road onto gravel tracks you lose between 2 / 4 mph depending on the track which quickly starts bringing your average down.