How Far and How Fast
 

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 to road 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.

All of it's on a mtb at the moment doing between 14 and the most I did the other day was 34 miles over fairly flattish mixed gravel path / quiet road with average speeds varying from 10.4 mph on the rougher / muddier areas with gates to open / get through to 12.7 on the more road heavy routes.

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.

If you're taking in the scenery why worry about speed. If you want to go faster than what you're doing on a MTB then a gravel/cx bike will allow you to do that. Not only will it be lighter, but you'll be in a better position to push hard and have an aero advantage.

How much faster will you be on a road/cx/gravel bike? On pavement maybe 2-3 mph faster. On rougher terrain like gravel or dirt, less.

Far, not fast , multi month cycle tours... camping gear and hostel stays..


SE Ireland, to NE Scotland.. Pub Crawl.. spent many months , got a visa extension, had a good time..







....

If you are riding a bike which is not suited to the terrain for example a suspended mountain bike over flat dirt or pavement, then you are carrying excess weight, and wasting some pedaling effort compression the fork.

If you don't need suspension, and you don't need the heavier and more rugged MTB ....

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.

If you want to be fast compared to others, you need to train like the people you want to beat. If that works for you, go to the training and nutrition forum and prepare to only enjoy rides which are more painful than the last one.

If you want the option of riding efficiently on the road and hard-packed, smooth trails ... you know what to do.

I'm a beginner cyclist as well, and I heavily advise that you buy a somewhat high end bike (ie from a bike shop, not big 5 or sports authority or Walmart) that suits the terrain you're riding.

You say you have an MTB. Do the trails you ride involve technical rocky sections that would be impossible on a gravel bike? Any steep chutes or slight drops? If not, an MTB may be overkill and is *definitely* sapping far more speed than you think it is.

I would recommend a gravel bike with fatter (30C+) tires but not necessarily any knobs if that's something you can handle. It wouldn't work too well in actual mud but I'm not sure how "muddy" your muddy trails are.

Also I wouldn't recommend comparing yourself to anyone in terms of average speed because the conditions you're riding in are different from everyone else, and as a beginner it can be discouraging to see how fast others are. I'd focus on increasing my own average speed from week to week and combining long, difficult to complete rides with short intense rides.

Hope that helps.
EDIT: oh. Seems like Maelochs already covered everything here. I second what he says. Also be sure to set your tire pressures smartly. On a road bike with 25c tires, I run 85psi (I weigh 140lbs). With fat tires offroad I'd probably dip to 60psi or so. MTBs with 2.5in tires run somewhere around 25psi.

On my road bike I can do 16-17 mph on a relatively flat ride, 15 with lots of hills. My commuter bike I'm about 2 mph slower, my MB around 10-11 mph. In terms of distance, most of my riding is commuting (25 miles RT), but weekend rides vary, but I like them to be in the 35 mile range on the road.


As others have mentioned, comparing yourself to the gaggle of people posting in this thread is pretty meaningless. Best to use an app and track your own progress.

I have been road cycling for about 1 1/2 year. I ride about 20 miles a day on a mostly flat route with many twists and sharp turns. My avg cadence is 80 and speed is 14mph on light weight bikes, 14.6lbs and 15.2lbs.

Well just to satisfy the OP's curiosity. On my road bike I average around 15 MPH, average distance 35-40 miles, sometimes more, rarely under 20 miles. That's with lots of hills, usually 2000-3500 ft. climbing. On my heavier touring bike, the speed drops to 13-14 mph. On flat terrain I usually average about 16 mph.

When I rode mtn bikes, I never even considered my speed.

Cheers to everyone for their input ... the speed thing was only to get a very rough idea and if I was doing AV 10 mph on a mtb and others were doing 17 on the same I'd be concerned ... it wasn't to try and prove who's the fastest :)

There's probably an approximate difference for most riders between an mtb and road bike ie approx 4/5 mph so if I'm doing say a 5 mph difference and was out for a 3 hr ride I'd travel approx another 15 miles in roughly the same time and could work out what other routes that'd open up and if it's worth it or just to stick with what I'm currently doing.

The other is also to gauge if people generally do much longer distances on a road bike and if that's not just down to speed but also efficiency making it easier.

Must admit can't wait for the spring as all this has been done in fairly "challenging" weather :foo:

On my drop bar Trek 830 rigid MTB I can average around 14mph for about 30 miles of pavement, crushed limestone and mud/dirt, 15 on a good day. That's with mildly knobby 2.1 tires. On my Masi Giramondo, add about 2.5mph on the same terrain. On my old Raleigh, I've done the same at 17-18mph. Strangely I don't know my road bike times on full pavement since they mostly get used as city rides. My average moving speed on the DK100 last summer (on the Masi, mostly gravel and ruts, some pavement for the first and last 5 miles) was 13.8 or 12 something with a break at 46 miles. First 46 on dry gravel was just over 14mph. Second half some muddy and craggy parts slowed me down.

you're asking a bunch of addicts if you should have more? most definitely the answer is yes! get another bike! :D

:thumb:

Doesn't matter.

Basically, it's the motor. If you want to go faster or farther, you need to work on developing a more powerful motor. To upgrade your motor you have to start with where it's at this very minute. You can't wait until you get into better shape to start getting into shape.

The thing is that for me a mountain bike ride is totally different than a road ride. I don't ride my mountain bike on the road, it wasn't made for that. When we ride off road, the trails are designed for mountain biking. That means, difficult terrain, multiple steep, short climbs, rocks, roots, mud, and many twist and turns on loose slippery surfaces. We stop frequently to talk and trade insults, to laugh and enjoy ourselves. On the road, we might not stop at all for over 50 km, riding at speeds averaging over 30 kph. How could you possibly compare the two? I only ride my mountain bike on the road to get to the trailhead, I don't care how fast I go for that portion of the ride

If you are talking about riding pavement or smooth dirt paths, it really depends on what you define as a “mountain bike”.

An XC hardtail with fast tires is a completely different animal than an 5-6” All Mountain or Enduro bike with aggressive trail tires.

On the same routes of 20-50 miles, same conditions (wind, etc.) and similar energy level:
About 12-14 mph on pavement and 10-12 mph on groomed crushed limestone trails on the hybrids (handlebar slightly above saddle height).
About 14-16 mph on pavement on the road bike ('80s style road racing bike, handlebar 2"-3" below saddle height, typical of that era). I avoid gravel and the crushed limestone trails on the road bike. It's not so great with skinny tires.

I've wondered why I'm not significantly faster on the road bike and spent way too much time analyzing the likely reasons. Well, beyond the obvious -- being 60 years old with all the lovely nagging problems of an aging body.

Dissecting the rides to examine specific segments -- flats, climbs, downhills -- it appears the main advantage to the road bike is it's more aerodynamic. On the road bike I'm significantly faster on downhills where speeds usually exceed 20 mph; a little faster on flats; about the same on climbs.

I'm a mediocre climber and the road bike doesn't offer much advantage. If anything I prefer the hybrids for climbing. Wind resistance isn't much of a factor and the somewhat more upright position is a tradeoff. On the one hand the upright position makes less efficient use of the adductor muscles in the hips. On the other hand, I can breathe more freely sitting more upright.

Standing to climb is another factor where the road bike offers me very little advantage. I can stand straighter on the hybrids, gaining much more efficiency by putting my body weight directly over the pedals. With the road bike I'm leaning forward to balance on the bars, so less weight is directly over the pedals. It's less efficient for standing out of the saddle, and more tiring. And the adductor muscles get limited advantage on the road bike because, even though I'm only 5-10 lbs over my optimal weight, it's all in the midsection where it hinders free pedaling while seating and bent over onto the drops. Even with my only moderate gut, I can feel it hindering my thighs on the upstroke. It's a little thing but contributes to inefficiency on climbs.

So my best guess for an ideal bike for me pretty much matches what many of my contemporaries (old dudes) are already riding: lightweight carbon or aluminum frames, less aggressive drop bar bikes with the bars at saddle height, and a little less reach than I'm using.

The higher bar and slightly reduced reach makes sense for pot bellies -- less pressure around the midsection, freer breathing. The drops are still there for the aero advantage when needed. The top of the bar is comparable to riding a flat bar hybrid. Leaning forward onto the hoods, a bit more aggressive and aero but still comfortable (and newer style hoods are much more comfortable than the rudimentary hooks on my older style bike).

By Thread title I thought this would take me to latest and rehashed issue of Bicycling magazine... But in this case... Ride as fast or slow as it makes you happy. Its all good!

To get faster try and keep a eye on ur cadence if u don't have one on the bike now . You can pick up a wired one really cheap . When u ride try and keep a cadence of 80 to 90 or more if u can but make sure your not spinning u should feel a little resistance in your legs best.way to determine if your doing it right is play with the gears if u can barely keep a cadence above 75 then shift to a easier gear .so u can get to 85 to 90 and overall it will make u a much better rider even for distance a lot less strain on the knees if u keep a higher. Cadence in the right gears

It varies a lot, but for example, here's what Rowan and I did last week. The 215 km randonnee was on the road, with touring bicycles with tyres with less tread. The tour was on light gravel on touring bicycles with tyres with more tread.

i use an mtb for commuting and average between 12 - 14.5 mph depending upon the foot traffic , whilst out on the retro road bikes i average 14 - 17 mph again route dependant

i agree. asking a bunch of cyclists if you should buy another bike is like asking my dog if he wants another treat, he never says no. I have an adventure/light touring bike that I love. I can ride it on fairly technical trails and I can ride it on my group ride with a bunch of roadies. I like to ride fast on or off the road, but thats me, ride how you like and keep riding and you'll go faster by nature.

Labrador by any chance :)

There really is no way to make a comparison. But, where I ride, a "typical" solo ride would be 30-40 mi. with 2500 ft. of elevation. On a day without serious wind I'd do 15 mph or so. I have a TT of 6.5 mi. with 300 ft. of elevation that I have done at 18.7 mph. FWIW, I am 71 and weigh in at 187 lbs for a 5'9" frame. All of this on my road bike.

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

I don't keep track of miles or average speed. I measure myself against other cyclists by height.