Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > General Cycling Discussion
Reload this Page >

Urban vs Trail Cycling

Notices
General Cycling Discussion Have a cycling related question or comment that doesn't fit in one of the other specialty forums? Drop on in and post in here! When possible, please select the forum above that most fits your post!

Urban vs Trail Cycling

Old 06-14-22, 09:17 AM
  #1  
Full Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 475
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 200 Post(s)
Liked 136 Times in 86 Posts
Urban vs Trail Cycling

I live in Chicago, 90% of my riding is urban, the rest is on the lake front or MUP type trails. In the city I am stopping or slowing down at almost every corner and/or alley. If I do 10 to 15 miles, my legs feel the workout much more than they do If I do 30 miles on open road or MUP.

Of course, I am constantly gaining momentum in the city.
Have others noticed this, and has this ever been quantified? Like 10 miles city = 15 trail(approximately) .

Keep on riding!

gm
gringomojado is offline  
Likes For gringomojado:
Old 06-14-22, 09:27 AM
  #2  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: North Central Wisconsin
Posts: 4,595
Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2964 Post(s)
Liked 1,159 Times in 758 Posts
Originally Posted by gringomojado
I live in Chicago,
I'm sorry.
prj71 is offline  
Old 06-14-22, 09:54 AM
  #3  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: northern Deep South
Posts: 8,826

Bikes: Fuji Touring, Novara Randonee

Mentioned: 36 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2568 Post(s)
Liked 1,889 Times in 1,185 Posts
This is probably another "It depends" question.

If you're only mildly curious, try to figure out what the ratio is from your rides and Relative Perceived Exhaustion (RPE, and yes, I know that's not how the acronym was previously derived). If you're going to obsess a little more, you'll want to get a power meter and associated data collector (GPS, for example), and figure out what your TSS/mile is for both kinds of riding.
pdlamb is offline  
Old 06-14-22, 10:32 AM
  #4  
Senior Member
 
BlazingPedals's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Middle of da Mitten
Posts: 12,473

Bikes: Trek 7500, RANS V-Rex, Optima Baron, Velokraft NoCom, M-5 Carbon Highracer, Catrike Speed

Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1511 Post(s)
Liked 732 Times in 453 Posts
If I were to ride MUPs, I'd be stopping almost as often as urban riding. Actually, I consider MUPs to be equal to urban riding. No matter how hard I push, I'm going to average 14-15 mph because of all the stops. Most of my riding is rural.
BlazingPedals is offline  
Old 06-14-22, 11:46 AM
  #5  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Toronto
Posts: 3,497

Bikes: Sekine 1979 ten speed racer

Mentioned: 15 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1477 Post(s)
Liked 637 Times in 436 Posts
It depends on where my destination is. A certain spot 18km from my home will take 25% longer if I take the trails than through city streets.

One of the reasons is that urban riding is direct and trail riding meanders all over the place.
Daniel4 is offline  
Old 06-14-22, 02:08 PM
  #6  
Sunshine
 
mstateglfr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Des Moines, IA
Posts: 16,506

Bikes: '18 class built steel roadbike, '19 Fairlight Secan, '88 Schwinn Premis , Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross V4, '89 Novara Trionfo

Mentioned: 123 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10873 Post(s)
Liked 7,354 Times in 4,125 Posts
10mi of in town/city riding may take as long as 15mi of rural paved rail trail riding, but I have not noticed the physical exertion to be 50% greater when riding in town/city.
mstateglfr is offline  
Likes For mstateglfr:
Old 06-14-22, 02:23 PM
  #7  
Senior Member
 
Reflector Guy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2020
Location: Chicago
Posts: 1,339

Bikes: Bianchi Infinito XE, Via Nirone 7, GT Aggressor Pro

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 599 Post(s)
Liked 1,269 Times in 588 Posts
Originally Posted by Daniel4

One of the reasons is that urban riding is direct and trail riding meanders all over the place.
Depends on the trail. Rail-trails are usually straight as an arrow (some people dislike them because they are too straight) but if they go in the right direction, they're great.

The ones I ride on are rarely crowded so I can go as fast as I want, I avoid 99% of the car traffic and the occasional busy street crossings provide a nice chance to rest for a moment and have some water.
Reflector Guy is offline  
Old 06-14-22, 02:49 PM
  #8  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: location location
Posts: 3,033

Bikes: MBK Super Mirage 1991, CAAD10, Yuba Mundo Lux, and a Cannondale Criterium Single Speed

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 343 Post(s)
Liked 292 Times in 205 Posts
Originally Posted by mstateglfr
10mi of in town/city riding may take as long as 15mi of rural paved rail trail riding, but I have not noticed the physical exertion to be 50% greater when riding in town/city.
I would usually be cruising around while in town, using it as a warm up to get properly moving once I'm out in the countryside, so for me, that wouldn't be like-for-like.

If I was to try and ride flat out in the city, I'd be constantly stopping at lights, crosswalks, junctions etc, so that stop-start nature probably would make a ride feel longer. Riding in most big cities usually means not going more than 0.5-1 mile without stopping, putting your foot down, and having to start again.
Leinster is offline  
Old 06-14-22, 03:21 PM
  #9  
Senior Member
 
PeteHski's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 8,020
Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4193 Post(s)
Liked 4,616 Times in 2,852 Posts
Originally Posted by gringomojado
I live in Chicago, 90% of my riding is urban, the rest is on the lake front or MUP type trails. In the city I am stopping or slowing down at almost every corner and/or alley. If I do 10 to 15 miles, my legs feel the workout much more than they do If I do 30 miles on open road or MUP.

Of course, I am constantly gaining momentum in the city.
Have others noticed this, and has this ever been quantified? Like 10 miles city = 15 trail(approximately) .

Keep on riding!

gm
Well you can only really quantify this for yourself on those specific routes. You have already stated that 10-15 urban miles feels much harder than 30 MUP miles. So now you just need to ride extra MUP miles until your legs feel the same way as they did after the 10-15 urban miles. Unfortunately there is no universal conversion for this!
PeteHski is offline  
Old 06-14-22, 03:27 PM
  #10  
Senior Member
 
WhyFi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: TC, MN
Posts: 39,505

Bikes: R3 Disc, Haanjo

Mentioned: 353 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 20791 Post(s)
Liked 9,435 Times in 4,663 Posts
Get a power meter.
WhyFi is offline  
Old 06-14-22, 06:18 PM
  #11  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: South shore, L.I., NY
Posts: 6,810

Bikes: Flyxii FR322, Cannondale Topstone, Miyata City Liner, Specialized Chisel, Specialized Epic Evo

Mentioned: 18 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3179 Post(s)
Liked 2,006 Times in 1,149 Posts
Hardest century I ever did is the TA NY Century. By the time you are out in Queens at like 50 miles pr so, its constant stop and start at countless traffic lights and stops signs. Really tiring compared to a century out in the countryside,
Steve B. is offline  
Old 06-15-22, 07:49 AM
  #12  
Senior Member
 
BobbyG's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Posts: 5,955

Bikes: 2015 Charge Plug, 2007 Dahon Boardwalk, 1997 Nishiki Blazer, 1984 Nishiki International, 2006 Felt F65, 1989 Dahon Getaway V

Mentioned: 54 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1357 Post(s)
Liked 1,655 Times in 819 Posts
gringomojado Yes! I commuted through Colorado Springs for many years and it takes much more effort than out on uninterrupted trails and roads. I grew up in Chicago and go back regularly. Even driving, on the neighborhood streets you have to watch for cross traffic at intersections and alleys.
BobbyG is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.