what type of speed is normal ?
05-21-09, 09:04 AM
#26
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Diesel Dan's entrys regarding the beach cruiser and comfort bike are about right for me. I don't have, nor do I know anything about the others.
05-21-09, 09:50 AM
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Normal is when you have been riding for 10 years, riding 4,000 miles a year, already passed over age 60 and can hardly sustain 25 mph for any length of time on the flats with little wind assistance. That's when I say that I'm normal and everyone else is not.
05-21-09, 09:58 AM
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"Normal" depends on a zillion variables. In downtown areas, there is a red light or a stop sign every hundred yards. Very bad for your average speed. I sometimes ride on a quarter-mile track where it is possible to maintain a steady cruising speed for as long as I want.
On a totally windless day, cruising at 15 mph is comfortable. To ride much faster than that for extended periods of time would greatly increases the work load. Time trial riders get into low aero positions to get a high cruising speed...but if you are riding with your hands on the "tops", air resistance increases by a significant amount between 15 mph and 20 mph.
I've noticed when I'm on the track cruising at 15 mph I am oftened passed by guys half my age riding at 20 mph or 25 mph. But, most of those "fast" guys quit after just two or three miles...they are unable able to keep riding at those speeds for five or ten miles. So, your "average cruising speed" also depends on how many miles you will be riding.
On a totally windless day, cruising at 15 mph is comfortable. To ride much faster than that for extended periods of time would greatly increases the work load. Time trial riders get into low aero positions to get a high cruising speed...but if you are riding with your hands on the "tops", air resistance increases by a significant amount between 15 mph and 20 mph.
I've noticed when I'm on the track cruising at 15 mph I am oftened passed by guys half my age riding at 20 mph or 25 mph. But, most of those "fast" guys quit after just two or three miles...they are unable able to keep riding at those speeds for five or ten miles. So, your "average cruising speed" also depends on how many miles you will be riding.
05-21-09, 10:22 AM
#29
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I can average 20 mph over 50 miles.
Commuting I do 13 miles in 50 minutes but that includes stops.
Commuting I do 13 miles in 50 minutes but that includes stops.
05-29-09, 05:05 PM
#30
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05-29-09, 08:25 PM
#31
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I ride a Giant Sedona DX with 26 X 1.95 tires. Today, I rode 19 miles on a very hilly paved surface and averaged 10.8 MPH with a maximum speed of 25.8 MPH. On a flat paved rail trail I can average between 12 MPH - 15 MPH depending on my metabolism, and road surface (e.g. gravel, cinder, dirt, or hard concrete/asphalt surface). Also, wind can effect my speed by 2 MPH or more. This is with tires inflated at 55 lbs. of air. Of course my stamina is improving, but my next move is to inflate to the maximum 65 lbs. of air and see the difference it makes in MPH on the same routes.
Last edited by OverTheHill; 05-30-09 at 05:59 AM.
05-30-09, 10:39 AM
#32
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The hour record for bicycles is the record for the longest distance cycled in one hour on a bicycle. There are several records. The most famous is for upright bicycles meeting the requirements of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). It is one of the most prestigious in cycling. Hour-record attempts are made in a velodrome, frequently at altitudes for the aerodynamic benefit of thinner air.
The first recorded record was in 1876 when Frank Dodds rode 26.508km (16.471mi) on a penny-farthing. In 1972, Eddy Merckx set a record of 49.431km (30.715 mi) that stood for 12 years. The current UCI record is by Ondřej Sosenka, 49.700km (30.882 mi).
Eddy Merckx said his hour record attempt was "the hardest ride I have ever done".
That was not cruising.
The first recorded record was in 1876 when Frank Dodds rode 26.508km (16.471mi) on a penny-farthing. In 1972, Eddy Merckx set a record of 49.431km (30.715 mi) that stood for 12 years. The current UCI record is by Ondřej Sosenka, 49.700km (30.882 mi).
Eddy Merckx said his hour record attempt was "the hardest ride I have ever done".
That was not cruising.
05-30-09, 11:52 AM
#33
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16-20 kph is my "normal", going faster or slower is not my focus-
watching the route go by and getting to my destination is.
watching the route go by and getting to my destination is.
05-30-09, 12:44 PM
#34
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During casual solo riding over flat terrain, I average around 15 MPH at first and am moving around 10 MPH at ~75+ miles.
Or alternately: around 24 kph at first, and around 16 kph at ~120 km.
Disclaimers:
I ride a moderate to fair amount but am still fat.
The bike is a recumbent, but not a particularly aero or lightweight one.
This is truth.
It is considered poor form to claim a paceline speed as "your own".
~
Or alternately: around 24 kph at first, and around 16 kph at ~120 km.
Disclaimers:
I ride a moderate to fair amount but am still fat.
The bike is a recumbent, but not a particularly aero or lightweight one.
It is considered poor form to claim a paceline speed as "your own".
~
05-30-09, 02:00 PM
#35
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Fairly typical solo training ride:
Duration: 3:01:15 (3:03:10)
Work: 2217 kJ
TSS: 180.3 (intensity factor 0.773)
Norm Power: 224
VI: 1.1
Pw:HR: -1.99%
Distance: 59.872 mi
Elevation Gain: 6208 ft
Elevation Loss: 6218 ft
Grade: -0.0 % (-7 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 550 204 watts
Heart Rate: 84 172 149 bpm
Cadence: 2 119 92 rpm
Speed: 0.1 47.2 19.7 mph
Altitude: -3 2140 582 ft
Crank Torque: 0 698 193 lb-in
Fairly typical group ride:
Duration: 4:16:33 (4:52:15)
Work: 2752 kJ
TSS: 252.6 (intensity factor 0.769)
Norm Power: 223
VI: 1.25
Pw:HR: 6.86%
Distance: 84.002 mi
Elevation Gain: 6758 ft
Elevation Loss: 6781 ft
Grade: -0.0 % (-23 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 757 179 watts
Heart Rate: 76 181 142 bpm
Cadence: 2 116 87 rpm
Speed: 0 50.6 19.5 mph
Altitude: -14 1110 194 ft
Crank Torque: 0 760 170 lb-in
Duration: 3:01:15 (3:03:10)
Work: 2217 kJ
TSS: 180.3 (intensity factor 0.773)
Norm Power: 224
VI: 1.1
Pw:HR: -1.99%
Distance: 59.872 mi
Elevation Gain: 6208 ft
Elevation Loss: 6218 ft
Grade: -0.0 % (-7 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 550 204 watts
Heart Rate: 84 172 149 bpm
Cadence: 2 119 92 rpm
Speed: 0.1 47.2 19.7 mph
Altitude: -3 2140 582 ft
Crank Torque: 0 698 193 lb-in
Fairly typical group ride:
Duration: 4:16:33 (4:52:15)
Work: 2752 kJ
TSS: 252.6 (intensity factor 0.769)
Norm Power: 223
VI: 1.25
Pw:HR: 6.86%
Distance: 84.002 mi
Elevation Gain: 6758 ft
Elevation Loss: 6781 ft
Grade: -0.0 % (-23 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 0 757 179 watts
Heart Rate: 76 181 142 bpm
Cadence: 2 116 87 rpm
Speed: 0 50.6 19.5 mph
Altitude: -14 1110 194 ft
Crank Torque: 0 760 170 lb-in
