I'm a 23 year old guy whose just starting road biking and was just wondering what sort of speeds should i be achieving. I have been doing a ~11miles a day commuting (with a reasonable climb on the way back) for the last 6 months, and I normally manage a 20-30 mile ride on my road bike each week. Usually on my road bike I manage ~18mph average with some climbs and normally cruise around 20mph. Is this in the right range for a newbie? Whenever i ask other relatively non-serious road bikers they say they manage 23-25mph average!
Also what is the best way to improve my legs for cycling. Wailing on them at the gym, or just by riding my bike lots?
Originally posted by holysmoke I'm a 23 year old guy whose just starting road biking and was just wondering what sort of speeds should i be achieving. I have been doing a ~11miles a day commuting (with a reasonable climb on the way back) for the last 6 months, and I normally manage a 20-30 mile ride on my road bike each week. Usually on my road bike I manage ~18mph average with some climbs and normally cruise around 20mph. Is this in the right range for a newbie? Whenever i ask other relatively non-serious road bikers they say they manage 23-25mph average!
Also what is the best way to improve my legs for cycling. Wailing on them at the gym, or just by riding my bike lots?
I probably average around 19 to 20mph on my work commute which is 14 miles one way and some small hills & 10-15 mph winds. Of course my cruising speed is higher but the average speed drops at intersections. I've been riding for a little over a year now so I'm perhaps not as experienced as others.
Geez 23-25mph seems kinda high to me for an average speed but I guess it depends on how many stops and how far they are riding. The less stops and longer distances will make a big difference on average speed.
for what its worth I think you should ride as fast as you can each time you ride your road bike and find your own comfort level not worrying too much about numbers. Then when you are finally in a groove start to time yourself and then look to shave a few minuites off each month or so. I hate folks who just idle along on road bikes, they are made to go fast. I've been riding a month and I ride 3 times a week 32 miles a time in about 1hr 55 mins over flat and hilly roads in San Diego area. So thats my 2c
Originally posted by holysmoke Whenever i ask other relatively non-serious road bikers they say they manage 23-25mph average!
They're lying. Non-serious bikers? 25mph AVERAGE? On real roads?
Nah. Perhaps they see 25mph for quite a bit of their ride, but that doesn't mean that's the average...
If I go some on local, fairly hilly roads for 45 minutes at what I and my heart, legs and lungs consider a bloody good ride, I AVERAGE 14mph. Fourteen! Obviously at 75lbs overweight, those hills really get me... 🙂
yea, for a non-serious road biker, if their saying their average is 23-25, you can bet on either one or two things. 1. It's all downhill or 2. Their full of [censored]
I consider myself a novice on my bike. i'm riding 200-300 miles a week. Average ride is 50-80 miles. I ride at about 24 mph on my own, thats usually what it says when I look down, but my average is always down around 19. When climbing hills the speed drops a lot and since hills take up time, they drop your average speed. Do whatever is comfortable for you, it doesnt matter, there's no set speed. Nobody here is laughing at you. Well, maybee I am... :p
The leading group in a relatively flat 100 mile race I rode in recently finished in about 4.5 hours - or avg of 22. 2 mph. The group included a couple of olympians and ex pro's. I would suggest that expecting to ride 25 mph over any decent distance, with any reasonable elevation change is a long-term goal rather than an immediate requirement.
Oh, I know quite a few non-serious cyclists that tell me that they easily average 25mph on rolling courses with long climbs. Of course, they usually convey these facts after a few drinks; right after they have gotten done telling me about the passionate weekend that they just spent in bed with Anna Kournikova and right before they explain how Bill Gates and Warren Buffett reguarly consult them for financial advice.
I agree they are lieing. I ride about as much as you do in a week. I'm lucky if I can hit 16-18, but I am riding a krappy old peugeot. I bet if you looked at their computers they are hitting 18-19.
I know how it is. I track my true average, using the function of my cycle computer, and I do rollout calibration tests every once in a while to account for tire wear (thought that is basically meaningless since my computer ownly allows whole digit incriments). I average 14.4 to 16.5 on the same 20 mile ride, depending on whether I push hard or just ride it for excercise.
If I look at my speed I would swear I average more since I ride a lot of the flats at 18 to 19 mph.
I'm 51 and only have been seriously riding for about one year now.
Every ride I do is pretty hilly. On the most hilly ride the best average time I can come up with is just under 16 over 55 miles. My goal is is to crack 16. If I get a no wind day I think I can do it. I too have heard of people boasting of what seems to me to be a real high average speed. In another forum I heard several people saying their average speed over a century is anywhere from 19 -22. Im thinking I need a lot of work or they are riding downhill or just plain full of it But I have been riding only a year. Nick
Originally posted by holysmoke I'm a 23 year old guy whose just starting road biking and was just wondering what sort of speeds should i be achieving. I have been doing a ~11miles a day commuting (with a reasonable climb on the way back) for the last 6 months, and I normally manage a 20-30 mile ride on my road bike each week. Usually on my road bike I manage ~18mph average with some climbs and normally cruise around 20mph. Is this in the right range for a newbie? Whenever i ask other relatively non-serious road bikers they say they manage 23-25mph average!
Also what is the best way to improve my legs for cycling. Wailing on them at the gym, or just by riding my bike lots?
First off welcome aboard & it sounds like you are right on track. It takes a while including getting a decent base built up to average speeds like they are claiming. Weight lifting is for off season and mainly used primarily by sprinters for explosive power. Riding your bike is the only true way to build up your speed over long distances. Go out with a group which will help build up your average speed and group riding techniques used in races, etc... Hope this helps and good luck.
i've only just begun riding in the last 6 months, and i can only manage to average between 27 and 31 km/hr over an up and down 50km course. maybe the novices were talking about km/hr and not mph, that makes quite a big difference, as 30 km/hr ebuates to 18.75mph/
Get a HR monitor, set it up correctly and ride according to your heart rate. 70% of your max is a good base building intensity. If you have a few guys to ride with, you will be able to ride faster while at the same average heart rate. Don't worry about your average speed. Look at it as a matter of interest rather than a benchmark.
Average speed is like average temperature or average rainfall - interesting but not of much importance : was it a head/tail wind , up or down hill , drafting traffic ? It´s what makes the English obsession with TT personal bests so silly - interesting but not important . Average heart rate though ...............
I have an HR monitor (though i haven't been using it much recently due to flat battery). I tend to ride at ~170bpm which is above 70% of my max. Is this less effective training than sticking to 70%. It all seems a bit of a black art.
I guess it is a bit of a moot point now as i have just got out of hospital after breaking the ulna and radius in my left arm. No cycling for 6 weeks which really sucks as the weather is finally getting good. Any recommendations for keeping my fitness and leg strength. I am gonna try to keep it up by going to the gym, but i might not be able to get there that often.
Originally posted by holysmoke I have an HR monitor (though i haven't been using it much recently due to flat battery). I tend to ride at ~170bpm which is above 70% of my max. Is this less effective training than sticking to 70%. It all seems a bit of a black art.
An effective way to improve fitness is doing 30 minutes at the heartrate corresponding to 90% of your max power. (which is different to 90% of your heartrate -and different to 90% of your thresold heartrate. Maybe you'll not be able to do 30 minutes the first time, just try to make it longer and longer) To find out these data, ideal is a conconi test. Of course this type of training is quite hard and produce some lactic acid, so better doing that in short rides, say 50-80 km... otherwise you'll pay it soon or later :-)
Originally posted by frenk Of course this type of training is quite hard and produce some lactic acid, so better doing that in short rides, say 50-80 km
80km is a short ride? I love how you guys make us newbies feel inferior without trying.... 🙂
Originally posted by belfast-biker 80km is a short ride? I love how you guys make us newbies feel inferior without trying.... 🙂
You're right, maybe "short" is not the right word for 80kms. But it really depends on the kind of ride. 80 km of flat is not too much, 40 km of uphill is a good performance :-) And it's incredible how you can get better with time and patience, in some years the distances that now seems impossible will become "normal routine!"
