How much faster is a road bike?
Discussion
I'm riding a few times a week on an old Specialized Tricross Sport cross country bike.
How much faster would a "proper" road bike be? Not talking a £10k pro machine just something like a Ribble or Boardman?
I average around 14mph overall on a 25 mile ride, which is pretty hilly. Average cruising speed on the flat is around 16-17mph but the hills seem to knock it right back.
Everyone on here seems to bandy about 20mph average after a few weeks of cycling, so I'm hoping some of the shortfall is due to the bike
How much faster would a "proper" road bike be? Not talking a £10k pro machine just something like a Ribble or Boardman?
I average around 14mph overall on a 25 mile ride, which is pretty hilly. Average cruising speed on the flat is around 16-17mph but the hills seem to knock it right back.
Everyone on here seems to bandy about 20mph average after a few weeks of cycling, so I'm hoping some of the shortfall is due to the bike
I would say that if you are averaging 20mph + (over 32kph) then you are going pretty quick.
I have only been cycling about 6/7 months, I very rarely average over 30kph, But tend to be at the bottom of the top 3rd of riders on Strava Segments. So most people are not averaging those speeds!
I have only been cycling about 6/7 months, I very rarely average over 30kph, But tend to be at the bottom of the top 3rd of riders on Strava Segments. So most people are not averaging those speeds!
With the more aero position, I'd expect a road bike to a decent bit faster. A nice selection of gears and a fresh drivetrain will help you get faster too. If you're riding in baggy clothing, wearing something skin tight (oo-er) will make you faster for the same amount of effort put in.
I wouldn't imagine that anyone is averaging 20mph after a few weeks unless they have a good level of fitness to start with. With the right bike, the right kit and a good level of fitness going in, then sure, but even then it depends on the route profile; things like hills, how exposed to wind the route is, traffic lights, junctions, quality of the surface etc. If you just pick a flat A to B sector without too many things to slow you down, 20mph would be a lot more achievable.
I wouldn't imagine that anyone is averaging 20mph after a few weeks unless they have a good level of fitness to start with. With the right bike, the right kit and a good level of fitness going in, then sure, but even then it depends on the route profile; things like hills, how exposed to wind the route is, traffic lights, junctions, quality of the surface etc. If you just pick a flat A to B sector without too many things to slow you down, 20mph would be a lot more achievable.
Mastodon2 said:
With the more aero position, I'd expect a road bike to a decent bit faster. A nice selection of gears and a fresh drivetrain will help you get faster too. If you're riding in baggy clothing, wearing something skin tight (oo-er) will make you faster for the same amount of effort put in.
I wouldn't imagine that anyone is averaging 20mph after a few weeks unless they have a good level of fitness to start with. With the right bike, the right kit and a good level of fitness going in, then sure, but even then it depends on the route profile; things like hills, how exposed to wind the route is, traffic lights, junctions, quality of the surface etc. If you just pick a flat A to B sector without too many things to slow you down, 20mph would be a lot more achievable.
If I pick a few mile or so flat route with no obstructions then I can "average" near 20mph. But my real average over a normal ride with hills, junctions, traffic, gates etc is much lower. So when people say "I average 20mph" which do they mean? I wouldn't imagine that anyone is averaging 20mph after a few weeks unless they have a good level of fitness to start with. With the right bike, the right kit and a good level of fitness going in, then sure, but even then it depends on the route profile; things like hills, how exposed to wind the route is, traffic lights, junctions, quality of the surface etc. If you just pick a flat A to B sector without too many things to slow you down, 20mph would be a lot more achievable.
Just as a comparison, I checked on a girl i know's Strava. She's a semi pro triathlete and is just back from a week's summer training riding in the Alps, and goes winter training in Mallorca, so could be described as a keen rider. Her average on a few local rides on some of the routes I do is 15.5-16.5mph.
Few more details - I'm reasonably fit (run two or three times a week), wear lycra shorts but a baggier top (not exactly the racing snake physique), weigh around 12 stone, no idea on power output, tyres are well-worn 32mm specialized Brough cross country tyres.
Probably not as bigger jump as you hoped, as the Specialized Tricross is already basically a 'road bike'
10-12% faster up the hills and 10% on the flats. (Largely coming from having a lighter bike, perhaps also components with less resistance).
Those are good avg speeds, with hills around our way I'm doing well to be going up them at 10 mph.
I oved from an old Scott Atacama hybrid to Giant Contend road, average went from 12 to 15 mph(15 to 30 mile rides) and I can cover bigger distances too but I still prefer the hybrid I think
I'm an unfit in my late 40's bloke.
If you are riding for fitness and like your old bike, keep it. You will get no fitter riding a faster bike BUT it may encourage you to ride longer and further.
I'm an unfit in my late 40's bloke.
If you are riding for fitness and like your old bike, keep it. You will get no fitter riding a faster bike BUT it may encourage you to ride longer and further.
boyse7en said:
when people say "I average 20mph" which do they mean?
I’d take that to be that you are covering 20miles every hour, probably in a scenario where you barely have to stop moving forward, and progress not being compromised by much in the way of road junctions/multiple traffic lights/ etc.Terrain is a big factor in cycling, so I’d take this ‘benchmark’ with a pinch of salt depending where you ride. You mention ‘gates, I’d hazard a guess that very few road bike riders find themselves negotiating gates on a typical ride, are you riding on tarmac roads throughout?
I’ve used a cyclo-cross bike as my training bike for 12 years and never felt it anything other than broadly equivalent to all the guys on ‘proper’ road bikes, although it is a bit on the heavy side. But I do run 23mm tyres.
boyse7en said:
If I pick a few mile or so flat route with no obstructions then I can "average" near 20mph. But my real average over a normal ride with hills, junctions, traffic, gates etc is much lower. So when people say "I average 20mph" which do they mean?
Just as a comparison, I checked on a girl i know's Strava. She's a semi pro triathlete and is just back from a week's summer training riding in the Alps, and goes winter training in Mallorca, so could be described as a keen rider. Her average on a few local rides on some of the routes I do is 15.5-16.5mph.
Which is the reason why a lot of people say that you shouldn't focus on average speed as an indicator of performance, there are too many variables. Unless you ride identical routes on the same days and and at the same time as the people you want to compare yourself to, outside factors will influence the timing. If you live in Sheffield and have to ride those big hills for example, it's no use comparing yourself to someone who lives in the Netherlands where their biggest climb is marginal in comparison.Just as a comparison, I checked on a girl i know's Strava. She's a semi pro triathlete and is just back from a week's summer training riding in the Alps, and goes winter training in Mallorca, so could be described as a keen rider. Her average on a few local rides on some of the routes I do is 15.5-16.5mph.
The elusive 20mph Average.
I went out a couple of saturdays ago with 6 fellow riders, all good, a pair of shaved legs, an ex racer and smattering of £4K ++ bikes, (avg age late 40s).
It was a 50 mph flat ride, needless to say the odd draggy hill, but equally massive benefit of drafting.
I clung on for dear life to the group, (hitting close to my max heart rate a few times), really giving everything to stay with them. On the long flats i often saw 28mph on my garmin, rarely did I see it drop below 24 mph.
Avg speed over the 50 miles - 17 mph.
I went out a couple of saturdays ago with 6 fellow riders, all good, a pair of shaved legs, an ex racer and smattering of £4K ++ bikes, (avg age late 40s).
It was a 50 mph flat ride, needless to say the odd draggy hill, but equally massive benefit of drafting.
I clung on for dear life to the group, (hitting close to my max heart rate a few times), really giving everything to stay with them. On the long flats i often saw 28mph on my garmin, rarely did I see it drop below 24 mph.
Avg speed over the 50 miles - 17 mph.
Difficult one to answer. Average speed is an incredibly flawed metric as there are so many variables (whether mountain or road bike).
Very generally speaking, 14mph average on a mountain bike is fairly respectable. On a road ride I would imagine you would be around 17/18mph average. But this assumes many things.
Very generally speaking, 14mph average on a mountain bike is fairly respectable. On a road ride I would imagine you would be around 17/18mph average. But this assumes many things.
.I challenged myself over lockdown to achieve an average of 20mph on my local 7 mile route on my hybrid and I achieved this over a few weeks. I documented this on a thread somewhere in July.
But I need to qualify that achievement by explaining that it is a relatively flat course and I am in full attack mode whilst doing it. I could probably keep that pace up for another few mile but it would certainly drop off soon after that.
On my usual rides and especially ones that are hilly the average speed is a fair bit slower.
But I need to qualify that achievement by explaining that it is a relatively flat course and I am in full attack mode whilst doing it. I could probably keep that pace up for another few mile but it would certainly drop off soon after that.
On my usual rides and especially ones that are hilly the average speed is a fair bit slower.
I’ve got an 18.5 mile route I do on a lunchtime or when I want a short blast. My best top average speed is 21.5 mph. The route is pretty flat with only 70ft elevation gain though.
PS when I upgraded my 25 year old Steel road bike to a carbon one, my average speed on the short loop increased by 0.5 mph.
PS when I upgraded my 25 year old Steel road bike to a carbon one, my average speed on the short loop increased by 0.5 mph.
Edited by _Hoppers on Sunday 30th August 11:56
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