[Closed] Mountain Bikers Who Ride Road Bikes

I ride my road bike 4-5 times a week and my MTB once or twice. It's very good, it's better fitness training, it's quicker, cleaner, you can go further, can be very sociable.

But it's called the road, not the darkside.

It's also not for sensitive types who will cry if people don't say hello to them. Not great for fatties who have to stop every 30 seconds to discuss how gnarl-core that last bit of trail was!

Exactly what i did, £900 Cube Attempt and a Gore Jacket.

I don't bother with short road rides, if i've got a spare hour or so i'll still take the mountainbike out. i use the road bike for weekend away big rides, did Inverness to Fort William via Aviemore last weekend, 115 miles, biggest ride i've done and it felt great, a different experience to riding a mountainbike, you see much more and can just keep pedalling, keeping a constant high speed (and seriously exhausting yourself in the process). A good long descent down on the drops in your biggest ring rivals any of the trailcentre bermathons i've ever ridden too...

edit: I doubt i'm a 'proper' roadie, more of a tourer on a faster bike. i try to start conversations with other cyclists that i pass and everything 😉

I love it, I normally get out once a week on a long ride, 100 miles or so, and do a couple of hour long high intensity rides around a 5 mile hilly circuit that starts on my front door. I only ride my MTB for special rides now, I enjoy MTBing much more as a result and I'm much fitter

I do like the sound of it, I may get myself a Ribble sportive carbon £999.

Liverpool has quite a history of road riding and a couple of top roadie clubs I may even join a club 🙂

Do it. It's fun, but in a different way to MTB.

You'll be amazed at how far you can go how quickly.

I'm not so sure about the clubs...

I subscribe to the mailing list of one of the more prestigious ones in my area and on the basis of the mailing list alone, the more prominent members seem to be a touch self righteous/inconsiderate/down right anti-social.

Given other experiences I've decided i'd only join one if i was serious about getting good, not the place to go if you're used to mtb style banter etc (similar to what njee20 said above) 😕

Started road riding last year on a friends second bike and got my own in Spring this year. Am now much fitter and this helps enormously with mountain biking, particularly going up hills.

Really enjoy both, though sometimes easier to go out on the road particularly if the local trails have been subject to a lot of recent rain (i.e. most of Summer 2009) but the roads are dry - but my heart remains with mountain biking - though descending at 40+ mph down a long hill is extremely exhilarating 😀

dandan - stop now before it's too late!

It starts with a road bike, next thing you know you've joined a roadie club, shaved your legs, and each tuesday night can't come fast enough so that you can get your 'chain gang' fix.

That's what happened to me! I joined the [url= http://www.liverpoolcentury.co.uk/clubrides.php ]Liverpool Century[/url].....
Take a look at their club rides. Scroll down to the bottom. Read 'chain gang'...that's where it ends.

I'm not in the "Centch" any more. Happy memories though.
SB
🙂

I've never bothered to join a club, I just ride with the same people I ride MTBs with, usually go out with one or two other people rather than in a massive group. It's great.

i use my road bike more than my mtb and i use my cx more than mtb too , i think im just silly tho 😉

dandan - Member

Liverpool has quite a history of road riding and a couple of top roadie clubs I may even join a club

Just be careful which club you join as some clubs in the area are racing clubs and if you dont keep up you will be dropped.
However road riding is good and dont think you can go wrong with buying a road bike. I have one that i can fit mudguards on as i commute year round but also use it for training runs and the odd event. Still prefer MTBing though just that locally the trails are crap.

You wont regret getting one and am sure there are more people in your mtb club have got them than are letting on 😉 ask Johnclimber

Buying a road bike was a revelation. I go through phases of riding more on the road and more off road.

Can't beat a sunny club run at the weekend for banter, scenery and excitement. Does wonders for your fitness as I find road rides are more continuous effort than the stop start nature of mtb group rides.

One thing you need to ask yourself is do you like hills? Its a psycological jump when you stop trying to avoid them and see them as a means to good descents and start to add them in to challenge yourself. If you ride on the road it's all about the climbs IMO. Sprints are fun, breakaways frowned upon on a friendly run morning run 😉 chain gangs can be exciting too. cruising at 35mph on country lanes certainly focuses you as much as any singletrack descent.

Embrace the lycra, it's more practical and comfortable. I tried to avoid it until one wet long ride which was just unpleasant in baggies.
Join a club, group riding is ace, they will know the best roads, routes and cake stops.Mine is friendly and the top level guys ride at the back and push the slower ones if needed to keep them in the group on hills. Pace is kept steady with groups splitting off to do longer more challenging bits.

Bought a road bike nearly 3 months ago now and its been great. These days tend to do say 3 MTB rides and 3 or 4 road rides a week. Started training with the local club after I'd had it 5 days which was a bit of a shock. Really nice friendly bunch but they train fast!!!!!Not quite up to the Wed night chain gang session just yet as you need to be averaging 27 mph ish
I find it great if I don't have much time as you can get 30 miles in in an hour and a half and don't have all the messing about
I think the clubs are very good if you are going to give it a go-they don't stop every few miles though and once things are wound up it gets pretty exciting!!

No reason not to as far as I can see - I've just done the same with the current Planet X offer on C2W. I'm really looking forward to getting out on the roads again (after a break of 19 years!).
I just see it as an easy out-the-door option when I can't be arsed getting the car out to drive to some good riding. Anything to get me riding more often and hence fitter.
I'm also hoping it'll be like my HT - great fun to get out on and makes my full sus seem sooooo much comfier 🙂

Be good to ride to work when I can too 🙂

I ride 6 times a week and love it! I also race road which is just as fun.

It's nice not having to cart your bike around in the car and gets you pretty fit. So do it.

i refuse to catergorise road and MTB, to me it's just cycling and all fun

Some cracking posts there guys, thanks. Now I need to choose the right bike, I would of went with a Focus Cayo 105 but Wiggle have their own cycle to work scheme.. We will be using cyclescheme, I am looking at the ribble sportive carbon and the Boardman team carbon both £999.

I ride my mtb with flat pedals, but will use spd type shoes and pedals for the road bike, any reccomendations, not too expensive?

Oh and I dont think I could wear lycras, and I will never shave my legs 😀

bought my road bike thru the ride to work scheme too.

Had it for about 15 months and didnt ride to work but used it for those really wet weeks in the winter when you just know the trails are gonna be wet and miserable.

Also rode it the odd evening for a quick spin when its just easier than an mtb as you can go much further, faster.

Then started to commute in March this year and my fitness has gone thri the roof resulting in my weekend MTB rides being much more enjoyable.

Do it!

I really enjoy road riding, I love the speed and the ease of riding long distances. I'm a cyclist rather than an mtber on a road bike though.

The Boardman is a stunning bike for the money but TBH you're not going to go far wrong no matter what you choose - £1000 is a very competitive price point for manufacturers.

Look, Time and Shimano all do road specific clipless pedals, functionally there's not a lot to choose between them - I use Shimano simply cos I always have.

Lycra on road bikes makes a lot of sense. Having baggy shorts flapping in the wind is horrible and, if you're riding in a bunch, it's dangerous since it's all too easy for it to catch on another riders bars and cause a crash. Not all roadies shave their legs. I never have although it's caused a few comments over the years from other roadies (usually the ones I've just beaten in a road race...)

As mentioned above, no need to pigeonhole. It's all bikes and bikes are good.

It's also not for sensitive types who will cry if people don't say hello to them. Not great for fatties who have to stop every 30 seconds to discuss how gnarl-core that last bit of trail was!

PMSL at [i]gnarl-core[/i] 🙂

Ride bicycles it's fun.

Enjoy your roadbike!

Personally I've never gelled with road riding, but I've still got a road bike (cheap one mind) which I use as transport, and sometimes just for an after-work stretch when I can't be bothered to get muddy. So, even if you don't get totally into the whole roadie thing, it's still worth doing I think.

I can't ride often enough off-road to maintain/ improve fitness, so I use a road bike for that

ride off-road once a week, ride on-road 3/4 times a week plus commuting every day

I do more road biking, i don't get very dirty and i get much fitter.

Some of the lanes by me are like riding off road anyway 🙄

I ride more on the road than off it. Bit of commuting during spring, summer, autumn extending the homeward journey if its a nice evening. Ride on the roads mainly during winter as the trails round here turn to unridable porridge. Even thinking of trying a few sportives next year and maybe the Etape the year after.

Also you will get fitter than you've ever been as the long steady efforts on the road seem to improve fitness more than the short sharp efforts you get mountain biking.

I love my road bike, got a Boardman Team Carbon through C2W, very pleased with it, recommended. First ride was London to Brighton and back (140 miles) and just loved it, havent looked back. Am on gardening leave right now, have been jumping on a train out of London to somewhere in England and riding back into town. Did Cambridge, Bedford and Colchester last week. Really great way of seeing the country, amazing how far you can go in 3 hours or so.

Visiting my ancestors in Scotland next week, going to do some 100 mile loops into the Highlands, can't wait.

I like the kit too. Retro jerseys, Rapha caps.....go lycra. None of my baggies fit me anymore anyway. Road = skinny.

rOcKeTdOg - Member

i refuse to catergorise road and MTB, to me it's just cycling and all fun

Seconded

I like both, but I started to commute daily this year and it has done wonders for my fitness, which makes mtbing much more enjoyable

[i]Having baggy shorts flapping in the wind is horrible and, if you're riding in a bunch, it's dangerous since it's all too easy for it to catch on another riders bars and cause a crash[/i]

blimey James, how baggy are your shorts? 😉

I got a CX bike during last years terrible summer but soon realised I should have got the full road bike I now have. It's great and nothing like riding a mountain bike on the road; fast and smooth. It's easy to do short rides with no faff and cleaning and my endurance has improved no end after long winter weekend rides.
I've also discovered much about the countryside around where I live that I wouldn't have known before.

I commute to work on a road bike three days a week, try and get a long ride in at weekends - the mountain bike gets a mid week night ride and the odd quick blast on the local trails if it's lucky.

Road biking helped my fitness, weight loss, is less faff with cleaning and maintenance, and still lets me see great parts of the country - I live within an hour of the Peak District by road bike. Road riding is also always on your doorstep.

It's been pants for my already useless technical skills though.

I've just bought one. Using it for commuting mainly, but really enjoyed a 40 miler on Friday afternoon with the lads from work. Provide a good base for fitness and actually is very enjoyable.

hopefully my fitness will improve with my 41 mile commute twice a week.

just got to keep it up through winter.

It's bloody ace, I bought a Trek 1.5 off ebay last year for £400. I commute 60km (there and back) two or three times a week to save on fuel bills.

Tonight I got in from work at 6pm, threw my kit on, did my local loop up on to the moors and back down in just over an hour and smugly tucked in to my tea with a massive glass of red wine without an iota of guilt.

The bike gets it's chain oiled every so often and has had a new set of brake pads and inner cables in over a year's steady use. I've just treated it to a set of Crud Road Racer Guards also, which, so far, have been faultless.

I sternly recommend the dark side, it's crackin'

For a different view - I find road riding totally different to MTBing and don't really get much enjoyment from it. My road bike is just a tool to get me to work and back and never gets ridden apart from that.
Aside from having to share the road with all those morons in vehicles there is just no buzz like there is mtbing.
Couldn't live without it of course, cos that would mean driving to work everyday and that would do my nut in.

Yep, I've had a focus cayo 105 for 3months ish. I love it, it's so different to the mtb it's almost z different sport and is very refreshing to go out on the mtb. Not been out with a club yet.... Thinking about it though! In Sheffield if anyone knows a good one for both social rides and balls out training??!

I have been riding both since I was 13 (now 34), the moutainbiker / roadie discinction is a reasonably new development IMO.

They are both bikes and they are both good, get one asap.

[i]rOcKeTdOg - Member

i refuse to catergorise road and MTB, to me it's just cycling and all fun [/i]

The slippery slope......

Started riding XC MTB and enjoyed a few races.....
Got a fixed wheel for fun and to push up the fitness...
Got a 2nd hand C'dale.....
Got a new C'dale......
Got a better, newer C'dale.....

...somewhere along the way the MTB got dusty and spider webby

...the road bike got way out of hand, sportives, tour de france, la marmotte......next stop £6k time trial machine... please stop me 😯

Got a fixed wheel for fun and to push up the fitness

I feel the need to draw the line somewhere, and that's just wrong! 😉

I'd describe myself as a roadie who mountain bikes - but actually others are spot on and I'm just a cyclist. In reality I actually compete more seriously on my MTB, but still like others spend more time riding on the road - far easier to get the training in (not because I can't MTB from my door, as it's only a 3 mile ride to get to the hills, or a couple of hundred metres at lunchtime from work, but riding the road just makes for a better training ride). Probably even enjoy riding an MTB more nowadays, but I'll always be partly a roadie at heart.

Do seriously consider some lycra for the road - it really does work better, and what's more the real reason most people really wear baggies on a MTB (even if they're not willing to admit it), in order to look right, is inverted on the road. You look silly riding a road bike in baggies, and no real roadie worth his salt will wave at you 😉

Road biking is good and all. I have just completed Lands End to John O'Groats for Charidee and by the time I had finished the bike had doubled in weight from road kill. After 10 days in the saddle it lost its appeal.
However I found it great for training and even bought a turbo trainer. This in effect has bettered my fitness for mtb'ing.
On the trip I found myself loking longingly at the hill and especially when passing the Nevis range.

Right just out for a ahem road ride.

Lands End to John O'Groats for Charidee

Congrats, thats a nice road ride there. One day i'll do the same

I am considering getting a road bike myself.I would like to try and keep/get fit over the Winter.Im thinking a CX bike would be handy as I can then link up some trails on a commute to work.Id also like to do some 3-4 hour rides at the weekend. "Cheers Drive" Why did you regret getting a CX bike? Err, can anybody tell me the differences between a road bike and a CX bike? (Yep complete noob) Ive also read elsewhere that you should avoid getting a bike with Sora gear on it.However,Im not that fast/fit and dont want to race or join a club etc so I presume that it would be Ok for me? Anybody any advice/experience riding their road bike at night during the winter? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, cheers.

i just like bikes, and whatever bike takes my mood when i get up (today it's the road bike in the morning, mtb in the evening when the dogwalkers have departed)

road biking in winter? lots of light - road bike lights are atrocious. and pick your route carefully, car drivers are even more bike blind at night!

foolishmiracles.
If you've not had a modern lightweight roadbike before, then getting a cx bike for some road use will be a revalation. However if you do a stint on a 'proper' road bike you'll notice the cx bikes shortfalls.
The cx bike is a good idea for winter rides linking tarmac and mud.
As for Sora it's fine for youre intended use.
I still manage to balance up road and off road, though I find it easier to train harder on road, you know the sort of hard training that leaves a trail of dribble from your mouth to the top tube.
I also find road work helps with xc/cx racing but off road work doesn't help with road racing.

Thanks oldgit.

Last time I had a road bike was about 25 years ago and it was the dogs bits due to it having 12 gears to everyone elses 10 🙂

What are the shortfalls of a CX bike then? Are they a bit heavier to withstand the off road abuse?

"you know the sort of hard training that leaves a trail of dribble from your mouth to the top tube." Sorry I dont know that sort of training.Last time I dribbled that much was looking at bling bike parts not riding 😳

At my beginner/novice level would you advise 2 or 3 front rings? (I have 3 on me MTB if that makes a difference)

One more question if I may - I ride flat pedals on me MTB as I have an irrational fear of clipless pedals.Are there any other options available or is itime to MTFU? If I did go clipless are there any available that could be transferred for MTB use aswell inc shoes?
Thanks for your help.

A modern off the peg CX bike like the Giant TCX which I think is fantastic VFM will probably be faster and lighter than your bike of olde.

I get flamed on the subject of chainsets. However I'd say a double compact, as the small on a tripple is too small and the inner a bit too big! for trail use anyway.

And yes MTFU clipless, you are missing out.

A cx bike set up right will be almost as fast as a "proper" road bike. I have several of both and have just finished a week of riding in the French alps on my current cx bike. It was just fine for doing days with 2 or 3 climbs (and descents) although not quite as resposive as my road bike which weighs less but cost about 3 times as much. Oh, and a day involved about 3000 metres of climbing. One of the things about cx bikes is that if you choose carefully they can be very versatile - my previous cx bike (admittedly a frame built for me) I've trained on, done day rides on, raced severalseasons of cx, ridden the SDW in a day on, toured with panniers on and just ridden out on singleyrack on the North Downs on.
Several years ago Roger Hammond came over to ride my club's cx race and on the Saturday rode against the local boys on his cx bike - he rode away from them (including Tony Gibb).

nought wrong with a bit of road work, particularily if
1) you're short of time
2) you live somewhere where the trails get silly muddy in the winter( or summer)
3)you want to get fitter.
and many other reasons besides as above
Me, got a second hand Jake the Snake CX bike for fast commutes and rides. 2nd set of wheels is the way forward, one with slicks and one with cross tyres. Just completed my first sportive on it today as well.
Having said that, given the chance, I'll take the mountain bike into the woods or up a hill for the main fun fix 🙂

""You look silly riding a road bike in baggies, and no real roadie worth his salt will wave at you ""

what a load of old **** !!!
and for the record i ride road in baggies as lycra is just wrong ...

Have always had a road bike but my knackered back just wont let me ride it much and rise bars look ****ing stupid on a road bike. So I compromised and got 1.5 slicks for my hardtail best of both worlds can average 20mph plus on the road and I have lots of low gears for when the road heads up.

lycra is just wrong

I'm guessing that given that comment you think riding a MTB in lycra looks silly - well trust me as somebody who certainly started as a roadie, you really do look silly riding a road bike in baggies (rather like somebody who simply can't be bothered to buy the right kit).

can average 20mph plus on the road

Only women or professional male athletes should ever wear lycra

Nearly died last time I road on the road, not ridden my road bike for over 10 years 😳 Only gets used on the turbo.

I'm buying another computer, I only average 17.8MPH fully shaven and lycra'd up.
Touching 26MPH average in a crit mind you 8)
I'm getting TO old obviously 😥

I dont have a road bike but I do over half my riding on the road at the moment and its good fun. Havent done any long rides but usually go out for an hour or two and just go as fast as I can.

How much quicker is a road bike than my mtb with nobbly tires? I have done an 18mile loop of coniston lake in 1hour and 2 mins so thats about an 18mph average speed

rOcKeTdOg - Member
i refuse to catergorise road and MTB, to me it's just cycling and all fun

Absolutely! Just ride whatever you can whenever you can.

I love MTB for the technical and challenging side of riding. I love road riding for the speed, distance covered and precision of it all. An I love commuting because I love riding bikes.

+1 with rocketdog.

However some ****t today had other ideas - I was out on a road ride as I dont have my MTB right now & some ****ing idiot rode up beside me and snarled "Mountain bikers on road bikes - get off the ****ing road". To start with I just laughed & thought he must have said something else but once my O2 starved brain had had time to process the words properly I was stunned & couldnt decide whether to roast the c*nt or stay away from him as he was plainly nuts. Anyway I caught him later on another hill & followed him down the other side thinking Ill just follow this guy down & forget about it but hes going so slow I decide to pass him. At this point he hauls on his brakes & starts yelling "woh woh your not following me down - I had an accident once etc.." So, I pulled past him apologising for freaking him out (though quite how I did this Im not sure as I wasnt riding at all aggressivley & was going to give him a shout when I was going to pass him). Later on the same hill I sense someone behind me & lo & behold its Mr Nasty zipping by with a sh1tty sneer on his face! What gives?

If the guy had been seriously good I would have thought "ok your sh1t hot you have the talent to back up the attitude" but he was cr@p..

Seriously we are all just cyclists here who gives sh1t if its on a penny farthing, a bmx or whatever! Grr rant rant.. 👿

Good grief that's some weirdo there RepacK. You get some strange folk out there quite obviously.
The other week a group of old roadies applauded me as I got to the top of a certain climb, and I'm not kidding it's really not that hard that was weirdly embarassing.
Anyway I always assume I'm the slowest least able rider on the road until proven otherwise.

sorry - just jumped into this a bit late.
I got my entry level road bike 2 years ago and love it, experience along the lines of what others have said and it's great soaking up the kms going past the world. I'm probably using my road bike more at the moment.
I still only use this mountain bike forum though - weird.

aracer - Member

can average 20mph plus on the road

Sitting up with risers? Very impressed if that's really the case.

Whats so impressive about 20mph on a MTB with slicks on I can do a road average of 17 mph on the same bike with 2.0 maxxis ignitors and I can do 22mph on the racer. I am slow and fat my mate George who is 65 kicks my arse on the road.

you'll start off on your road bike wearing your baggy shorts, camelbak etc..

then one day you think 'you know what... i think i'll just wear the liner short' then you are on the slippery slope to water bottles, shaving and skinsuits.....

having said that I had a single speed road bike - great for fitness though busy roads are not fun

Whats so impressive about 20mph on a MTB with slicks on I can do a road average of 17 mph on the same bike with 2.0 maxxis ignitors and I can do 22mph on the racer.

[i]can average 20mph plus on the road and I have lots of low gears for when the road heads up[/i]

If you can average 20mph on a slicked up mountain bike I'm surprised you need 'lots of low geras' for the climbs.

I can't average 20pmh on my road bike so I must be doing something very wrong.

I can't average 20pmh on my road bike

Given the times I thought you were doing on sportives, that surprises me even more than pof being able to do 20mph sitting up in the wind with risers. Surely you can go that fast over a shortish flattish ride?

That's not average speed though is it? Maybe I'm being pedantic but to me average speed is the average speed reading on my speedo when I get home, and I'd be very happy If I could keep that over 20.

I'm definately a mountain biker however I too own a road bike which started life on a static trainer then progressed to being used on roads for a triathlon I entered.

I am now of the same mind to buy a better £1k upgrade from my £350 stead purely to help improve my times in future tri events but also as I actually enjoy road riding too now.

Only thing that scares me about road riding is the cars who actually drive way too close to you when totally unecessary to do so and of course idiots like that 'celebrity' chef James Martin who think its a fun sport to injure cyclists and for sure he's not the only one out there.

One thing though that has helped me on my road bike is my mountain bike skills (limited as they maybe) especially when I've overcooked a sharp turn its the gnarly type of MTB riding thats kept the situation on the road in perspective and I've been able to ride out of impending doomful crash (so far)

Well it is if you just go out for a shortish flattish ride.

I've enjoyed getting out on my road bike mid-week after work over the summer, it has definately helped with fitness as I ride more, even if its just for an hour a couple of times a week. It just seems easier to grab a bottle, change and head out for a ride, for some reason getting ready to head out on my MTB just seems more faffy.

I really struggle when I ride with my other half on the road, I much prefer road riding alone (which won't make me push harder I know) - I have no problems keeping up when mountain biking though. It would be nice to ride with someone a bit more matched up.

Am now trying to work out how to keep this up in the winter (I can't stand the turbo). Last winter I put my road bike away and only rode on dry weekends (few and far between).

I now wonder about average times. I always assume they're based on something like a four hour ride with about four hard climbs at least.
As I've said mines low at 17+MPH average, and that allows me to hang on in a road race.
My mate averages 21MPH and is a bunch finisher and can always clear a sub hour 25.
We had the honour some time ago of riding with the current USA Elite road race champion and 2008 world masters TT champion. On long rides he was happy with 17/18MPH and a bit faster than 21MPH for shorter outings.
If this is the case then surely some of you guys are serious contenders.
(Mike Olhieser if you want to google his credentials) we rode xc for two years with his brother **** me he was good.

Whats so impressive about 20mph on a MTB with slicks on I can do a road average of 17 mph on the same bike with 2.0 maxxis ignitors and I can do 22mph on the racer.

Well I suppose it depends on the context - how far, how flat, how much are you hammering? I was kind of assuming average for a normal longish steady ride, but I guess that's not actually the case. I have after all averaged over 22mph on my MTB with off-road tyres on

Regulary do a ride from Ainsdale near Southport to Glasson Dock near Lancaster with my mate George. Stop off for ice cream and coffee and home again via the chippy near my house. Round trip of 80 miles. Yes it is flat but we have to ride round the Preston ring road which slows us down a bit. I have regulary done it pushing hard and I can do it at around 22 mph on the road bike and 20mph on the slicked up scandal. I am not fast by any stretch of imagination George who is 65 has to stop and wait for me sometimes.

Chain gangs from the Liverpool 100 used to do the same route as a warm up ride starting from Liverpool at speeds nearing 30 without a coffee stop.

[i]Surely you can go that fast over a shortish flattish ride? [/i]

Posibly but I don't do any shortish, flatish ride. If I was riding purely to have a high average speed then I might do that. On this mornings 20 mile commute on my cx bike with road tyres I average 19.6mph but that was with a strong tailwind - no way I could have got anywhere near that on an mtb with risers.

[i]Given the times I thought you were doing on sportives[/i]

5.5 to 6 hours for a 100mile sportive is hardly a big deal. I don't remember giving any sportive times on here anyway.

[i]I am not fast by any stretch of imagination[/i] I think if you can average 22pmh on an 80 mile ride then you are fast, by my standards anyway. Of course you're not as fast as last weeks super commuter who was averaging close on 25mph on his 30 odd mile commute.

There are obvioulsy a lot of serioulsy fast folk on here.

I think there's a fair bit of "inflation" goes on with average speeds TBH. Most computers will only record the actual moving time so it should correctly be claimed as a "moving average".
As an aside simonfbarnes quotes his average speeds based on total time out (inc lunch stops etc) so the "true average" is substantially lower.

The best I've ever been on the road is as a mid-pack 2nd Cat racer and my training rides would be about 16-17 on my own, 17-18 with the club. A typical 2nd/3rd Cat race would be about 23mph average, about 24-25 if it was an E/1/2. Some of the crit races would be a bit faster.

I think it comes down to what people define as a "ride". 40mins on a slicked up MTB/flat course and yes, 20mph average is possible, the slight issue is that a 40 min ride would be called a warm up by any serious roadie...

That's the kind of speeds I'm doing crazy-legs around the 17-18mph mark for a decent hilly ride. Thanks, you've made me feel a lot better about myself.

Regulary do a ride from Ainsdale near Southport to Glasson Dock near Lancaster with my mate George. Stop off for ice cream and coffee and home again via the chippy near my house. Round trip of 80 miles. I am not fast.

Nope, you're quick if you can do that lot in four hours or less. Respect.

Jesus, just ****ing ride your bikes and stop anal-ysing it!

🙄

Kit I do actually ride a fair bit, if I want to analyse it then thats up to me. Out of interest how much riding do you do?