Badlywireddog, back under your bridge with you…..

I did a 58 mile ride on Tuesday, averaged 17mph, followed up the next day with a 15 miler at 18mph, find it helps a fair bit when you get out on the mountain bikes!

Talk of average speed on a road bike is pointless without considering the circumstances. On a flattish route in a group, I can average 17-18 mph for 100 miles, but going solo on narrow, hilly lanes is more like 14mph, over a shorter distance.

I can only ever get my road bike average above 17-18 if conditions are absolutely perfect and there’s no head wind. If there’s a head wind I’m usually down to about 15mph. Annoying as I have a mate who can easily do 20mph averages over longer rides than me, seemingly no matter what the conditions!

i can average around 10-12 mph on the 7 inch bike on the road doing a lot of ups and downs

You’ll be flying on a road bike. Seriously.

I’m not the fittest in our road club, nor am I the slowest, but if I head out on the Peak District hills by myself for an hour or two I don’t get much above a 15mph average. Sure, I’m not riding on the limit, but nor am I cruising.

As said, leg shaving is nothing to do with aerodynamics.

What is it for exactly? Matt Seaton in The Escape Artist, seems to think it’s basically a tribal thing, shows you’re a ‘proper roadie’ with none of the rationalisations for it making that much real life sense.

For non-pros there’s an element of that for sure. However shaved legs are easier when cleaning up road rash and also for massages.

I can average about 21mph on a flattish course of about 5 miles down by the river here. I won’t say it’s fun though.

*is pleased that my averages are solo times*

Apologies if this has been asked before (I think it has) but, for those of you who are quoting averages, are they based on riding time or elapsed time? I time my rides from when I step out the back door to when I get back to the back door. Every stop at a red light, every bit of waiting for me/others, the clock still ticks. I like to blame that on my slow times 🙂

Why would you want to ride somewhere with trafic lights?

That implies theres trafic!

I do mine on elapsed time, otherwise you could just do a hundred miles of 5 minutes flat out with hours of breaks inbetween.

Why would you want to ride somewhere with trafic lights?

I live on the edge of the Peak District with some VERY tasty terrain on my doorstep, but sometimes I head Cheshire way where civilisation – and traffic lights – get in the way.

I do mine on elapsed time too, but was under the impression that some cycling computers only recorded time (in relation to calculating average speed) whilst you were actually moving. Could be wrong

I always have my computer set for moving average – stopping constantly slows you down anyway and makes for harder work. Would make my London commute about 14mph average, whilst moving can be 18mph+ for the same time.

On power output though it’s on par with what I need to achieve an 18mph in the hills, with no stopping.

I use elapsed time. But using a Garmin 500 with Autopause….

It still includes the slowing / speeding up from stops, just not the five mins sat at a standstill. Whats the point of that, your are not riding at 0mph are you? Ever seen a time trail with a deliberate stop in it?

I have shaved legs, club kit and my bike looks factory….Hang on..

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn29DvMITu4[/video]

Average moveing speed, but then there are no traffic lights or real needs for stopping (unless with a group) got two comparison routes to test my fitness, both over 1200m of climb and 40(well 44) or 50 milers, averaging 14 mph in recent conditions been up to 17mph when fit in summer soloing. With club averaging 19mph, some strong boys in club run and being off the nose to rest helps.

Whats the point of that?

The point is whether we’re comparing apples with apples. I think I’m reasonably fit and on a good day I’m far from the slowest in the local club yet my average speeds seem well down compared to what I often see on STW.

I use average speed to help me work out how long it will take to ride X miles. If my average speed excludes all the inevitable stops on a ride, then it’s not really an average speed and doesn’t tell me anything about how long it takes to get from A to B.

“How long does it take you to commute in the morning?”

“5 minutes, if you don’t count the 40 minutes I’m stuck in a traffic jam”

WTF is a 7 inch bike btw ??

WTF is a 7 inch bike btw ??

160 mm in new money.

HTH

Ahh, you mean 7 inch suspension eg 160mm forks ?? OK, serious answer then:

Riding the road bike will feel easier, as mentioned you won’t lose as much energy to slack in the bike and the tires dragging on the road. If it fits properly, the road bike won’t strain your body quite so much, as mtbs aren’t really designed for staying locked in position in quite the same way as on a road bike.

And if you aren’t used to road bike brakes, you will be terrified the first time you try to stop the thing on a steep descent.

If my average speed excludes all the inevitable stops on a ride, then it’s not really an average speed and doesn’t tell me anything about how long it takes to get from A to B.

But they’re not necessarily inevitable. Like I say – when I ride into London my door to door average is 14mph. But unless I was planning a ride in London that’s a moot point, my moving average is 18, and like I say, the power output to do 18mph with lots of stops is near identical to do the same in hilly terrain, or slightly more than to do 18mph on the flat. So it’s not an apples/apples comparison.

Surely 7″ is a 180mm travel bike. Ether that or a very small frame size. Maybe that is where the op is going wrong…

That sounds daunting. I’m guessing you’re racing against professionals and stuff? Will it be televised? Post up the times so we can watch if it is. Oh, and good luck! Sounds like you’ll need it. Tight lycra could save vital seconds, ditto some judicious shaving of body parts despite some of the disparaging comments above.

LVRC race, but it has BC Elite, 1st and 2nd cats. My age 53 is off with the 40 year olds, I should have dropped into the over 55’s