A lot of us are conscious about what’s our average bike speed especially if you’re using Strava and are at the bottom half of the segment.
On average, I do ride about 16 – 20mph per hour and it all depends if there are hills, or huge tailwinds.
But what if you are new to the cycling world and have no idea under what conditions is considered a good leverage bike speed.
How Do You Know Your Average Speed?
You can easily track your average speed with a speedometer. However, if you don’t have one, here is one way to know.
The first thing you could do is assess or know the distance between your starting line and finish line. After that, you can just divide it by the time it took you to finish the course. The result would be your average biking speed, and you can use this method with any vehicle.
Now that you have an idea of how to get it, you’re probably wondering how you would know if that’s a good average speed for you.
What’s a Good Average Speed for a Cyclist?
It depends. If you’re more of a pro, doing 15 to 20 mph on a one-hour ride is already a good pace.
On the other hand, 10 mph should be good enough for a new cyclist. Once you get used to this pace, they can easily quickly learn to go up to 15 mph.
Training is a vital factor in levelling up your average speed. If you train every once in a while, your average bike speed can rise from 18 mph to 22 mph per hour.
Going over 20 mph average speed level means you can go for EPIC rides.
How Long Should it Take to Cycle 100km?
It’s not that long. Biking with an average of 15 km/h can get you through the finish line in just 6 hours and 30 minutes duration. That’s roughly 9 mph. How much more if you’re doing it with more than 20 mph?
That narrows it down to almost three hours. But, as mentioned earlier, your bike’s specifications greatly matter when it comes to speed – road bikes are perhaps the best way to conquer gran fondo 100km rides. Here are some other factors that affect your speed:
Factors that Affects Speed
The Setting
Your course will decide how your pace will go. If you’re going to traverse a rough road, it’s a given that you’ll be using your brake a lot. This is obviously going to slow you down.
To get your accurate average biking speed, start off riding on a smooth surface. You can also choose a setting with a combination of ups and downs if you want an extra challenge for yourself.
In addition, you should also avoid busy streets, especially if you’re preparing for a big race.
Signs and Stops
Another thing that you should be wary of is the signs as that marginally slows down your speed.
If you’re to cross a railway, you might be forced to stop whenever a train passes by.
Make sure you look out for signs when you’re out on your ride and do some map routing and planning in advance. Even if you’re already familiar with the road, make it a habit of being observant.
Ride Light
First and foremost, you should have light clothes. Riding without a comfortable kit and zero chamois could slow you down.
If they are too loose, you’ll end up creating a large amount of aerodynamic drag. Worse when you’re riding against it.
The more fitted your clothes are, the more aero you’ll be. And the faster you’ll go. Make sure your set of biking clothes are as good as a second skin.
Check Your Tires
On rough surfaces, higher pressures roll slower, while wider tires roll faster on rough surfaces because they can handle lower pressures.
Mechanical Factors
As with everything else, different specifications or model calls for different strengths and weaknesses. To achieve an adequate speed performance, you first need to ensure that your bike is well-maintained.
Having a high-quality bike can be useless. While many types of bicycles are available in the market, the most common bicycles would be mountain bikes, hybrid bikes, and road bikes.
Mountain and hybrid bikes are made of heavy materials. They are actually designed to give you a better experience on rough surfaces.
However, because of their stocky build, they might slow you down, making them an inappropriate choice for testing speed.
On the other hand, road bikes are lightweight, so it’s often regarded as the bicycle made for speed.
The premium ones are carbon fiber road bikes, giving you a smooth biking experience on flat surfaces.
In addition, make sure all the other parts of your bicycle are in good condition. You can have the most upgraded bike or outfit, but skimping on materials will set you back in achieving your speed goals.
Conclusion
Overall, there’s actually no wrong or right average biking speed. Average speed means very little if you’re not taking into account the terrain you’re riding on, wind conditions and so on.
16mph might seem great but it is still considered average as best on flat grounds with no wind, but with a gradient of more than 5% it is considered amazingly fast!
If you’ve been riding for just 6 months, you’re not going to be striking off all strava segments for a bit.
Cycling speed builds up as you progress. The more you do it, the better your average speed becomes.