How fast?

Newgrange Warrior

What sort of speed should u be achieving? I be early 30's, pretty fit and only back into cycling. i got d old raleigh 6speed racer out the other week, after a service i be averaging about 25km/hr for 30km spins.

Beasty

Moved from training logs sub-forum

Darkglasses

There's absolutely no way to answer that question, to be fully honest.

hueylewis

I suppose it depends a lot on what you want out of cycling and the kind of terrain you're traversing.

AlfaZen

Too many different factors to be looking at what your average speed should be.

course- hilly v flat, distance, weather, fitness, road quality.

I use a Garmin and when analyzing rides I look first at average cadence v heart rate over the duration of the cycle. On a 1 hour cycle I would look for an average cadence of 90 to 100 with an average heart rate of 80% of max.

For that effort my average speed usually ranges between 28 and 35kph.

happytramp

25kph is grand for getting back into it. 27kph when you're a bit better. 30kph when you get good. 30kph+ if you want to race.

Please bare in mind this might be nonsense.

detones

Exactly 31.43kph average with a tolerance of .01kph.

veetwin

Still new to my road bike but generally average about 26kph unless I throw in some serious hills. I'm 40 and trying to get fit if that's any use to you OP

Lawr

I think this is an interesting question because a few years ago I quit my local Limerick CC because I could not keep up with the group despite being able to average around 25km per hour. I am in my mid-fifties, off the fags for five years now.

I had been told, a year or so earlier, that if I could attain to 25kph on my own, I should be able to keep up with the group, but never could. Too many racers took over the pace and people who were not racers were left in the dust. I figured, why pay to join a club that didn't accommodate all of its members. I quit, joining the Leisurecycling club up in Dublin. I have never cycled with them, but you have to be in a club to get a cyclingireland licence, and it is a lot cheaper to join their club. I am going to Waterford for the Comeragh. Maybe I'll see some of them there.

Lately, (since cross-training by running about 15 to 20 miles a week) I am beginning to average 27/28kph, despite doing some pretty demanding climbs (Killaloe Pass, for instance, and Gallows Hill in Cratloe). When I think I can maintain a 30kph average, I'll think about joining one of the cycling clubs closer to Limerick, but I am averse to joining a club that siphons off the money from non-racing members fees to support the racing to the exclusion of all else.

I'll be happy when I can maintain around 30kph. That will allow me to do 100 kms in a little over 3 hours instead of the four that it currently takes me, a hundred miles in around six hours, instead of the current seven.

dave.bgr

AlfaZen wrote: »

Too many different factors to be looking at what your average speed should be.

course- hilly v flat, distance, weather, fitness, road quality.

I use a Garmin and when analyzing rides I look first at average cadence v heart rate over the duration of the cycle. On a 1 hour cycle I would look for an average cadence of 90 to 100 with an average heart rate of 80% of max.

Best answer


I average between 26 - 28kph over 30k mostly flat.

There are also apps that will give a very good indication of the type of of descents, calories burned and all that good stuff !

fixie fox

Newgrange Warrior wrote: »

What sort of speed should u be achieving? I be early 30's, pretty fit and only back into cycling. i got d old raleigh 6speed racer out the other week, after a service i be averaging about 25km/hr for 30km spins.

Are you talking about the Flying 200, or Malin to Mizen, or going to the shop, or basic fitness, or racing fitness, or what....??

Stella Virgo

Newgrange Warrior wrote: »

What sort of speed should u be achieving? I be early 30's, pretty fit and only back into cycling. i got d old raleigh 6speed racer out the other week, after a service i be averaging about 25km/hr for 30km spins.

theres your answer....slow as a hearse :eek:,compared to the most basic entry level modern lightweight racer:D.

paulgalway

I'm in early 50's. Highest maximum average is only about 21.9 km/hr on this route.

What can I do to get up near 25km/hr and higher if possible?

Alek

Stella Virgo wrote: »

theres your answer....slow as a hearse :eek:,compared to the most basic entry level modern lightweight racer:D.

I've done Howth Hill from the village side for the first time today - 6:41 on a 30 year old steel Peugeot.

Longer ones are not a problem either: http://ridewithgps.com/trips/1474063

Again, whats wrong with his Raleigh? :rolleyes:

[shameless brag off ]

dave.bgr

The new carbon fibre bikes are the way to go it seems. They are light, rigid an will generally make it easier to go faster.

Cycling shoes are a must. They take a while to getting used to but being able to pull up on the pedals will help.

The obvious tip, would be to go out cycling and push yourself. You have to go out and cycle with the mindset of trying to beat your previous average on the same route.

Cookie_Monster

with hills 24-26kph, on the flat 30kph+
they are my targets anyway

gerrowadat

Depends what you're into it for I'd say. I'm only cycling a few months and average around 24 on the flat (I have about 20kg to lose though). Good enough for me once I'm able to keep up with a group, I'd say if you wanted to race you'd be aiming for 30+ but it really depends.

I was able to join cyclingireland without being in a club BTW.

Cee-Jay-Cee

Im cycling a year roughly and on my 30km quick spin route I average 28kmph and its quite a hilly route. This time last year that average was 22/23kmph on the same route.

On a fairly level route I can average around 31/32kmph but I'd still consider myself at beginner level but my speed is increasing all the time.

To get your speed up you simply need to put the time and the miles in. I use cyclemeter app to record all my spins, I don't check it while in the bike only after I've finished, its very good for keeping track off how your progressing.

Kieran81

I'd be averaging 25/26km/h on my ancient old mountain bike usually go for 25-40 km on lumpy enough roads , considering moving to a road bike , but what's putting me off is I prefer the roads with small traffic volume , but in the midlands that means piss poor surface

Amprodude

For me i average around 28kph to 31kph on my own which is a mix of hilly and flat terrain.. Light bike makes a big difference. Still im trying to lose 6kg of weight to make me faster. Hoping to go racing later in the year but going to get my avg speed up few more notches first.

Wishbone Ash

AlfaZen wrote: »

Too many different factors to be looking at what your average speed should be.

course- hilly v flat, distance, weather, fitness, road quality

.....traffic, traffic lights, junctions also affect averages. It's difficult to average more than 20km/h in city centre cycling.

Clothes, shoes, pedals and nutrition also make a difference.

Going solo, I'd average around 30km/h on a fairly flat short 30km spin. On a 100km spin with a few climbs it would drop to 26/27km/h.

smacl

A bit slower than most here. 123k route from Rathfarnham to Carlow took me 5:30 all in on Saturday, so 22.5kph average, though I did go over the sally gap and Mt Leinster and the weather was 'challenging'. I rarely cover 100k in much under 4 hours start to finish, barring a nice tail wind.

Beasty

smacl wrote: »

A bit slower than most here. 123k route from Rathfarnham to Carlow took me 5:30 all in on Saturday, so 22.5kph average, though I did go over the sally gap and Mt Leinster and the weather was 'challenging'. I rarely cover 100k in much under 4 hours start to finish, barring a nice tail wind.

... but you're bound to be slower over longer distances particularly with hills involved

My commuting speeds have progressed as follows (distance 23km, mainly on reasonably fast rural roads, but also including cycling through the suburbs of Dublin - riding solo)

When I started (5 years ago) - 22-24kph
1 year later 26-28kph
2 years 28-30kph
It's stayed just around 30kph since, although I did manage to exceed 38kph one day (with a bit of a tailwind )

Newgrange Warrior

Thanks for the replies.

The terrain (rural roads) for my current relatively flat with 2 no. challenging hills. No proper cycling clothing or cycling shoes yet

Would I be wasting my time joining a club at this stage or should I build my cycling endurance and speed first?

Alek

The same 10km commute via city centre:

2 years ago (started) - 40min
1 year ago - 30min
now (started pushing myself regularly in the last few months) - quite predictable 19-21min depending on traffic

Wishbone Ash

smacl wrote: »

A bit slower than most here. 123k route from Rathfarnham to Carlow took me 5:30 all in on Saturday, so 22.5kph average, though I did go over the sally gap and Mt Leinster and the weather was 'challenging'

You were probably heading into the prevailing south westerly on that route.

Beasty

Newgrange Warrior wrote: »

Thanks for the replies.

The terrain for my current relatively flat with 2 no. challenging hills. No proper cycling clothing or cycling shoes yet

Would I be wasting my time joining a club at this stage or should I build my cycling endurance and speed first?

Join a club for next year (not sure how many will still be taking new members for this year - I think the insurance cover starts a month or so ahead of the new year but you could join Cycling Ireland anyway as they offer an introductory €10 membership) - Clubs will generally cater for all levels and will usually be do introductory spins over the winter

on_the_nickel

Average speed doesn't matter a sh*t, you just need to be able to keep the wheel in front when the hammer drops and you're already in the red.

I thought I was fit, well able to do long (100km plus solo in the 29-30kph area) but that's all on my terms, soft-pedalling when I need to, resting up after going hard, but it's a completely different kind of fitness that's required for racing.

It's very hard to re-create racing conditions on your own unless you're a sadomasochistic interval fiend. You have to force yourself to go again when you are about to get sick, over and over again. Otherwise, you'll get dropped on the hilly races. Best advice is to get a good base of miles over winter and join a club.

smacl

on_the_nickel wrote: »

It's very hard to re-create racing conditions on your own unless you're a sadomasochistic interval fiend.

I don't race and have no plans to, but what I found good* over the winter was to set the VR trainer up such that I was racing against my previous best, 2nd best and 3rd best on any given course. Incredible the stress you put yourself under to get past the line just 1 second faster.

(* by good I'm referring to almost vomiting on the bike, and barely being able to stand up when dismounting into the pool of sweat on the floor around the bike)

godtabh

When I started off I was averaging 20kph over about 20km climbing maybe 200m.

No the average is about 31-32kph climbing upto 800m over 75km.

For longer flatter spins it might be 30kph.

For longer hiller climbs it maybe 25kph.

nordicb

There are too many variables, aims, gear, terrain, etc.
Probably worth mentioning the route or maybe do a sportive event and compare if that's important...

NeedMoreGears

Broadly speaking I can manage something along the following lines:

City Commuting - 20kph due lights, traffic etc

Short flattish runs - 30kph for maybe up to 50km

Longer Flattish runs - 29kph for maybe up to 100km

Typical Sportif pace (WW200, SKT etc) - 24.9999kph (can't seem to break 8hrs on the WW200 anymore), a bit faster on SKT, Mount Leinster and the like - depending on groups etc

I'd expect you might go better than that with some training and a better bike/gear as it's a long time since I was in my early thirties!

petethedrummer

You should aim to go fast enough but not too fast.

valleyoftheunos

A rider's weight has an awful lot to do with the average speed I've found. I would be similar in profile to the OP but I would imagine that I weigh a wee bit more than him and about 15-20 KG more than I should. The upshot of that is that I rarely achieve an average speed much above 20 kph on any ride of any length or terrain.

As my weight has started to come down however the Ave Speed has started to increase however, lots of variables I know but I think its one of the most important.

thesimpsons

Lawr wrote: »

I think this is an interesting question because a few years ago I quit my local Limerick CC because I could not keep up with the group despite being able to average around 25km per hour. I am in my mid-fifties, off the fags for five years now.

I had been told, a year or so earlier, that if I could attain to 25kph on my own, I should be able to keep up with the group, but never could. Too many racers took over the pace and people who were not racers were left in the dust. I figured, why pay to join a club that didn't accommodate all of its members. I quit, joining the Leisurecycling club up in Dublin. I have never cycled with them, but you have to be in a club to get a cyclingireland licence, and it is a lot cheaper to join their club. I am going to Waterford for the Comeragh. Maybe I'll see some of them there.

Lately, (since cross-training by running about 15 to 20 miles a week) I am beginning to average 27/28kph, despite doing some pretty demanding climbs (Killaloe Pass, for instance, and Gallows Hill in Cratloe). When I think I can maintain a 30kph average, I'll think about joining one of the cycling clubs closer to Limerick, but I am averse to joining a club that siphons off the money from non-racing members fees to support the racing to the exclusion of all else.

I'll be happy when I can maintain around 30kph. That will allow me to do 100 kms in a little over 3 hours instead of the four that it currently takes me, a hundred miles in around six hours, instead of the current seven.

highly recommend if you in Limerick city area to join Cycle4sickchildren club (or if in the county, try out Southside wheelers). both clubs are for all levels of ability and if you averaging 27km with Gallows hilll thrown in, you'd be fine and fit right in with them. C4SC have every level and really do wait for everyone to get top Gallows before moving off. I went from toddling around doing 30k spin on my own at 22kph to completing a good few 100km+ sportifs. LCC is a racing club and doesn't cater for anything less imo.

http://www.cycle4sickchildren.com/
http://www.southsidewheelywheelers.com/

Lawr

thesimpsons wrote: »

highly recommend if you in Limerick city area to join Cycle4sickchildren club (or if in the county, try out Southside wheelers). both clubs are for all levels of ability and if you averaging 27km with Gallows hilll thrown in, you'd be fine and fit right in with them. C4SC have every level and really do wait for everyone to get top Gallows before moving off. I went from toddling around doing 30k spin on my own at 22kph to completing a good few 100km+ sportifs. LCC is a racing club and doesn't cater for anything less imo.

http://www.cycle4sickchildren.com/
http://www.southsidewheelywheelers.com/

Just wanted to say thanks for this. I usually sign up in January, so I'll definitely look into switching my club to cycle4sickchildren. Thanks, again.

cdaly_

Lawr wrote: »

I quit, joining the Leisurecycling club up in Dublin. I have never cycled with them, but you have to be in a club to get a cyclingireland licence, and it is a lot cheaper to join their club.

I've never joined a club and just register as 'unattached' for my CI license.