Portis

This is the internet. Not exactly the most noted arena for honesty. It seems like a lot of people lie when they post their average speed on these forums. How do i know they are lying? I don't for sure, but I think most of the time you get a gut feeling when something sounds too good to be true.

Somebody just posted in Winter Cycling, that they average 17mph on a fully loaded 45 lb mountain bike. That is BS. I've seen it many other times on here. Obviously there are different abilities involved and some are faster than others but get real.

SoonerBent

I've heard claims from local riders who I've later ridden with and the claims did not live up to reality. So I can't imagine that it doesn't happen even more frequently on a forum where we're pretty much anonymous.

SS

timmhaan

the problem is that almost nobody uses the term average speed the same way. it's simply time divided by distance. if you want to know how fast you went on a 50 mile ride, compare the time you left to the time you arrived.

people seem to use crusing speed, ignore uphill speed, or exclude rest stops or traffic lights from the equation, all sorts of stuff.

webist

It simply doesn't matter to me what a person's average speed is other than my own. Since another's average speed doesn't matter to me, does it matter at all if it is truth or fiction?

DataJunkie

Isn't it distance divided by time? My math skills are a tad rusty. Time \ distance = hr per mile

People tend to exaggerate. Not just in ave speed but in most other aspects related to their life.

Not much room to exaggerate in this equation: 15 miles / .75 hrs = 20mi/hr (I ride downhill on the way home)

timmhaan

it's been a source of confusion in the racing forum before. for example, newbies trying to start racing for the first time are generally interested in what sort of speeds they will be facing so they can gauge if they're ready or not. for competition, i guess, it's good to have an idea of what you're up against.

Portis

I think the term is usually used in the same way. Most people, like myself, are referring to what their computer displays when the ride is complete. Set it at the beginning of the ride and check it at the end. Of course there are tons of variables when considering average speed. That is one of the reasons why i too, view average speed as pretty meaningless.

HOwever, it does serve as as point of reference. If somebody comes on here and says they averaged 30 mph on a ride, we know they are either: a) a damned liar b) damned fast

roadfix

I always wondered that myself, but since there are so many variables involved, I'm guessing everyone's 'average speed' will be different. It's only good for gauging your own progress.
As for me, I don't run a computer except on my touring bike, but that's just to monitor distance travelled so I can impress my friends and family after my trip

genec

With computers on bikes that can record data, one can clearly have a true indication of average speed... otherwise I think some cyclists just over-estimate their speed and how long they hold that speed.

I for instance love hitting 25MPH on flats while spinning well... there is just something gratifying about doing that... but the reality is that generally over a 25 mile route I really go an average of only about 15.8 MPH.

jimmuter

Not much I can do to polish 12 MPH. Might as well just accept it and move on.

timmhaan

is your computer set to record constantly or does it turn off if the wheel isn't moving? that can result in very different readings for the same ride.

knoregs

I once averaged over 25mph for the first hour of a 60 something mile ride... and then I turned the corner... time to pay the piper

pakole

I just used my computer since its gives an accruate record of my cycling events. In fact, I get real upset when my computer goes down or if the magnet is off. I like my statements to be accurate, so I am sure there are people that want to be accurate as well.

Portis

My computer, like most, only records when the magnet goes by the sensor. In other words it only measures a bike ride. It doesn't measure sitting, which it shouldn't. After all it is hard to ride without moving.

CastIron

I won't suggest we're all a bunch of liars, but, surely many of these "averages" are a bit optimistic. And really, the variables are remarkable, so you have to allow for winds, temps, weights, good/bad days, moon phase, cosmic alignment and God knows what else. Tell me the moving average speed for L.A. over the ENTIRE T.D.F. course. Thats an average I'd like to see. Call it the High Benchmark for average speed B.S.

timmhaan

see that's where we're different. i'm a stickler when it comes to average speed. i consider it the speed of the entire trip - from when you began to when you end. a century that's completed in 10 hours should reflect a 10mph average regardless of how many bathroom breaks you stopped for.

noisebeam

Some computers give the option to turn on or off automatic time' (i.e. automatic means stopped time is not averaged)

But some computers (like the supergo C-12) only provide 'automatic' time as average time. So the only way to get true trip average is to either never stop or to use a separate stopwatch and calculate it.

Al

noisebeam

I understand, but not counting stops is nice when you ride with a group and stops last way too long or happen too often.

Al

Walkafire

Maybe you should try it before you speak!

If you doubt me, I invite you to come to Northern Colorado to take a ride.
Then lets see you SHOOT your mouth off!
If I get the chance to get the LBS to ever log on here, They can back me up.

What a line of bull... Your full of it

Portis

I've ridden my two Trek 4300's over 14,000 miles since August of 2003. I have only averaged over 15 mph once. Granted i mostly ride on unpaved gravel and dirt trails. Yet i have ridden enough pavement to know that 17 mph avg. is stilll very fast on a MTB with knobbies on pavement.

I ride virtually every day and have ridden in temps from -25 F windchill to 108 F. In wind from 0 to 50 mph. Up hills and down hills and yet not once did i average 17 mph. While I may not be the greatest cyclist in the world, i am in pretty decent shape.

I am 6'2" and 150 lbs with probably around 5% body fat. (if that)

Like i said, you are obviously very fast. I obviously am not. I don't see where there is a debate.

Walkafire

6'4" 225 here
Granted I don't hit that avg on a daily basis either. I have riden in about the same temps as you have. It doesn't get that high here in Colo but it does get over 100 in the summers.

They ain't Knobbies

Portis

The fact that they aren't knobbies is a big factor. I guess i jumped to that conclusion on my own, so I apologize. However, that is still a pretty fast average even on slicks. I run slicks on one of my MTB's on occasion. I don't recall if I ever averaged that fast or not.

I do know that 17 mph is the lower end of my average on my road bike. IOW, if I average 17 mph I know that conditions were not ideal, hills, wind etc. I usually average around 18-19 mph on the roadbike with perfect conditions. I averaged 18.9 on my last century, but that was with a stiff tailwind most of the way.

The other day I averaged 16.5 on the roadbike with a 35 mph North wind.

Mild Al

One can have a true indication of speed IF the computer is calibrated right.

I just got a computer for Christmas, and I found that if I followed the directions in the manual carefully, and punched in the number they gave me for my tire size, the computer gave me credit for more distance than I had actually travelled--and for higher speeds than I deserved. I had to go on a couple of rides and recalibrate twice before I got the computer to give me the distances I knew I had travelled.

Squint

Well, on a fairly windy day on very rolling terrain, it was quite an effort for me to ride 90-120 mins at a true average of 20 mph. I think I averaged like 220-230W. I train on 700x25 Armadillos and make no effort to be light or aerodynamic during training. My threshold power is around 4.1 W/kg at 6000'+ elevation.

So I'm skeptical when I hear certain average speed numbers.

jhota

i think lots of folks are "liars" because of the aforementioned differences in how they arrive at average speed. i usually average around 12 mph solo, 15-17 with a group (amazing how much easier it is in a group), and as high as 10 mph on my mtb. but that's dist/time, not a computer reading. i don't even own a bike computer. my friends that do (have computers) consistently report higher average speeds than my calculations for the same ride (no, my math isn't that bad), probably due to the "wheel stopped = off" thing.

i don't think it's malicious, just differences in viewpoint.