Norboo

What speed do you average on your hybrid bike?

RickGr4

This might be the most vague question I seen posted in this forum.

What are you really asking?

Kindaslow

I wonder if it might be possible that he is asking how fast we ride on our hybrids bikes in mph?

SlinkyWizard

The bike paths here are relatively flat, no traffic lights, and given favourable wind conditions ie no head wind, I average around 22km/h or around 13.5 miles per hour over an hour + ride

Stick69

Commute is 12 miles MUP and one mile grid and I average 14 MPH.

fietsbob

Wow, another speed thread .. why does it matter?

canklecat

Seems relevant, since some hybrids are fairly upright riding positions compared with road bikes. I've lowered the bar a bit on mine but it is what it is and won't get much faster.

I was kinda curious myself and began using Cyclemeter a few weeks ago. It's probably not quite as accurate as a calibrated speedo on the bike, but over the long haul of hundreds of miles it shows my average speed for 10-30 mile rides has gradually increased from 12 to 13 mph. That's probably as good as it'll get with my comfort hybrid, which is pushing 35 lbs as I usually ride it, with heavy puncture resistant tires, water bottle, a few tools and first aid kit, usually a compact camera.

What surprised me wasn't a small improvement in average speed, but a more significant increase in speed on some difficult sections that used to give me fits: some hilly climbs that I used to granny gear, I can now take faster; and some long downhill runs that I used to take in a middling gear at 18-20 mph I'm now riding close to 30 mph. But I'm close to spinning out near 30 mph and can't quite seem to break that barrier. And my upright riding position is like a parachute above 25 mph.

I don't dwell on speed but it's interesting to get a little objective data in addition to mostly relying on how I feel on any given day.

prj71

Looks to be about 15 mph. Specialized Crosstrail.

kickstart

Over the past month counting every mile ridden, for commuting, running errands, and recreational riding, my average speed has been 11.5 mph.

One should take the "average" speeds many post on BF with a grain of salt.

Standalone 

13-14. Sometimes 11. My hybrid has been converted into an Xtracycle....

Stick69

And here is why the high teens (mph) is about the best we can expect. The graph is in kph and after about 25 kph (15 mph) wind resistance takes over. I assume this graph is for a road bike which makes the situation worse for hybrids, unless you have alternative bar positions.

badger1

+1, except I'd say "with a year's worth of salt".

AU Tiger

According to Strava, on the seventeen rides I've done so far this season my average is 12.1 mph. All of these rides have been on the hilly country roads around my house.

chong67

Fastest I have seen mine is 19 mph. That must be going downhill.

corwin1968

When I'm not in the habit of riding, my speed-up/slow-down rides average between 9-11 mph. If I'm in the habit of riding more (ie, more conditioned) then it bumps up to 10-11 mph. I rarely ride in places that are conducive to a steady cadence but the one time in the past year I've done so, it was a 10 mile multi-use path and I was using really good tires. With three stops for rest, I averaged 13 mph. All previous rides on the same path were in the 9-11 mph range, depending on wind. Those tires really made a difference.

corrado33

Using the formula BF Average = (Actual Average * 1.2 + 3) my average is probably 21 MPH on my commute.

Doctor Morbius

Yesterday I did the first 20 mile ride for the year. Avg. speed was 14 or 14.1 MPH. The terrain is very flat. I'll be 56 in a week and am finding this stuff to get harder and harder every year. My main hybrid is a 2011 Giant Roam 2 w/700x32 Kenda Kwest tires and an upgraded drivetrain.

AU Tiger

This is a very good use of speed… not comparing my speed to others’, but comparing to my own previous speeds on the same sections. This is useful for gauging my conditioning progress.

I see comments like this from time to time on BF, yet when I look at the speeds listed in this thread, they all seem very realistic:
13.5, 12-14, 15, 11.5, 11-14, 15, 12, 9-13, and 14
Maybe I’m just not reading the right threads where all the inflated numbers are.

Doctor Morbius

Try the Road Bike sub-forum or General Discussion.

james_v

Even using the BF Average formula I'm not even that fast! Lol

canklecat

I'm still finding those long, gradual uphill grades, or flats where there's often a mild head wind or quartering wind, to be the toughest challenges to improvement. Looking at Cyclemeter data for those one-mile segments, I'm still taking those at 8-10 mph. That's where the leg fatigue shows up.

The shorter, steeper hills are more of an aerobic conditioning thing for me, while the legs usually are okay, so I can feel more improvement on those climbs.

But I'm probably close to maxed out on the possibilities with an upright comfort hybrid. I tried a nice used Trek 7.5 FX this past week while my bike was getting a rear wheel replaced. I was surprised how much lighter and more nimble the Trek was. And it definitely felt quicker climbing long gradual grades. But the handlebar height and reach weren't comfortable to me. Haven't decided whether the next bike will be a hybrid with flat bars, or a road bike with fairly high bars (which seems to be the bike of choice for us old dudes and dudettes on the local MUP).

Maybe I'll just rig up my own preference, perhaps a lighter frame but with North Road or similar swept back bars as a compromise.

kickstart

I've found that my average speed between my technically fastest, and slowest bikes is barely 1 mph overall.

Some bikes have a technically greater potential for speed, but traffic, geography, climate, motivation, and ability are the real factors.

badger1

+1
I'd add "Commuting"; some really good ones pop up there from time to time.

AU Tiger

Well there's my trouble... the Hybrid forum is the only one I usually spend any time in unless I have a specific maintenance question. Sounds like I'm missing out of some good superhero entertainment.

travbikeman

Ok, now I'm feeling rather comfortable on how fast I'm riding, knowing that what I'm doing is seemingly normal. I'm right around 11.6 mph. I'm trying to bump this up to 12.5 over the next few weeks. This is a mix of up and down hills. The up hills are getting better. Last year I could only average a bit over 10mph at the end of the year (beginning of the year was only 8mph when I first started out).