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Poll: what is your average commute speed

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View Poll Results: What is your average commute speed
less than 8 mph
0
0%
8-10 mph
4.88%
11-12 mph
13.72%
13-14 mph
29.27%
15-16 mph
25.91%
17-18 mph
17.68%
19-20 mph
6.10%
21-24 mph
1.52%
25 or greater mph
0.61%
faster than JoeyBike
0.30%
Voters: 328. You may not vote on this poll

Poll: what is your average commute speed

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Old 05-28-09, 02:55 PM
  #1  
squirtdad
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Poll: what is your average commute speed

what is your average commute speed? meaning what does you speedo show as avg speed when pedaling, not counting stops, lights, etc)

It would be interesting to see what the spread is.

Please list your bike details also
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Old 05-28-09, 03:03 PM
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augustao
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No idea.
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Old 05-28-09, 03:20 PM
  #3  
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Since commutes vary so much between BF members any comparison of average speed is meaningless.

...

Besides, I'm afraid mine might be slower than somebody else's.
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Old 05-28-09, 03:30 PM
  #4  
TheRealNicola
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When on my road bike with a computer it's usually 16-18 on my other fun/mess around bike i have no idea.
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Old 05-28-09, 04:04 PM
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JR97
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My avg. speed is right around wish-I-were-faster. My computer is messed up and doesn't put out speed or distance anymore. I actually prefer it that way now.
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Old 05-28-09, 05:49 PM
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Eggplant Jeff
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Either:
A) 80% of other commuters are faster than me
or:
B) not everyone is putting "the bike computer says my average is X"

If I put "the average based on me glancing down at the computer" I would have said 15-16 mph. My computer says 11.7 mph, so that's what I put. It's a combination of the computer counting things like inching up to a stoplight, and me not counting the 4mph trek up the big hill on my way home .

This is on my Jamis Aurora (love it!), on my old Giant Cypress the computer said my average was more like 10 mph.
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Old 05-28-09, 06:05 PM
  #7  
Santaria
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23 mile commute, no major grades up or down, limited stops, winds occasionally strip me down from 21-23 MPH to 15-16.

Bike is currently in transition but running SRAM T3 w/ 46x18 and 46x24 combination gearing.

Currently have 105 des, bar end shifters and a RaceFace BB and crank/chainring (triple). Still need to get my nitto bar and brakes to finish conversion.
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Old 05-28-09, 06:40 PM
  #8  
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Lots of hills and stoplights at totally "wrong" places. So my new route avg speed is lower now.
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Old 05-28-09, 06:48 PM
  #9  
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FG road bike. 28 miles each way. Around 1000 feet of climbing. 15 mph.
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Old 05-28-09, 07:40 PM
  #10  
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All figures are taken from the Avg Speed on my bike computer at the end of my ride one way. I have a 20 mile round trip ride.

Average Commute is about 17.3 MPH, takes me 35-38 minutes to cover 10 miles. There are exactly 19 full stops on my commute. Today I really pushed it and had a personal best of 18.3 MPH and 32 minutes 12 seconds.

I ride a 2008 Trek 7.5FX, this past weekend changed from 700x32 Bontrager Race Lite Hard Case tires to 700x28 Continental Ultra Gator Skins.

Last edited by mlugo; 05-28-09 at 07:48 PM.
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Old 05-28-09, 08:50 PM
  #11  
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My Garmin says a lot slower than I average because it doesn't take stopping for lights and stop signs into consideration.
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Old 05-28-09, 09:46 PM
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Err, you should have defined "average". Average speed while moving? Total distance over total time, average across all commutes? Most typical speed while moving on unobstructed clear flat road?

(I answered 17mph, based on the third interpretation. Actual total time I'm not so interested in, it's too affected by traffic lights.)
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Old 05-28-09, 09:57 PM
  #13  
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The numbers I'm using are from the "average" data per RT on my Cateye computer. I'm 15-16mph from Oct - May due to bulkier clothes and darkness. I'm 17 - 18mph in the summer. I put down 15-16 since thats probably my yearly average. I use a Soma Double Cross Cyclocross bike with 700 x 28 slicks.
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Old 05-28-09, 10:35 PM
  #14  
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22km average up hill
26km average flat
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Old 05-28-09, 11:18 PM
  #15  
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11-13-ish mph. I have a Raleigh SC-200 rolling on 26x1.95 Kenda Krosses. It's a tank, probably weighs close to 35 lbs now with everything on it. And I'm no lightweight, either.
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Old 05-29-09, 05:10 AM
  #16  
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It can vary, however around 20km.
Going into wind around 15km, wind at my back around 28km.
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Old 05-29-09, 05:28 AM
  #17  
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I ride a flat bar road bike with racks, panniers,a full light kit and 2 water bottles. I try to make it an enjoyable ride and not rush so the 13-14mph is my rolling average, but I do stop at light and slow/stop at signs so my actual averare is closer to 11-12mph.
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Old 05-29-09, 05:28 AM
  #18  
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I don't have a computer on my commuter at present (may not ever put one back on) but when I did, on my Dahon Speed P8 I was usually around 12mph for a 10-14mile r/t, city commute with a lot of slope variance, plenty of long, steady grades, but no monster hills. I'm a little faster on my new bike as judged by the time it is taking me, but nothing salt flats about me
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Old 05-29-09, 06:10 AM
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are we counting average speed with lights?
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Old 05-29-09, 06:21 AM
  #20  
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Most bike computers do not count the time that the bike is stationary, after a few seconds delay. If your calculating average speed based on miles/time I would subtract the time that the bike is stationary.

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Old 05-29-09, 06:34 AM
  #21  
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Originally Posted by Eggplant Jeff
Either:
A) 80% of other commuters are faster than me
or:
B) not everyone is putting "the bike computer says my average is X"

If I put "the average based on me glancing down at the computer" I would have said 15-16 mph. ....
My computer doesn't have have an average speed function; just odometer, current speed, and "trip" miles (which I use to count my monthly miles). So I put the average speed based on my glancing down at the computer, and said 15-16 mph.

I am faster than 95% of other commuters that I see; in fact hardly anyone ever passes me. But I don't seem a lot of other commuters, so it's a meaningless distinction.

My bike is a heavily customized Downtube Mini folding bike with 16" wheels and a Sturmey Archer X-RF8w hub.
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Old 05-29-09, 06:56 AM
  #22  
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My commuting average ranges from 12.5 to 13.5 mph. My route is pretty hilly and mostly uphill for 2 miles to work. Total route to work is 3 miles.

On the flats my average is quite different.
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Old 05-29-09, 07:06 AM
  #23  
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I have a 13.8 there and a 14.6 home. It takes almost exactly one hour each way, almost all the time. I have many lights, stop signs etc. I have sped up signifigantly this year, I have made several commutes in the 15. something mph range but I am not all excited about it yet. Not consistant.
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Old 05-29-09, 07:19 AM
  #24  
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I haven't had a computer on my commuter in a long time. Average speed is pretty meaningless, especially for commuters, since there are so many variables that impact it including road conditions, weather conditions, wind, traffic volume & patterns, signed intersections, signaled intersections, elevation gains, losses & grades, type of bike, fitness level of rider, give-a-crap-about-speed level of rider, etc.

Just on my own commute my average speed probably varies between 5mph (snowy/icy roads, headwind, snow bike, bundled up, mostly uphill on the way home, afternoon rush traffic) and 25 mph (nice summer morning, on the road bike, tail wind, mostly downhill riding in, little traffic).
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Old 05-29-09, 07:23 AM
  #25  
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13-14 (bike computer) for me, including respectful slow-downs for stop signs, and the walk around and into and out of my office building, and I go slowly over a bridge and that takes a minute or so.

Trek Liquid 25, a heavy dualie MTB with all-terrain tires.

Average bike computer speed really doesn't mean much though. Like others have said, if I gave "average cruising speed", it would be 17+...
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