Inusuit

I'm too old and slow to worry about all the technical details. My average speed over 20-30 miles of rolling hills is 10-13 mph.

Gresp15C

I think about this for a couple reasons: Estimating the duration of longer rides, and choosing a gear ratio for my single speed bike. With effort (i.e., not lazy cruising), I can maintain 13 - 15 mph. Above that speed, I hit an aerodynamic "wall." Likewise there's a similar "wall" for climbing grades. I'm not all that strong, and belong to the "lucky to be riding at all" camp. Since my body can't generate the power to go faster, I don't need to be geared to ride any faster. So my top gear and bottom gear are the same, and I've chosen a gearing so I can maintain a brisk but reasonable cadence.

I could choose a higher gear to take advantage of tailwinds and downgrades, but at the expense of struggling on headwinds and upgrades. So my gearing is naturally a compromise. As I get older, climbing hills becomes more important than arriving at a destination sooner.

Bearhawker

My top gear is 28-11.

On the flattest*** stretches with no wind *** I "cruise" at 25-30 km/h

Down hill I coast as there is no tangible benefit to pedaling above 30 km/h

*** PEI is essentially devoid of flat and windlessness. Yesterday was "light" winds of 20 gusting to 40 km/h

rsbob 

In Arizona its about 90-95 MPH in top gear. Around here about 80.

john m flores 

The 1/2/3 likely controls the front derailleur and the 1...7 controls the rear derailleur. As livedarklions mentioned, there's no standardization on how big or small any of the gears are, but as a general guide:

1. If your legs are burning, you are in too high (hard) a gear
2. If you are out of breath, you are in too low (easy) gear.
3. On flat terrain, you like will be most comfortable at gear 2 of the 1/2/3. You can then switch between 1...7 based on items 1 and 2 above
4. On uphills, you will likely be most comfortable at gear 1 of the 1/2/3. You can then switch between 1 and 5 based on items 1 and 2 above. Using 6 and 7 with gear 1 is discouraged; it will wear out parts faster. If you are using 5 and you are running out of breath, try 2 and 4 or 2 and 3.
5. On downhills, try gear 3 of 1/2/3. Limit the other gear to 3-7 to avoid premature wear.

bruce19

I don't know any absolutely flat roads around here. All I can say is there is a Strava segment near me that is 1 mi. with 1% decline for the first half and 1% incline for the end. When I was young (75) I did it at 25 mph. In general I would theorize that, on a flat road, I could "cruise" around 20-23 mph.

livedarklions

Just to be clear for the OP, you're indicating that gear 1 in the front is the smallest one, and in the back. Gear 1 is the biggest one.
This gearing numbering is also not standardized, so I think it's best to spell this out.

john m flores 

Yes, that's the way trigger shifters and Gripshifts are typically numbered, lower number = easier/lower, higher number = harder/higher.

livedarklions

Assuming they're actually numbered. Last triple trigger I had didn't have any numbers on it. Not sure if OP was referring to markings on the shifters or not.

BTW, I think your post was good, I've just seen newbies IRL get confused by this "high gear/low gear" thing. The logic being reversed front to back is not intuitive for us less mechanically inclined folks.

terrymorse 

I would say those are good guidelines for someone who is doing a hard effort, like a time trial. For most riding situations, where you're not riding so hard that you'd sense fatigue, these may be more useful:

1. If you're pedaling slowly and having to push hard to keep the pedals moving, shift to a lower gear.
2. If you're pedaling quickly, and you sense very little "push back" on the pedals, shift to a higher gear.

Eric F 

I am sometimes out of breath with burning legs at the same time.

livedarklions

Me, Saturday, riding uphill into a headwind 50 miles into my ride.

Bit more of that, and I'm contemplating swimming instead.

Eric F 

I would pick running over swimming. I'm not very good at running, but I'm a lousy swimmer. There is zero chance of me ever being interested in a triathlon.

livedarklions

I was kidding, but I really can't run because of bad feet and ankles.

Eric F 

From running? Most of the serious runners I know are constantly complaining about pain and injuries. I'm fairly convinced that serious runners are enablers in an abusive relationship.

livedarklions

I'm not even a "broken runner", my feet are congenitally bad. It's what got me into biking.

terrymorse 

That means you are doing it right, well done!

Eric F 

I don't always get to well done. Sometimes I only get to medium-rare.

ThermionicScott 

Yet there's a persistent notion among kids (and grown-ups who still ride bikes like they were kids) that once you can ride everywhere in top gear, you've "arrived" as a cyclist. And what's left after that, besides seeing how fast you can ride in top gear?

grantelmwood

Went for a ride today and tried to keep the intensity up the entire 3.5 miles.

3.5 miles, 14:41 moving time, 183 ft. elevation

I def. max out the speed on downhills. More gears would result in higher max speed


Recall, this is knobby tires, upright handlebars, garage sale bike, etc

I want to borrow a premium road bike from someone and compare times doing the same loop

shelbyfv

Ok

Pratt

Last summer riding around Lac St Jean on the Veloroute des Bluets, my average was 8-10 mph for 30-50 miles. Since that was in Canada , it was more like 13-16 kph for 48-80 km. which sounds more impressive.

xroadcharlie

The only time I would use my top gear of 89 gear inches on flat land with my 3 x 7 speed comfort bike is with a moderate tail wind. In which case I might cruise at 27 - 30 kph. Max with a stronger wind or descending a low grade is 32 kph @ 75 rpm. Any faster then that descending a hill I coast. There are no hills near me to test my downhill speed. Only a gravel trail that I must brake on to safely navigate.

My normal cruising gears with a cadence of 60 - 70 rpm on flat land are 49, 55, 62, 70, or 78 gear inches for about 20 kph +/- 5 kph depending on the wind. Average speed including obstacles (like pedestrians and dogs) is closer to 17 - 18 kph.

Zara Sp00k

Around 28, but then I have legs of steel and lungs like a blimp