What's considered fast when cycling?

depends on the terrain and if you are drafting behind other people or not...

If you are with a group that knows how to ride and each guy is taking their turn to pull, the studs are averaging 26-30mph for a 40-50mi ride.

For me (30 to 31 minute 10k guy) I felt like 20 MPH average solo on rolling terrain was pretty good/hard.

If I averaged 17 mph during long rides like 3 - 4 hours I had a good day.

I never rode with a group before.

Lets say flat terrain with no wind and no drafting. Just solo like if one were running alone. By fast I mean not race fast but fast enough to be considered a decent cyclist.

that seems a little faster than what i was gonna say, but possible. guys in the tour average 25 mph (including massive climbs and etc)

40 km/h

Flaqpole wrote:

depends on the terrain and if you are drafting behind other people or not...

^This. Plus, how kamikaze you're willing to go on the downhills. Typically, I hit 30-32mph on the downhill near my house with a blind corner at the bottom. It's only marginally safe at 25-30mph, but I have done it at 41mph. Unless you're into bike racing, there's no need to practice hammering the downhills.

also depends on your bike setup

for me, running 7 minute pace for most runs, i ride about 18 mph usually, for up to 40 mile rides. i don't really ride farther very often but it's usually slower, maybe 16

i can do 20 mph but it's harder on my legs. i'm not really used to using my legs much for cycling so i'm limited by that

with a few weeks of riding i think i could do 20 mph for 30 mile daily rides

For me (30 to 31 minute 10k guy) I felt like 20 MPH average solo on rolling terrain was pretty good/hard.

If I averaged 17 mph during long rides like 3 - 4 hours I had a good day.

I never rode with a group before.

I'm a 17 minute 5k guy and those numbers were pretty much the same for me when I was doing a lot of cycling last summer. Running fitness and cycling fitness are probably not correlated that closely.

The time trial is the race of truth in cycling.

These are the winning times per division for the 12 mile Tour of the Catskills in NY. The race attracts a good field across the range.

Pro/1/2 Men 29.78 mph (good domestic pros, not the top)

Cat 3 Men 28.3 (ammies but training seriously)

Cat 4 Men 27.47 (ammies one rank above newbie)

Cat 5 Men 25.69 (ammies and new to the sport. )

My friend was a 1:48.8 800m runner 9 years ago. Now he took up cycling recently and is a cat 5. He is around the 25.5 mark. Once he figures it out, he will improve.

Probably very little correlation. I'm a 21 minute 5k guy but averaged 22 mph on a couple of similar rides. I'm also over 200 pounds with strong and bulky quads/hamstrings if that is a factor.

Badger Miles (adjusted for cycling):

30:00 = 10 miles

60:00 = 20 miles

90:00 = 30 miles

And so on

Go to Strava and compare times on different courses and distances.

20mph is a respectable pace for many decent club riders.

Bike rider wrote:

I think 6-7 min pace on a normal run is fairly fast. You have to be in decent shape to hold that pace for a run. So what's the equipment in mph for a decent cyclist? 18-20mph, 21-23mph, 23+?

For me, 6 mins/mile is analogous to maybe 280-300 watts. 7 mins/mile is closer to maybe 240 watts.

That works out to (roughly) 23 and 20-21mph, respectively, on flat ground in no wind, when sitting upright on my road bike.

Having been riding for a while now, I'll go ahead and say that for the typical rider, 25mph is fast for any ride of significant distance.

For your average/beginner biker, over 20 mph. For a more seasoned biker, closer to 25 mph.

Download Strava and you'll find out what is fast.

table wrote:

If you are with a group that knows how to ride and each guy is taking their turn to pull, the studs are averaging 26-30mph for a 40-50mi ride.

in a race. NOT in a training ride.

give it a rest wrote:

The time trial is the race of truth in cycling.

These are the winning times per division for the 12 mile Tour of the Catskills in NY. The race attracts a good field across the range.

Pro/1/2 Men 29.78 mph (good domestic pros, not the top)

Cat 3 Men 28.3 (ammies but training seriously)

Cat 4 Men 27.47 (ammies one rank above newbie)

Cat 5 Men 25.69 (ammies and new to the sport. )

My friend was a 1:48.8 800m runner 9 years ago. Now he took up cycling recently and is a cat 5. He is around the 25.5 mark. Once he figures it out, he will improve.

you can't compare a tt to this subject.

in that race proper equipment (and the ensuing position changes) will give you 4-5 mph advantage over someone just on a regular roadbike.

on a regular road bike, averaging 18mph solo on moderately flat roads for 30 miles is very good.