Average speed by age/weight

Fudger · Post by **Fudger** » 2 Mar 2016, 8:04am

Hi all, just wondering if I'm slow or fast for my age/weight. I'm male 42yo and 103kg which is heavy for my height. My average speed is about 12.2 mph based on a year of cycling. This is a touring speed rather than all out effort for racing and one based on solo cycling, therefore I rarely get to compare myself to others.
If you don't want to say your exact age or weight just say 30's or 40's and average/heavy/light. It may be interesting to find out?

beardy · Post by **beardy** » 2 Mar 2016, 9:00am

Too many other variables.
Being heavy through muscle or fat is much less of a handicap on the flat than in the hills.

12.2mph is above average I would say for sustained long distance riding in mildly hilly terrain.
Way below average for people in expensive kit out for a two or three hour blast on larger, flatter roads.

I was quite pleased with 12.5mph on a long tour with some flat days and some hilly days back when I was 42 and 80kg, carrying about 9Kg of gear. The two of us were not overtaken and overtook others, those choosing to accompany us occasionally couldnt ride and chat.
Of course proper club riders would have easily passed us.

cliffyboy1962 · Post by **cliffyboy1962** » 2 Mar 2016, 9:08am

I am 53 year old 5ft 9" and 83kg. I only cycle for leisure and never for more than 3 hours. Currently doing between 90 and 100 miles per week with a 9kg road bike and on relatively, un-hilly terrain (West Sussex) and I average about 16mph. I have been a heavy smoker all my life but have recently quit in the last 6 weeks (yet to notice any real difference in performance)

I am new to road biking and only started in September 2015. 18 months ago I weighed in at 127.5kg and lost 44kg in 9 months. Cycling (not road cycling) helped me a lot.

SpannerGeek · Post by **SpannerGeek** » 2 Mar 2016, 11:18am

12.2mph is pretty decent for distance work

A1anP · Post by **A1anP** » 2 Mar 2016, 11:38am

I'm 54 and 85kg with a BMI of 26. My typical speed is in the region of 13 mph. That is for solo rides though. I do most of my riding with people of varying ability so my speed on the day will be dependent on how the slowest in the group is feeling and whether or not I'm back marking.

It's interesting to find that my median speed for solo rides on my road bike for the last year (13.1mph) is the exactly the same as for my hybrid, which is between 3-10 kg heavier, depending on what I'm carrying on the day. It's also worth noting that my average rides have around 50 ft/mile altitude gain. At 100 ft/mile, I am happy to do 11.something mph. Hope that helps.

Incidentally, cliffyboy1962 - well done with the weight loss and the average speed

Edit: for the purposes of full disclosure and avoidance of boasting, I must admit that my overall average speed for last year is 11.3mph, which includes group rides and off-roading...

Fudger · Post by **Fudger** » 2 Mar 2016, 1:12pm

I know there's loads of variables. That's why I looked at my records for the year to work out an average over all terrains. My rides are only 16 - 30 miles each time but my plan is to increase that over the coming months whilst maintaining my average speed. I'm hoping for a bit of weight loss and to cycle from Berkshire to north Cornwall in May over 3 days. Thanks for responding it's good to get feed back and compare abilities. One factor for a faster ride I find is a decent pub at the end, however, if I'm ever to shift a little weight the pub visits may have to stop.

PH · Post by PH » 2 Mar 2016, 1:51pm

I’m a bit faster now in my mid 50’s than I was a decade ago. Weight has varied between 95 – 105kg, occasionally going a bit higher but not for long.
I’ve never looked at the annual average, but monthly speeds are usually between 12 – 13 mph. A long tour will up the average a bit as will a few Audax. A month where I’ve done little but commute might drop it down to 11.5. My three bikes are all within the touring spectrum, from trekking to Audax, I don’t find they make much difference to speed and neither surprisingly does the weather.
There are I think too many other variables to make age a consideration, my speed went up markedly when I stopped doing an 8 mile each way stop start urban commute…
Maybe more interesting may be the average speed you can maintain over a given distance. The CTC Standard rides still run by many Member Groups require 50 miles in 4 hours (12.5mph) and 100 miles in 8 with a compulsory 30 min lunch (13.33mph) Most people with a bit of preparation can manage those speeds. My experience of Audax controls is there’s always a few off the front and a few getting full value but the majority of riders are within a fairly narrow band.

david7591 · Post by **david7591** » 2 Mar 2016, 10:26pm

Age 59. Height1.86M. Weight 71 kilos. Typical solo ride 40 to 50 miles. Typical terrain hilly/undulating in Cumbria (75 to 100 feet per mile). Bike lightweight road. Typical solo average speed (moving time) 12.5 to 13.5 mph.

Psamathe · Post by **Psamathe** » 2 Mar 2016, 10:35pm

Age nearly 60, BMI 21 (around 65Kg) typical rides 25 to 45 miles (though more recently 25-40 miles) and long term average speed 13.7 mph (although strictly that is the average average speed).

But rides are pretty flat compared to I guess many experience.

Ian

Post by **Vorpal** » 3 Mar 2016, 9:08am

IMO, speed only matters for racing and utility cycling, and then there are still lots of variables. :mrgreen:

If you want to improve fitness, get a heart rate monitor. If you want to lose weight, estimate calories, or measure power output.

If you want to know how long to get somewhere (e.g. to go into town for a dentist appointment), you need to include traffic condition, weather, hills etc. in your reckoning.

My average speed varies quite a bit with my fitness, and riding conditions.

On leisure rides, I either measure the time I have or how far I go (or how far the kids can go). I don't usually measure both. If I have 3 hours for a ride, I ride away from home for 80 minutes or so, then head back, usually by a slightly different route. If I'm taking the kids camping, I only consider how far we can reasonably ride in a day, with the limiting factor being capability rather than time.

I have a computer somewhere, but it ran out batteries, and I haven't used in at least 2 years.

Annoying Twit · Post by **Annoying Twit** » 3 Mar 2016, 10:13am

Interesting. My speed over long distances is affected by other things. But, over moderate distances I would be a touch over 12mph, which is not too dissimilar to speeds reported by others. On the open road people on very fancy bikes wearing lycra whizz past me. And I can't yet join my club rides as the slowest speeded group is 14-16mph. So, it's interesting to see the speeds listed here. BTW: I'm early 50s, and about 78kg.

Psamathe · Post by **Psamathe** » 3 Mar 2016, 10:21am

I think that hills make a massive difference. When I ride in one direction it is quiet a lot more up and down (ups being slow, downs on the brakes as the narrow hedge lined roads don't have the visibility to benefit from all that work going up). And the up and down is slower ride average than on the flat.

And I suspect that many do most of their riding in the same locality (around where they live). So one person averaging 12 mph in the highlands is probably doing far more that somebody doing 14mph is East Anglia.

Ian

reohn2 · Post by **reohn2** » 3 Mar 2016, 10:29am

Average is a total irrelevance,as someone posted up thread there's far to many variables involved.

Fudger · Post by **Fudger** » 3 Mar 2016, 1:21pm

Once again, I know there are lots of variables, which is why I based my average loosely on my travels over a full year in all conditions on all terrains. I'm not looking for a scientifically accurate answer from people, just an indication. As a solo rider I pass some people and get passed by others on the road but was interested in knowing where I sit in my progress to getting a bit fitter and where I should realistically aim for in a scale based on simple info from everyday riders rather than all out racers.

Some interesting figures coming up even if they are only an indication.

geocycle · Post by **geocycle** » 3 Mar 2016, 1:55pm

About 11.7-12.2 mph as an annual average of 3000 miles mainly in North Lancs, Dales, Cumbria.

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