Cruising speed

[Gordon71]

I guess it depends on my goal. If I'm just trying to get some where it's probably an average of 15-20MPH. Most of my riding though is for pleasure and a lot of that is either trails or along the North Atlantic coastline so the view becomes important and the speed slows down to the 10-15MPH range.

 

[reed scott]

Oooohhhhhhh you in trouble now! You said the T_word!

LOLLOLLOLLOLLOL

 

[Mr. Coffee]

More distance, but fewer stops, and on my last electrons when I pulled into town (average rolling speed was about 13mph):

Nearly all gravel, lots of uphill and rough roads down:

... and a day that will live in infamy, also down to the very last few electrons:

The first and third rides were loaded for bicycle travel.

 

[Coolbob]

My last two ride averages from Giant Ride Control....

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Instant vs Average Speed, Winter

December 22nd, 2020. 54 miles. 50% Sport mode on Vado 5.0 (45 km/h e-bike). Notice the wind speed and weather conditions.

December 24th, 2020. 26.5 mile. 100% Turbo mode on Vado 5.0 (45 km/h e-bike). Max speed was achieved downhill.

 

[Terry777]

Will you please make such a ride and record it in Strava before we meet.

I’ve downloaded Strava, cool app! Just need to remember to hit “Start” before my next trip. It won’t be today though. It’s wild out! Scottish weather can be crazy sometimes. I think it’s to be ok later in the week so I’ll try and get it done then.
I treated my bike to a few things for Christmas LOL
Don’t ask why my new Thudbuster seat post ended up damaged and in the bin!
I got the Suntour one in the correct size as a replacement... I got a pannier bag and shock pump too so hopefully my bike will be more personal for me before said Strava ride.

 

[BEC111]

What is your average cruising speed on an ebike?

According to Strava I averaged 13 MPH this year. But, that’s an average of all my rides, including those when I was with friends who topped out at 10 MPH and rides when the trail was crowd with families, slow cyclists, skaters ame skateboarders, runners and walkers. And that ignores wind and weather too.

When the trail is empty and the winds low, I average about 18 MPH.

So my real average is probably about 16.

 

[iabob]

My speed depends on my surroundings. On public roads I keep it high, 25+. I don’t like to share the roads with cars though so most of my miles are on a very nice network of paved trails. If no pedestrians or slower bikes are present about 17-20 mph is nice on them. But if joggers or other cyclists are sharing the trail I show some courtesy and go with the flow. When passing someone I overtake at around 5 mph over their speed, and announce my pass. We have some dirt trails, and I’ve really taken a liking to them but there really is no way to average speeds ridden on them. I ride those based on conditions but usually much slower than when on pavement.

 

[reed scott]

Very little experience here with only two days riding the new bike. No real distance accomplished yet. However I can report that my apparent cruising speed amounts to a good twice that of what I did on my MTB and I suspect on longer hauls perhaps three times. Or not. Tripling my cruising speed would probably be scary. I'm a pretty wimpy rider.

 

[Art Deco]

Totally depends on surface and elevation. Average about 18/19 mph on pavement, and half that on trails. I don't change power settings very often anymore, just leave it on middle level boost on pavement, low level boost on trails (gravel), and turbo (high boost) for really steep hills, paved or not.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

According to Strava I averaged 13 MPH this year.

I made a detailed analysis in an Excel file exported from Strava for 2020. My average speed from 177 rides using three different e-bikes for situations ranging from fast road riding to off-road with traditional cyclist has been 21.94 km/h (13.67 mph). So my result is similar to yours @BEC111.

 

[mogulskier]

Totally depends on surface and elevation. Average about 18/19 mph on pavement, and half that on trails. I don't change power settings very often anymore, just leave it on middle level boost on pavement, low level boost on trails (gravel), and turbo (high boost) for really steep hills, paved or not.

Pretty close. For me, about 16-18mph, and half that on the trails.

 

[Art Deco]

My road speed quoted above is only on flats. So it might be high. But maybe not, I only ride short distances and have never learned to pace myself, so I am either pedaling hard or stopped completely.

 

[Mike TowpathTraveler]

I think I'll average anywhere from 10 to 13 mph on a nice, dry day with the Haibike Full FatSix. In the peak of summertime when I am in top condition for the rider I am, a 15 to 16 mph in my usual daily 20 mile ride is actually booking it big time, with most time spent up there riding along at 19 mph, right around the Yamaha PW assist cut out. But on this fatbike, that's pretty much 10/10ths going all-out. Even in this relatively flat, water-level terrain I ride in.

With the newish installed PearTune speed control, I cranked it up to an average of the mid to upper twenties, running an analog road biker down, ahead of me, a few weeks back. And let me tell, I was giving it everything I had, LOL.

Hanging near 16-20 mph short term (1-4 miles) is one thing. Doing it for a trip 20 miles or longer is a whole nother kettle of fish. Not to mention, keeping an eye on your battery range.

Oh, on this trip in 3 inches of sleet/snow a week and a half ago? 3 to 5 mph, tires lowered down to 11 psi in the rear, 10 psi in the front.....

 

[fooferdoggie]

I have a mid drive e bike so average speed is not something I go by anymore. I go by wattage. its a lot more accurate measurement as it dos not matter what route I take. I can put out the same wattage in the lowest assist level as the highest going 25mph. I just did this ride going to get some bbq at a new place. I have nbever been able to put out this wattage average the best I had done was 189. plus my heart rate was around 130 to 140 most of the time and 150 at times and I cant usually do that. most of the time I don't do as good on speed but do better on watts and thats ok. I actually got 450 watts going up this little steep slope to the bike path I don't thin kI have ever gotten that peak before.

 

[Catalyzt]

Average speed is an interesting metric to track, particularly here with so many hills. I compared my Trek 930 kit bike to my new Motobecane Ultra eAdventure for average and top speeds, results were as I expected EXCEPT for average speed. (Copied from another thread yesterday.)

How different is this 49 pound 250 Watt 40 Nm torque-sensor mid-drive pedelec (max assist 20 MPH) going to be from 40 pound my kit bike (Trek 930/Hiltopper), a 250 Watt 30 Nm throttle-only hub drive Class III (max assist unknowable, but likely about 23 MPH)? I was on a budget when I bought the Moto, and I knew it would be underpowered, but how painful would it be? Would 40 Nm be enough?

The following crude test was done mostly at max assist for the Moto, though I did dial it down to normal, eco, or off when possible. These are rough estimates, as the Moto numbers are coming from the display, and the Trek numbers are from an app and a stopwatch. Let's start with the bad news:

Maximum Speed Uphill: Advantage Trek. On 4.4 miles (one way) with 850 feet of moderate but relentless vertical, the Trek is roughly 8.5% faster. Took me 22 minutes flat on the Moto vs. 20 minutes and change on the Trek. That's the hardest thing to accept. It's very back-of-the-envelope, I may have been working harder on the Moto, but I also used just a bit less assist than I wanted to at the very end of the run, because it's the last ride of the week and I was nearing the end of my range, I'm figuring those two things cancel each other out. Also was a bit sloppy with the chrono on the G-Shock, but probably pretty close.

Maximum Speed Downhill: Advantage Moto. Same route, 4.4 miles, at 31.3 MPH, the Moto was 8% faster. No surprise there, and again, sloppy numbers, but I know that on that run, I tried really hard, and repeatedly, on the Trek, but barely hit 29.

Average Speed: Advantage Moto! This was the biggest surprise, because the Trek feels faster. Guess what? It isn't. I didn't record an average speed on the Trek for this particular run, but today the average speed on the Moto was 13.8 MPH. On the Trek, I've never cracked an average of 13 MPH on any of the 30 runs I logged. That means that just today, the Moto was roughly 6% faster than any run on the Trek!

 

[Lightning 123]

I'd have to Say after finally getting an ebike that my average speed is about 20 mph. We are talking about non congested flat level smooth surfaces. It's great to finally be able to comment on this thread.

 

[retiredNH]

I guess it depends on my goal. If I'm just trying to get some where it's probably an average of 15-20MPH. Most of my riding though is for pleasure and a lot of that is either trails or along the North Atlantic coastline so the view becomes important and the speed slows down to the 10-15MPH range.

Where along the coast?

 

[indianajo]

I ride about 9 mph, mostly unpowered. The electricity is for keeping the speed above 4.5 on headwind days.
On very rare occasions I need to get home as fast as possible. That is 30 miles in an hour 40 minutes, or 18 mph. I ride on road exclusively, but go 7 miles out of my way to stay off 55 mph highways with tiny berms.

 

[john peck]

My average speed is much the same as on my acoustic bike, maybe 1 or 2 mph faster. My ebike
was purchased as a favor to my battered old legs. Increased range was more motive than a urgent
need to get somewhere in a hurry. This old turtle is content to drag his tail in the mud.