# Urban Commuting: What's Your Average Speed?



## TomBrooklyn

For those that commute or ride in urban areas, what kind of speed do you average in your city? 

To help put your answer in perspective, where are you riding, what's the distance, and how would you describe the route, traffic, and road conditions ?


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## MB1

I just want to get there alive.

Thanks.


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## BentChainring

46 mph. But im driving


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## llama31

MB1 said:


> I just want to get there alive.
> 
> Thanks.


But you're retired!


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## Mapei

When I commuted, I averaged about 12 mph. It didn't matter how hard I pedaled. It was the number of stoplights, etc., that determined my speed. This was Los Angeles.


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## Chain

BentChainring said:


> 46 mph. But im driving


Mine is closer to 55-60, but it's early morning and I get to use the hybrid/HOV lane.

I think I've commuted on bike once this summer. It was a busy summer and it just didn't work with all the schedules in the house.


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## JCavilia

6 miles, mostly flat, light traffic for about half the route, moderate to heavy for the rest, 21 controlled intersections (14 lights, 7 stop signs). Usually takes 23-24 minutes, which is 15-16 mph. Headwind can easily add 2 or 3 minutes, dropping the average below 14 mph. A little worse luck with the lights can easily add 3 more.

I don't often time the ride, and I don't have computers on my commuter bikes, but sometimes I'll look at my watch. The fastest I've ever timed the ride was about 19 minutes, with no traffic delays and hitting all the lights perfectly, which is a hair under 19 mph.

With that many intersections, the ride is basically a series of intervals: sprint to make a light, slow a half-mile later to let the next one change, sprint again, repeat. No hills to speak of, so I usually ride a fixed gear.


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## Fixed

*depends*



TomBrooklyn said:


> For those that commute or ride in urban areas, what kind of speed do you average in your city?
> 
> To help put your answer in perspective, where are you riding, what's the distance, and how would you describe the route, traffic, and road conditions ?


13 miles and up to 37 controlled intersections (make about half the lights, usually) each way.

Typical average, including all stops (door to door) is about 17-18 mph. Slow day is as low as 14. Best ever was just over 22, but that was redlined about to puke the entire way. I find my cruising speed is about 2-3 mph over my average, because of time lost at stops and slowing/speeding up.

Conditions here are about as good as it gets. Wide bike lanes, smooth, flat, clean pavement. Traffic is almost irrelevant, due to the bike lanes. Very little rain. Can be very hot on the way home in the summer (about 107 today), but I just don't ride hard when it's over 100. Usually on a fixed gear, Bianchi Pista or Mondonico Pista. Winter (rain/fog season) I use another fixed gear with fatter tires, rack, and fenders, which is much heavier and slower, thus geared lower, too.


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## tober1

9kms takes me around 20 minutes on the way to work and 25 on the way home which is mostly uphill. Can't do much about lights and right hookers. 
Taking public transportation at rush hour is at least an hour. 
This is in Toronto.


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## brucew

Fixed said:


> 13 miles and up to 37 controlled intersections (make about half the lights, usually) each way.
> 
> Typical average, including all stops (door to door) is about 17-18 mph. Slow day is as low as 14. Best ever was just over 22, but that was redlined about to puke the entire way. I find my cruising speed is about 2-3 mph over my average, because of time lost at stops and slowing/speeding up.


That's about what it works out to for me too, only at half the distance and half the stoplights.

It's not really that I'm a fast cyclist, but that I commute at off hours (mid-day and after rush-hour in the evening) so don't have to deal with a lot of traffic. My commute is on narrow city streets. Any traffic at all and I'm stuck behind cars. Darned pokey cars too. 

As it is, my PM commute is slowed a bit by alternate-side parking. It's during the hour where parking is legal on both sides of the street. Just one oncoming car and I don't fit. I've tried--slapped mirrors a couple of times--and decided life's too short (and mirrors are too expensive). If the oncoming car doesn't yield to me, (They do, remarkably, over 50% of the time), I yield to them and pull between parked cars.

EDIT: Oh, and you can knock 2-3 MPH off all the times for the three or four months when the studded snows are on the bike, then another 2-3 MPH if conditions are bad.


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## JCavilia

Fixed said:


> Winter (rain/fog season) I use another fixed gear with fatter tires, rack, and fenders, which is much heavier and slower, thus geared lower, too.


I make the same kind of bike switch, except the rain bike is used on rainy days in the warm season, too, as well as any day when I have to carry more stuff. It's also the short-errand around town bike, too, so it goes to the grocery store, etc. Once we go off daylight time, my commute home is always in the dark, so the rain bike has extra lights, including an array of 12 red led's on the rear fender and a Cateye TL--LD-1000 (10 led's) on the back of the rack. I am a rolling Christmas tree on my winter commutes.


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## tarwheel2

I've been tracking all of my bike mileage, times, average speeds, etc. for 3+ years in a database. While commuting, I've averaged 15.05 mph over 11,194 miles. That's exactly 2 mph less than my average speed for all road miles during that period. Commuting is slower because I'm carrying more gear, riding shorter distances, not benefiting from drafting other riders, and getting caught by a lot more red lights. My commute route is about 22 miles round trip, mainly on suburban streets and neighborhood roads with no bike paths or lanes.


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## Mr. Versatile

There is no typical or average speed. No one can answer your question with any certainty. There are just too many variables. Road surface, tires, tire size, tire inflation, wind, hills, what mood you happen to be in that particular day, temperature, humidity, etc. It's just not possible to say.


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## KWL

I'm getting slower, so I hesitated to post my average speed. When I was younger & healthier I would shoot for averaging 15mph for my 8 mile one way commute. Now my average is down to 13.4. Only 4 stop signs (cyclist's yield signs), 2 stoplights and one detour. It ain't the route that makes me slow, it's the motor.


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## rockcrusher

my cyclocomputer says 18.5mph for the last month in which I only put in ~240miles. I do 14.5 miles in and 10.5 miles home. In Arizona. Few lights and some controlled crossing on the way in at least 10 lights on the way home, although most as spaced 1 mile apart and many seem to be time to work with about 35mph average speed which works out really well for 1/2 that as an average.


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## Becky

13-14 mph. That includes lots of lights, stop signs, and a stretch on a MUT, where it's impossible to do more than 10 mph.

As long as I get there alive and in plenty of time to clean up and change clothes, the speed doesn't much matter


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## igerdog

I average 15-17mph. I have a very short 2.25mi commute, but quite a few stop signs, lights and some rough sections on the way. Morning is always quicker. Coming back I have to continually dodge drunk tourists who walk out in front of me in the french quarter.


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