# How much do you gain?



## birdkid02 (Jul 15, 2011)

How much do you gain riding in a group. I started riding a couple of months ago my avg. ride is 20-30 miles a day at 15.5 to 16.3 mph all my miles are solo. I have heard that when you ride in a group the pace picks up.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

Depends on the group, and on how skilled you are at riding in the draft, and how much harder you ride when motivated to keep up with the group.

If you're riding solo at 16 mph, and you go out with a group that goes 16 mph, you won't go any faster - but you won't work as hard. On the other hand, if the group wants to go 21 mph, and they work together and change leads properly so everyone gets the benefit of the draft, you could probably keep up with them, without working much harder than you are now on your solo rides.


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

The big gain is that it's more fun.


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## BostonG (Apr 13, 2010)

Dovetailing off of what JC said, it depends – terrain, wind, and other things will matter, such as the size and experience of the group. 

For your question, let’s entertain ourselves and just assume that the ride is exactly the same as one of your standard 30 mile solo rides, the wind conditions are as usual, and the group is 10 people. If it’s a group that is experienced and therefore comfortable in a tight pack and knows how to paceline and rotate well, I would say that you can probably keep up with one that goes maybe up to 20mph avg. But, it won’t be leisurely, you’ll be working for it. And it also depends on how many (if any) pulls you take and for how long. 

Pay special attention to and learn how to best ride the hills because that is usually where people falter and are left behind.


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## birdkid02 (Jul 15, 2011)

Thanks for the help. The nearest group ride out of my LBS is 45 min from where I live. I have been thinking about going down there and giving it a shot.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Some numbers*



birdkid02 said:


> How much do you gain riding in a group. I started riding a couple of months ago my avg. ride is 20-30 miles a day at 15.5 to 16.3 mph all my miles are solo. I have heard that when you ride in a group the pace picks up.


Rough numbers you save 25% aero drag from drafting closely behind one rider, and up to 40% in a big group.


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## SFTifoso (Aug 17, 2011)

I average 18-19 mph solo, what sort of speeds can I expect to achieve in a group ride?


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## Jay Strongbow (May 8, 2010)

Yeah, so many factors. It's not a given that everyone in the group will contribute to a faster pace than one could do alone either.

For arguments sake let's say the group is full of guys faster than me where I have to max out to keep up but they aren't so much faster that I can't draft efficiently and don't get dropped.

The longer the ride the more the difference but In my experience my group rides with guys who really test me but I can still hang generally average about 3mph average faster than I estimate I could do alone. more hills would mean less difference. totally flat would mean more. Keeping up with faster riders up hill is tough and the benefit from the group is mostly mental. But on pan flat roads its pretty easy to keep attached to a group that is way faster than one could ride alone. 
different story if you are one of the stronger guys in the group. Then the difference will be closer to what you could do alone.
Size of the group is a big factor too. My experience above is from riding with about 5 guys. You can keep some pretty crazy speeds in the back of a bigger group.


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## BostonG (Apr 13, 2010)

birdkid02 said:


> Thanks for the help. The nearest group ride out of my LBS is 45 min from where I live. I have been thinking about going down there and giving it a shot.


Just FYI that in general, most people in the faster groups are usually more experienced with group riding. To keep their speeds up they usually are packed a bit tighter, follow closer, know how to use their brakes/not use their brakes in the pack, are better at taking corners, rotate more smoothly, etc. 

I’m guessing your speed probably doesn’t match your group riding experience. I would take that into account when choosing which group to ride with. Do you know the flavor of the ride? Will it be a smooth ride where everyone cooperates for the good of the pack, will it be more of a hammer ride or a fitness workout ride, will it be more race like with attacking encouraged, What is their drop policy, etc? All good stuff to know. If it were me, I would err on the side of a slower paced group for the first ride.


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## Schneiderguy (Jan 9, 2005)

What do you mean by "gain"? If you mean will you average a faster pace than riding alone, the answer is generally "yes" assuming the group isn't slower than you normally ride or so fast that you blow up and putter along alone. As posted above you need to know the nature of the ride-how far, how fast, steady or attacks, no dropped riders or survive on you own. If by "gain" do you mean will riding with an experienced group improve your riding skills, knowledge of bikes, history of cycling, build lasting friendships and for most riders generally have more fun the answer is "yes". Every Saturday I drive 30 min to an hr to do a group ride. There may be a ride leader. Say hi and let the leader know you are new. Find out what the ride will be like. Don't jump in a race training ride or high level fitness ride until you have the skills and speed-skill is much more important than speed for your and everyone around you physical survival. Allowing your front wheel to hit or be taken out by a rider in front of you rear wheel will likely result in your crashing hard and taking out other innocent riders. This is not the best way to develop friends discussed above. Bottom line-do some appropriate group rides. Have fun.


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## wim (Feb 28, 2005)

SFTifoso said:


> I average 18-19 mph solo, what sort of speeds can I expect to achieve in a group ride?


You could comfortably stay with a group ("hang") that averages between 20 and 21 on their group rides. At times, you'll be able to loaf along at 24 mph barely working; at other times, like steep climbing, the group won't do you any good. But you wanted an average figure, so there you are.

By the way, my "between 20 and 21" means "average speed readout on the computer after the ride," not some fantasy figure based on the sporadic observation of the speed readout during the ride.


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