You vs the average cyclist

[cwah]

Hello there,

Since I was peddling with my 13km/h electric bike and seen that all cyclists were faster than me... it makes me realize that the average cyclist should be able to maintain at least 25km/h on average on the road.

So, my though is that you, with your (regulated and in law) electric bike are actually going as fast as other cyclists...

Are you actually faster than the average cyclist or are you both going on about the same speed?

 

[NRG]

For me I'm about as fast as the average cyclist but can go faster when needing to...however, I cant keep up with the keen club cyclists...I caught up with a bunch of them earlier in the week catching them up over a long two mile uphill climb...I made my self hang back a bit on a couple of occasions but as soon as they hit the flat they where gone, I was on my Peugeot, not the lightest of bikes but capable of being pushed along above assistance around 20mph in the right conditions....no way could I keep up!

 

[lemmy]

I trundle along at about 12 to 16 mph on my Tasman on the flat, about the same as my non powered bike. And of course, the power on my Tasman has cut out by that time.

The effort required to maintain speed I find easy to provide even at my age but I do like the assisted acceleration, the main reason I like my pedelec.

I think if you want to keep up with the club cyclists, you need a suitable road bike and a lot of practice! Personally, I've only ever used my bikes as transport, so if I see the sporty guys, I'll have to move over for them. Or go back to my motor cycles.

 

[Scimitar]

Mine tops out at around 23mph and with the original 48T front chainring, I was pedalling like a chimpanzee on crack to keep up with the motor. Now I've fitted a 52T 'ring it's a bit more sane

 

[Alan B]

If by average cyclist you mean a regular cyclist on a drop handlebar narrow tyred road bike then no, can't keep up with them. But on my 11 mile commute to work I am averaging 15.2mph on my mountain bike styled and tyred e-bike, which is faster than I can do on a conventional mountain bike, and considerably less effort.

 

[amigafan2003]

Can I keep up with the average cyclist?

Depends if that average cyclist is a roadie of cummuter. Roadie - no. Commuter -yes.

Electric bikes in this country aren't really about going quicker but rather about extending your range, smoothing out hills, defeating headwinds and expending less energy.

A more appropriate question would be "Do I get to work without being sweaty, lungs heaving, legs shaking and feeling sick?"

The answer would be absolutely

 

[lemmy]

A more appropriate question would be "Do I get to work without being sweaty, lungs heaving, legs shaking and feeling sick?"
The answer would be absolutely

Or if I've been on the Fuller's the night before, absolutely not

 

[steveindenmark]

I think an average of 25kph is a little high. I am quite fit and use my TREK road bike to cycle the 22km to work and it takes about 45 minutes but that is up hill and down dale.

But speed is not really the thing that should be taken into consideration with electric bikes. I take a touch longer to get to work on my Tonaro Enduro but I am much fresher and am not sweating cobs and feeling like I have just done a 45 minute workout.

It is the ease of cycling that should be taken into consideration.

It really is a case of the tortoise and the hare. You might be able to ride at 25kph for 2 hours but I can travel at 22kph for 6 hours.....and then ride home.

Steve

 

[flecc]

In the days when most of Britain cycled and few were sport cyclists, most rode at about 12 mph, many slower but hardly any faster. This is rather similar to what is seen in the major cycling countries of the Netherlands and Denmark.

As a result, our original British e-bike legislation had an assist speed limit of 12 mph, but for EU transport law harmonisation reasons, it was later changed to 15 mph, roughly equal to Europe's 25 kph limit,

On that basis, today's e-bikes are definitely faster.

 

[Mussels]

Depends where you are, a lot of commuters I see are roadies and are competitive, I'd guess their average speed is 25kmh. More normal people on sub £500 bikes probably average 15kmh.

 

[Jimod]

My E-bike is faster with me on it than a non powered bike with me on it. I have been GPS checking my trips lately and I always average between 14 & 16 mph. That's in an area with very few flat roads. I did an 18 mile trip on Wednesday morning and averaged 14.8 mph with some long steep hills. I do however know a couple of men who would do the same trip on non powered bikes at a faster average but I think I'd be faster up the longer hills.

Jim

 

[cwah]

Actually, for all of you, you are able to maintain the same speed as the electric bike. The only difference is the "sweating" and "tiresomeness" factor?

 

[Scottyf]

I'm actually slightly quicker on a non powered bike it's took time to get get to that level but I'm now the slightly quicker. But im putting alot more effort into it. Also if there's any head wind it definitely slows me down.

But it really is the effort and fortunately there are only a few large hills which if tired I can just down gear and go up at about 8mph.

 

[jasono]

I've noticed on the flat and very slight uphill that serious commuters are as fast or abit quicker than me, but throw in more of a gradient or a decent headwind and the ebike zooms ahead. However as has been mentioned, the big difference for me is in tiredness and sweat and not having to change clothes when I get to work, which is worth a good few minutes either end of my journey!

 

[Caph]

It's a very good point Cwah, most people assume that a legal ebike can outperform "normal" cyclists but this simply isn't the case. Most cyclists you meet on the road are pretty fit and can easily outperform an ebike on the flat. The only time an ebike will always win is a prolonged climb. The difference is that we can carry a week's worth of shopping in our panniers and get back home as fresh as if we'd taken the car!

 

[kitchenman]

It's a very good point Cwah, most people assume that a legal ebike can outperform "normal" cyclists but this simply isn't the case. Most cyclists you meet on the road are pretty fit and can easily outperform an ebike on the flat. The only time an ebike will always win is a prolonged climb. The difference is that we can carry a week's worth of shopping in our panniers and get back home as fresh as if we'd taken the car!

Generally I agree. However, there are exceptions. The Cytronex range of bikes certainly are. I have one of their Cannondale CX700s and I've always been able to compete when the occasion presents itself. The CX700 is a hybrid with 700 C MP tyres. If I had the Super Six or one of their other road bikes I would be kicking some serious ass! ...

 

[Caph]

Generally I agree. However, there are exceptions. The Cytronex range of bikes certainly are. I have one of their Cannondale CX700s

Yes, I was forgetting about the new breed of super light, super fast bikes. Exception duly noted.

 

[kitchenman]

Yes, I was forgetting about the new breed of super light, super fast bikes. Exception duly noted.

Of course, it may be that the riders I have encountered have just been rubbish! ...you can be sure that if I ever get creamed then I'll capture the b*stard on video.

 

[parker]

My E-bike is faster with me on it than a non powered bike with me on it. I have been GPS checking my trips lately and I always average between 14 & 16 mph. That's in an area with very few flat roads. I did an 18 mile trip on Wednesday morning and averaged 14.8 mph with some long steep hills. I do however know a couple of men who would do the same trip on non powered bikes at a faster average but I think I'd be faster up the longer hills.

Jim

I would say that that was a good 2-5 quicker than the average pedel cyclist, unless they are lycra clad pros!!

 

[Jimmythe1]

I was intrigued by this thread so thought I'd test whether I was faster on my e-bike than the average cyclist on a non-assisted cycle.

For the purpose of the test I defined myself as an average cyclist!

I did a lap on each bike of the same circuit on the same afternoon in the same weather conditions. The circuit was 7.2 miles long and had 215 metres of climbing (and therefore descent) on it. I used a heart rate monitor to see the level of effort used on each bike.

The bikes used were a Storck Multitask with 27 speed mountain bike gearing and a touring bike with 30 speed mountain bike gearing.

The results were:


Tourer
Average Speed (MPH). 8.3
Heart Rate - max. 161
Heart Rate - average. 134
Lap Time (minutes) 52

Storck Multitask
Average Speed (MPH). 13.5
Heart Rate - max. 161
Heart Rate - average. 132
Lap Time (minutes) 32

So for virtually the same level of effort an e-bike is considerably faster over a hilly route than the "average" cyclist. All the time gains were on the uphills as on the level the tourer was slightly faster and on the downhills both bikes went at the same speed.

Nigel