How Fast Do Bikes Go? A Quick Guide to Average Speeds and Factors

Everyone knows nothing thrills a biker more than speed. Therefore, of course, if you are a biker or a cyclist, you can relate to that notion. But have you ever wondered how fast do bikes go and how bikers can improve their average speed?

Whether you are a new or a professional biker, the moment you start pedaling, you may think that you are fast, but it is a natural appetite to wonder how fast you can go more. Deep down, we all do not want only to be a biker, but the fastest biker.

So, what is the fastest speed physically a biker can achieve?

Keeping an eye on your average speed is a good indicator of your fitness and growth. For that, you need a simple bike computer. It will allow you to see your maximum, current, and average speed for each ride.

Once you have all that information, the questions start to roll, is my speed enough to compete with other riders? How fast do bikes go? 

Let us explore the answers together.

How Fast Can You Ride a Bike?

How fast do bikes go depends upon who is riding them and under what conditions? 

A regular person, who is also not trained, can ride a bike at an average speed of 10 to 14 miles per hour (mph). But, can they improve? Yes, of course.

A few weeks of routine training can enhance their peddling pace to about 15 to 20 mph. Give it a few months of heavy training, and they can up their biking speed to 25 or even 30 mph.

Just keep in mind that some factors also influence your ability to ride a bike at the maximum speed you wish.

So, what are those factors?

Well, first thing first, the size and quality of your bike and then your biking skills and the conditions around you will determine if your cycling speed will be slow or fast. We will explain them more later in this article.

The top speed goes up to 45 mph for professionals or trained persons. Getting a bike designed for extraordinary speeds is helpful if you intend to go faster.

Now, the biking industry itself has many subcategories, for instance, unpaced biking.

This type of biking is primary and relies only on leg power with no other technology for general speed. The first person to break the unpaced biking record is Sam Whittingham, as per the International Human Powered Vehicle Association (HPVA).

Meanwhile, motorbiking helps bikers speed and makes them go at a higher pace than usual. John Howard was the first person to break Motor Paced Records.

How Fast Do Bikes Go for Professionals?

Professional bikers can reach a maximum speed of 45 mph on their bikes with only raw power. Todd Reichert has the world record for unpaced bikes, setting a top speed of 82.82 mph.

Meanwhile, when we talk about how fast do bikes go when it comes to competitive cyclists, they are a different species. For example, a Tour de France professional has an average speed of 25 mph on hill climbs, flats, and sprints.

An expert Tour de France biker can go up to 34.5 mph on the flats, with an average speed of 26 to 29 mph. On the other hand, the Tour de France sprints see cyclists going beyond the 40 mph border.

When the bikers climb the Pyrenees section of the Tour de France, these cyclists lower their speeds to about 12 mph to 14 mph. Experienced bikers peddling in speed arenas like velodromes are quicker than their outdoor mates.

Due to the unique design, body, and 42-degree bankings of the velodrome, bikers go to 60 to 70 mph. Moreover, no hurdles and winds allow cyclists to push themselves and their bikes to hit higher speeds.

Do you know what the fastest speed on a bike in a velodrome is? It is 183.932 mph.

American cyclist Denise Mueller-Korenek achieved this target in September 2016 to become the fastest person on a bike ever.

This speed is equivalent to a Boeing 747 jumbo plane a few seconds away from taking off.

Compare Your Average Bike Speed with World’s Fastest Riders

Tour de France is the world’s famous and most challenging bicycle race. Established in 1903 by Henri Desgrange (1865–1940), a French cyclist and journalist, the event happens every year except during the World Wars.

Every year, it draws the world’s best riders in July. Usually, in 20 daylong stages, the Tour de France contains 20 professional teams of 9 riders each.

It covers some 3,600-km (2,235 miles), mainly in France, with occasional and short visits to Spain, Belgium, Germany, and Italy.

You might be thinking, “How fast do bikes go in such huge events?” Or, “How am I performing in comparison to these world-class bikers?”

Thanks to technology these days, you can now calculate performances during such grand cycling events and compare the statistics of the cycling pros with yours and improve.

The pace at which the Tour de France bikers varies. However, we have some tracked standards now. So let us check out the average cycling speeds for the Tour de France expert cyclists here.

Average Speed for Bikers on Flat Terrain is 25-28 mph

How fast do bikes go on flats? When they travel on flat grounds, the average speed for professional cyclists is 25-28 mph. Meanwhile, amateur cyclists travel at 17-18 mph on such surfaces. 

Thus, as they race in the Tour de France, most of these athletes maintain extreme speeds on flat grounds.

Flat tracks allow them to stay competitive with the other athletes. But, when they begin ascending the climbing parts of the race, the best takes the lead and gets separated from other cyclists.

Average Speed for Bikers When They Climb is 12.8 mph

How fast do bikes go when bikers climb is tricky. Pedaling on the road pointed skywards in the mountains of the Pyrenees, and the Alps is a real deal for bikers. The bikers’ average pace while climbing in the 2019 Tour de France was 12.8 mph. 

They were cycling up and through the Pyrenees and Alps during the Tour de France. Meanwhile, an average biker’s speed drops to various levels on such tracks.

The Average Speed for Bikers on Cobblestone is 22-24 mph

In every Tour de France, cobblestone becomes one section that the cyclists must ride through. However, sometimes a spread of unpaved road surfaced with gravel replaces it. So, how fast do bikes go on cobblestone?

Although these tiny grooves in the roadway and uneven ground make it difficult to cycle, these pro athletes still ride their bikes at 22-24 mph. An average biker on such tracks has a speed of 14 to 16 mph.

The Fastest Recorded Speed of Tour de France is 63.1 mph

German cyclist Nils Politt made the fastest recorded speed of the Tour de France. He made the record while descending Col de Vars during stage 18, the second of four climbs. 

Meanwhile, Politt was also the first-ever rider to break the 100-km/hr barrier as he traveled at a speed of 101.5-km.hr on the slop.

Types of Bikes

The different types of bikes serve various purposes on different tracks.

Dutch-style bikes are low maintenance and durable heavy bikes and are best for cities and shorter distances. Mountain bikes have a wide selection of gears with lower gear ratios.

Road bikes are the fastest bikes. Hybrid bikes are a crossover between a mountain bike, a Dutch-style bike, and a road bike. Electric bikes are becoming popular in the United States.

Three Factors Which Influence Your Biking Speed

Your maximum speed can go up to about 30 mph on average. This figure for professionals is about 45 mph.

How fast do bikes go or could go depends upon three major factors? Therefore, if you wish to become even faster, you must go for a bike designed for extreme pace and study these factors beforehand.

• Your biking expertise
• The size and type of your bike
• The environment where you pedal

Let us discuss them in detail to ensure you ride your bike at your best speed.

Your Weight Matters

Here is the deal, the lighter your and your bike’s weight, the smoother and faster you will cycle on any road. 

Gravity specifies one’s weight. The heavier you are if the gravitational force pulls you or works against you as you move forward on a bike.

Even small details like wearing any jewelry, carrying water bottles, or bag racks, make a lot of difference when calculating how fast do bikes go.

For instance, suppose your weight is 300 pounds, and your friend weighs 250 pounds. Even if you possess the same pedaling force, your friend will be faster than you.

This is why you must have noticed that professional cyclists do not wear bracelets or add racks or other elements because they increase the weight of the cycle. Most of them prefer lightweight bikes with simple materials to attain maximum speed.

Your Fitness Level

How fast do bikes go or how quick you are on your bike depends significantly on this factor.

The fitter you are, the faster you will ride your bike. A fit rider on a just-an-ok bike is faster than an unfit rider on a fantastic bike.

If you have zero experience and bad fitness, your pace will improve only with your strength, but it takes time to reach that stage.

Leg and thigh muscle forces are essential for affective cycling speed. Therefore, if you wish to ride faster, you have to pedal aggressively.

Endurance is also crucial for cycling speed. Your leg and thigh muscles require oxygen and other components to produce the energy for pedaling. But if they run out of oxygen, they will not have the necessary power for cycling.

With practice and patience, pedaling will become easier for you, letting you put less effort into the same job. But, first, you must improve your stamina to increase your lung’s oxygen capacity and, thus, your biking speed.

Resistance Forces

Resistance while biking, like air density and wind speed, can slow you down. In addition, the air resistance forces tend to stop you from achieving the highest speed on a cycle.

Have you ever observed competitive cyclists closely during competitions? They crouch low on their bikes to create a decreased and streamlined body shape. This riding position permits air to flow over their bent bodies instead of directly hitting them on their chests.

What you wear is also essential. Extra fabric creates resistance and slows you down, therefore, wearing loose outfits is not advisable.

Similarly, some bike elements like the water bottle shape, handlebar stem extension size, and wheel profile also determine how fast or slow you are on a bike.

Here Is How You Can Improve Your Biking Speed

Speed indeed comes with practice and patience. However, several other factors also help you ride your bike at super speeds or while determining how fast do bikes go or can go.

• Go for high-intensity training, focusing on lower body strength and stamina development
• Invest in a good-quality cadence meter, and heart monitor your strength and endurance
• Cycling is all about your power-to-weight ratio, so work on your weight by exercising and eating healthy
• Improve your aerodynamics drag and understand the correct posture when pace biking
• Wear suitable clothing and protective gear to lessen resistance and drag
• If you have the budget, you can also ditch your road bike for a professional racing bike
• Ride in a group as it increases your average competitive speed as you get motivated
• Make sure the tires of your bike are inflated. Such tires roll faster to make cycling effortless

Conclusion

We hope you now know how fast do bikes go. Whether you are a beginner or a professional, every biker feels the need for speed. All bikers share the urge to reach the highest cycling speed.

Cycling has been a popular sport worldwide. Riding a bike at a good speed gives you confidence and promotes good health. After all, what is better than going against the wind and breaking old records to make new ones. 

So, are you ready for your fastest bike ride yet?