General Discussion Triathlon Talk » good mtn bike avg speed- Greenbelt Corridor in Denton? Rss Feed  
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2009-03-11 12:29 PM

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Subject: good mtn bike avg speed- Greenbelt Corridor in Denton?
I was just wondering what would be considered a good avg speed for a front suspension, knobby tired, mountain bike on a fairly flat large gravel trail.

Rgill and I rode our mtn bikes this past weekend out at Lake Ray Roberts Greenbelt Corridor and was wondering what would be considered a good mph avg for that trail. A neighbor said that 16-18mph avg on that trail for 12 miles would be considered a good pace, but that seems a little high to me for a mtn bike on a gravel trail unless you race mtn bikes all the time. Is it?

Have any of you ridden it and what do you think? I know it all has to do with each indiv. rider, but I'm just trying to get a general idea of a good pace.

Thanks!


2009-03-11 1:00 PM
in reply to: #2011178

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Subject: RE: good mtn bike avg speed- Greenbelt Corridor in Denton?
I've ridden that section with my wife while out touring. We were on road bikes with skinny tires with panniers carrying all our camping gear and clothes. Probably 20-25lbs extra on each bike. Plus it was at the end of already doing about 30 miles beforehand and I think we averaged around 11-12mph for this section.

With knobbies and a mountain bike 16-18mph sounds reasonable. It is not a true mountain bike trail. It is just flat with gravel. I would expect speeds to be a bit slower than a road bike on a road mainly due to the fat tires and gravel. Saw one guy go past us each way on a cyclocross bike (road bike with fat knobbies) and he was really moving.

Keep at it and I'm sure your speeds will pick up as you get more comfortable on the mountain bike and less than perfect road surface.
2009-03-12 10:02 AM
in reply to: #2011292

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Subject: RE: good mtn bike avg speed- Greenbelt Corridor in Denton?
Thanks for the reply! Being that Raegan and I are not really mtn bikers, I have no frame of reference to know what pace is considered slow, avg, fast, in-between, etc..

I felt that we were both putting in a pretty good effort and averaged 14.4 for the 12 miles. After hearing our neighbor say 16-18mph is good, I was thinking that we can't really be THAT slow compared to the avg, but after your reply, I guess maybe we are! I'll chalk that up to having a cheap Wal-mart mtn. bike w/ platform pedals, and not my bike fitness!

The gravel is pretty large and plentiful on that trail, so I don't know how you rode it with road tires without getting a flat.. that's good! Raegan saw a cyclocross rider too when we were out there that was moving at a pretty good pace. It is a nice change to ride out there than from riding on the roads.

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General Discussion Triathlon Talk » good mtn bike avg speed- Greenbelt Corridor in Denton? Rss Feed