Road bikes- how fast do you go?

[dangermouseisace]

I’m considering a job 35 miles away with no parking, but next to a train station. The job is in a busy city. It’s 8 miles from my house to the closest train station and I’m wondering whether cycling there and back would work, and how quickly I could do it. I live semi rurally. I could drive there, but would rather. My current bike is a 15 year old hybrid so not the quickest. Would I go any faster on a proper road bike? I’m quite fit and a reasonably good runner. I’m thinking cycling to the train station as things stand at the moment would only be around 10 mins faster than if I ran it!! The job would be in a very cycle friendly place- showers, drying room etc. If anyone could give me any insight I’d be grateful. TIA

I’m a fairly average cyclist and I’ll average 15mph on an undulating route without loads of traffic lights etc. On a flat route I’d get a couple of mph more.

Wow to me that is super fast cycling welshweasel, thank you

I cycle a fair bit, but more slowly - typically around 12mph. So it would take me 40 minutes to cycle 8 miles. Are you sure you can run 8 miles in 50 minutes? That would mean you were taking 6 minutes/mile, which is very impressive! I run at about 6 mph (and there's no way I could run 8 miles!) - so it would take me 1hr 20 to get to the station. I'm on a hybrid.

Another consideration is that you can carry stuff on the bike, but that's more difficult if you're running - I would anticipate getting very cold on the train if I'd been wearing the right amount of kit to run, and it's much easier to carry a jacket (plus water, phone, wallet etc.) on a bike - panniers are your friend!

I ride on average about 14 mph, 16 if flatter. DH is more 17-19

No I’m not that fast sheepy- it would take me 1hr at current pace cycling, and around 1hr 10 running. Maybe I’m just a really slow cyclist and it isn’t actually my bike...

May I ask if you cycle much atm? Because I suspect your speed would improve as you did more of it (and your muscles develop), plus it would be worth having your bike serviced; given your aerobic fitness, I wonder if the bike is knackered/in poor condition. Even with my £300 hybrid, I was able to road test it before buying it; if you're able to try a couple of new bikes, you may feel quite a difference.

We use hybrid and mountain bikes which are slowish but we are oldish.

You probably need a faster road bike depending on the route. Also you would need a spare bike and all the relevant spares. It is quite an issue keeping the bike in good condition when you use it in all weathers.

We both cycle daily and it is difficult to maintain the bikes in freezing weather due to freezing hands.

It’s a fantastic way of getting fitter.

What are the cycle facilities on the trains like? Some you have to book in before which might be a pain.

Yes you will go faster on a road bike, and cycling 16 miles a day would certainly keep you fit. Unless it's particularly hilly the average cyclist should be able to do 12mph (does depend on traffic too - I'd be much quicker if I didn't have cars in the way!).

Totally realistic, but you'll have to try it to figure out how to do it best. I presume you MUST already have panniers. 8 miles each way daily with a backpack is yuck (imho). And it would destroy my back.

12mph is a pretty avg pace. I am pretty avg. Plenty are slower, some are faster. I'm super slow uphill & overtake going downhill. My current commute is 8 miles round trip, but in 4 legs (I take bike on train). In total that takes 52 minutes (with traffic hold ups).

This time of yr is grueling even though my longest single stretch is only 3.3 miles & that's in the urban city heat island; I can't keep my feet or hands warm; I can be in a lot of pain when I arrive at work in morning.

I assume OP will lock her bike up at station, not take it on train. You can just buy a u-bar lock that lives at the station to avoid carting that back and forth. Is there somewhere out of rain to lock up your bike at station?

Your ancient heavy bike will slow you down. You can do it, but you'll be so much faster with a lightweight bike. I would start commuting with the heavy one, though, only invest in changes slowly.

Throwing considerable amounts of money at a bike half the weight will save you about 5Kg or so. It's not much over the whole you+luggage+bike mass.

Making sure your current bike is in decent shape - particularly the chain - will have a positive effect. As will getting fitter by cycling more (it uses different muscle sets to running, but your good CV will help).

In the spring see what you want to do. It's easy to throw £700-£2k at a good bike completely unnecessarily (also in spring last season's bikes will be cheaper, with usually only the colour as the difference!).

Winter: need good lights & good system for them being charged.
Rain: need mudguards & waterproofs.

... there's rolling resistance, too.
Honestly, my husband has magic wheels that take off 5 minutes/50 just because of their aerodynamic-ness. I see the same wheels are very popular at super-sprint triathlon events.
Cyclists can spend a lot on magic wheels.

I used to commute a lot on my old bike -6 miles each way, then extra for work up to 30 total miles in a day! This all ended 5 years ago but I’ve got the full length mudguards, waterproof panniers, windproof/waterproof gloves and padded bum tights already 🙂. Thanks for all your advice, I think I’ll do a test run on my current bike once I’ve got it serviced (been a while....) and go from there.