Power Needed to Ride a Bicycle at 14 mph on Flat GroundIt wouldn't copy the file but what it said is that if you weigh 180 lbs and ride in a relaxed position that you are burning 170 watts to ride 14 mph. I weigh 30 lbs more than that, have 400 feet of climbing and am 6'4" tall. Inj the last sixteen days I have put in 316 miles. What's more, when I was using the power meter pedals, it was reporting in the 200 watt region.
On flat ground with no wind, the power required to maintain a constant speed of 14 mph depends mainly on your total weight (rider + bike) and your aerodynamic efficiency.
Typical example
If you weigh 180 lbs (81.6 kg) with your bike, and you ride in a relaxed position with a frontal area
Power Needed to Ride a Bicycle at 14 mph on Flat Ground
On flat ground with no wind, the power required to maintain a constant
speed of 14 mph depends mainly on your total weight (rider + bike) and
your aerodynamic efficiency.
Typical example
If you weigh 180 lbs (81.6 kg) with your bike, and you ride in a relaxed position with a frontal area drag coefficient (CdA) of about 0.32 m
(hoods position) and 0.30 m (drops), the resistive forces are:
Aerodynamic drag: ~141 W at 14 mph Cycling Watts Calculator
Rolling resistance: ~22 W at 14 mph Cycling Watts Calculator
Total resistive power: ~163 W
Drivetrain losses: ~7 W
Net pedal power: ~170 W to maintain 14 mph on flat ground.
How to calculate it yourself
You can use an online cycling power calculator (e.g., Bike Calculator or Cycling Wattage Calculator) and enter:
Rider + bike weight (lbs or kg)
Frontal area and Cd (m)
Grade (0% for flat)
Head/tailwind (0 mph)
The calculator will sum the resistive forces (aerodynamic drag, rolling resistance, gravity) and apply drivetrain losses to give your pedal power. Factors that change the number
Weight: Heavier riders need more power.
Position: Drops reduce CdA, lowering drag.
Tires: Lower rolling resistance (Crr) reduces power.
Wind: Headwinds increase power needed; tailwinds reduce it.
In summary: For a typical rider + bike weighing ~180 lbs in a relaxed position, expect to pedal around 170 W to keep going 14 mph on flat
ground. In an aero position, you could cut drag and reduce power to
~140150 W. Bike Calculator
Now, I am 30 lbs heavier than this and I am now holding 14 mph into the headwind on the way out and up to 17 mph downwind.
Who is going to argue about power and why? I stopped using the power
meter pedals but they were reporting more than that with fresh batteries.
cyclintom <cyclintom@yahoo.com> wrote:
Power Needed to Ride a Bicycle at 14 mph on Flat GroundYourCOve not thought this through, if you really where holding 14mph let alone 17mph your average speed would be more within the roadie norms, mate just finished a Audax so 156watts (not normalised) to average 17mph.
On flat ground with no wind, the power required to maintain a constant
speed of 14 mph depends mainly on your total weight (rider + bike) and
your aerodynamic efficiency.
Typical example
If you weigh 180 lbs (81.6 kg) with your bike, and you ride in a relaxed
position with a frontal area drag coefficient (CdA) of about 0.32 m
(hoods position) and 0.30 m (drops), the resistive forces are:
Aerodynamic drag: ~141 W at 14 mph Cycling Watts Calculator
Rolling resistance: ~22 W at 14 mph Cycling Watts Calculator
Total resistive power: ~163 W
Drivetrain losses: ~7 W
Net pedal power: ~170 W to maintain 14 mph on flat ground.
How to calculate it yourself
You can use an online cycling power calculator (e.g., Bike Calculator or
Cycling Wattage Calculator) and enter:
Rider + bike weight (lbs or kg)
Frontal area and Cd (m)
Grade (0% for flat)
Head/tailwind (0 mph)
The calculator will sum the resistive forces (aerodynamic drag, rolling
resistance, gravity) and apply drivetrain losses to give your pedal power. >> Factors that change the number
Weight: Heavier riders need more power.
Position: Drops reduce CdA, lowering drag.
Tires: Lower rolling resistance (Crr) reduces power.
Wind: Headwinds increase power needed; tailwinds reduce it.
In summary: For a typical rider + bike weighing ~180 lbs in a relaxed
position, expect to pedal around 170 W to keep going 14 mph on flat
ground. In an aero position, you could cut drag and reduce power to
~140150 W. Bike Calculator
Now, I am 30 lbs heavier than this and I am now holding 14 mph into the
headwind on the way out and up to 17 mph downwind.
Who is going to argue about power and why? I stopped using the power
meter pedals but they were reporting more than that with fresh batteries.
Strava which auto pauses etc, gives you an average of 11.2 mph and
suggested average power of 63watts which is about right, you can look at
the segments and times, nothing correlates to your claims.
Roger Merriman
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