How far can I cycle in a day?

The suggested times for cycle tour and mountain bike trails listed on Kuno are generally conservative but should be adjusted as needed depending on the following factors:

• Fitness & Experience: Fitter riders who ride more frequently will generally be able to sustain faster speeds for longer than if you are unfit or haven’t ridden before
• The type of bicycle: Whilst there are multiple different bike types, in simple terms; a) A road bike is built for speed with a light frame and thin wheels, and will travel on a sealed road much faster than a ‘hybrid’ or mountain bike b) A ‘hybrid’ ‘commuter’ or ‘touring’ bike comes in a variety of designs but will generally be more comfortable to ride than road bikes, have slightly wider tyres, are better suited for carrying panniers and baskets, but are heavier and slower to ride than road bikes. They are generally not suitable for downhill dirt trail mountain-biking or trails with obstacles. A variation on the theme of this type of bike is the E-bike which enables an electric battery to assist you uphills or on long flat stretches c) A mountain bike can be ridden on any terrain including steep rocky terrain with obstacles, and is heavier with much broader wheels than road bikes and hybrids, and so is much slower to ride.
• The Terrain: Flat terrain will be much easier to maintain a faster speed on than steep or undulating terrain, whilst the grading of mountain bike and dirt trails can dramatically reduce the speed at which it is realistic to be able to ride
• Packs: If you are carrying panniers and other equipment this will slow down your travel speed, with the heavier your panniers and equipment the slower you’ll be able to ride

With the variables listed above, we have made some assumptions to use these conservative reference points to advise on travel times for cycle touring and mountain bike trails listed on the Kuno platform. You should adjust your own estimated time based on your assessment of these variables for your circumstance:

Cycle Touring – 20km/hour. We have assumed that a person of average fitness, riding a road bike or relatively light ‘hybrid’ or ‘commuter/touring’ bike carrying a modest amount of equipment in their panniers, could reasonably expect to average 20km/hour on Easy-Moderate (Grade 0-2) terrain. This speed should be varied up or down based on the range of variables listed above. Assuming 4-6 hours riding in a day, a rider could complete 80-120km in a day.

Mountain Biking – Very Easy – Intermediate (Grade 0-3) – 15km/hour We have assumed that a person of average fitness, riding a mountain bike carrying a modest amount of equipment, could reasonably expect to average 15km/hour on Very Easy - Intermediate (Grade 0-3) mountain bike trails. This speed should be varied up or down based on the range of variables listed above. Assuming 4-6 hours riding in a day, a rider could complete 60-90km in a day

Mountain Biking – Difficult – Extreme (Grade 4-6) – 10km/hour We have assumed that a person of excellent fitness and experience in mountain bike riding, could expect to average 10km/hour on Difficult-Extreme (Grade 4-6) mountain bike trails. This speed should be varied up or down based on the range of variables listed above. Assuming 4-6 hours riding in a day, a rider could complete 40-60km