Did a search in General Discussions and didn't find a hit, so here goes.

What's your fastest recorded speed on a bicycle?

How did the bike handle?

And how did you feel (pucker factor off the chart, not fazed at all, etc)?

Me: I topped off at 56 mph on a long down hill. It happened on a group ride in northern Travis county (Austin area). I rode my '91 steel Basso Loto on that ride. It tracked straight with no shake or shimmy at all. All-in-all, it was a blast. But I always seem to have a passing thought on what to do if I have a flat at these speeds.

48mph on a long downhill of grooved pavement. :eek:

59 mph on a hill with a slight, right bank with some construction dirt sprinkled on top. i tucked in and held on for dear life as i plummeted down the hill.

surprisingly, my bike handled the descent well. it didnt feel loose or jittery. couldnt say the same for my legs...trembled with fear.



due to further construction, the hill is no longer steep enough to propel me to my speed record. i am in the process of trying to hit 60mph or faster. if anyone in SE TX know of a steep descent, plz let me kno...

how about - west TX, extreme southern NM - try the downhill of saint augustine pass just east of Las Cruces NM.... hits 9%, averages 7% for 9 miles downhill with no sharp turns

...i may have to take a brief vacation to west tx then. the closest place to me with some decent hills is Austin. that HW 360 (or is it 630) has some pretty good inclines and declines...




if i wasnt in college, id live the bike bum life and squat my life in Europe, the Rockies, and Cali.

but last year I could still top my age (49). Saw an indicated 51mph on a WFO downhill.

Once upon a time in the old Death Valley to Mt. Whitney stage race, another racer's wife was following the lead group down Townes Pass in one of the support cars. She reported the car's speedometer showed 55 mph & we were pulling away. A few guys had actually dropped out of the lead group and quit the race after being scared by high-speed wobble.

Nearing my half-century mark, I don't know how much longer I'm willing to attempt topping my age in mph, though.

There is a road between Silverdale and Poulsbo, Washington that drops from the top of Silverdale Rd past a cemetary, across Hwy 3 and ends up on Clear Creek road. It has a short drop to accelerate to about 32mph before a short flat then a death drop to the bottom. I cannot imagine riding up this road. I did 66mph on my Eddy Merckx MX Leader with the steel fork. No shimmy. The road has a slight uphill tilt and you can coast all the way to the stop sign. The Kitsap Penisula has many great descents with lots of opportunities to set personal land speed records. You Seattle guys should get over there. Most of the great spots are well within riding distance of the Bainbridge Ferry. It was not usual for me to do a 45 mile loop with a 19mph average with a 50mph max.

going to turn into a whizzing contest so fast.

There is a road between Silverdale and Poulsbo, Washington that drops from the top of Silverdale Rd past a cemetary, across Hwy 3 and ends up on Clear Creek road. It has a short drop to accelerate to about 32mph before a short flat then a death drop to the bottom. I cannot imagine riding up this road. I did 66mph on my Eddy Merckx MX Leader with the steel fork. No shimmy. The road has a slight uphill tilt and you can coast all the way to the stop sign. The Kitsap Penisula has many great descents with lots of opportunities to set personal land speed records. You Seattle guys should get over there. Most of the great spots are well within riding distance of the Bainbridge Ferry. It was not usual for me to do a 45 mile loop with a 19mph average with a 50mph max.

You're talking about just south of Bangor, right? I used to run up that hill at about mile 14 of a twenty miler. And I've ridden up it quite a few times but never down.

You're right about the hills on the KP. My highest speed was over near Manchester Ferry in Port Orchard and hit 54 mph. Bethel Road, I think.

I did 93km/h (I guess thats about 55-56 mph) once while at university in Vancouver. I had a steel Rocky Mountain Road bike that was real smooth and solid even in the chin over the front tire full tuck. Some things are only meant to be done once.....

TAKMANJAPAN

I don´t know my all time fastest speed, but I know several hills worth making the attempt on - the descent from Fleet Moss down into Gayle and Hawes is always a good one - long and straight with a sweeping right hander at the bottom. The only problems are the crests with blind spots and the sheep that stray onto the road and hide right in those blind spots.... max speed here would be something like 55-60 mph depending on the wind direction. The steep side coming off Jubilee Tower outside Lancaster is also good - in my uni days 2 of us used to play chicken coming down into the 90 degree right hander - we´d head into it at 50+mph. The descent of the Tourmalet down into Luz St Sauver at something near 50mph (i haven´t got my diary here to find the exact speed) on a fully loaded (front and rear pannier) tourer was also fun.... for acceleration, baldwin street in dunedin, nz - 'the worlds steepest street' - has got to be the winner, 0-50ish in about 3 seconds i think, or it certainly felt like that....

foz

53.1 MPH on 7-1-04. Not sure if it was on the Kancamangus highway, or in one of the notches.
Also hit 51 MPH, going over Dixville Notch, while braking hard, too many corners on this downhill, but an exhilarating 3 mile descent that I will be riding again this summer for sure.

Did a search in General Discussions and didn't find a hit, so here goes.

What's your fastest recorded speed on a bicycle?

How did the bike handle?

And how did you feel (pucker factor off the chart, not fazed at all, etc)?


This was actually a question on that introduce yourself thread...

I hit 51mph downhill at the Fitchburg Longsjo Classic stage race, the road race stage at Mt. Wachusett. Bike handled beautifully (it's a 2004 Trek 2200). I felt fine... not at all fazed. We had both sides of the road, so I was on the wrong side of the road, trying to avoid the riders that were avoiding the potholes on the right side. I had to keep screaming out "On your left!" but it was way fun.

A lot more fun than trying to lug my 135 lbs up those climbs. How else was I supposed to catch up to the 97 pounder that won the cat 4 race? :D

>65 mph, descending the East side of Monitor Pass during the 1988 Markleeville Death Ride. Exhilarating, to say the least.

Couple of years ago on a long downhill with a tailwind, I looked at the computer and saw I was going 48. Since I was so close to 50, I shifted up and pedalled hard just to say I'd done it. Then I remembered, "Almost everything on this bike came from a clearance sale at Nashbar and was installed by me" and I backed off.
For the record: Atlantis frame, Bontrager Fairlady rims laced to Deore XT hubs, Pasela 700x32 tires. No shimmy, no shake, no drama.

Did a search in General Discussions and didn't find a hit, so here goes.

What's your fastest recorded speed on a bicycle?

How did the bike handle?

And how did you feel (pucker factor off the chart, not fazed at all, etc)?

Me: I topped off at 56 mph on a long down hill. It happened on a group ride in northern Travis county (Austin area). I rode my '91 steel Basso Loto on that ride. It tracked straight with no shake or shimmy at all. All-in-all, it was a blast. But I always seem to have a passing thought on what to do if I have a flat at these speeds.

64 mph, twice descending from Townes Pass into Death Valley. The second time was at night, 220 miles into the Furnace Creek 508, with a crew car following close behind. This is a 5,000' drop all at once. The freakiest part is where the road sort of falls away at close to 60 mph, where it looks like you are going off a cliff. In daylight, this is disconcerting, but in pitch black, it requires pure faith to know you'll be all right, especially when your lights aren't very strong (are any at 60 mph?), and the car headlights behind shoot our over your head as you fall away. Yes, I pre-rode this hill several times before doing this at night.

The craziest thing about this hill is that you can sustain 55 mph for over 10 minutes, if you stay aero and don't touch the brakes, even around the big sweeping corners. I remained on the aerobars in a near superman position for maximum speed. [This was before I had kids ;-) ]

There are places near my house where I can hit 55 mph nearly every day, but another 5 mph to get 60 has been impossible. Big difference.

Oh, bike handling. Both times this was on a Colnago C40, I think using Ksyrium wheels. Absolutely rock solid, but then I've not had handling problems at high speed on any bike.

45, 45, and 45mph.

Seriously, on three different bikes, I just can't seem to go past that speed barrier for me!

I did 45 mph on an mtb ('97 Mongoose Rockadile hardtail with Manitou SX-R fork with Panaracer Smoke/Dart combo -yes, honestly) on a hill out in Western Mass. It wasn't too bad until I got to a corner, and then I chickened out. Afterwards I realized I could have easily broken 50 on a road bike. I also wondered afterwards if Panaracer Smoke/Darts could or more appropriately should handle that speed.

I did 45 mph regularly on my recumbent ('99 Vision VR-40 with Primo Comet combo) when I used to commute to work out to Franklin, Mass. Just off route 495 is a back road that is a nice little downhill.

I've also done 45mph a couple of times on my C'dale CAAD4 with Michelin Axial Carbons on. I can't remember where, but it was in Mass.

None of the bikes felt that bad, and none shimmied. My only quibble with any of them would have been the recumbent, because you feel that if you do hit a bump, I was unsuspended and I could have easily been thrown off or lost control. Plus you can't cycle with no hands easily on the VR-40 as it's inherently more unstable with the steering setup and small 20 inch front wheel, so you never feel quite as safe as high speed or where there might be potholes.

On a closing note, my worst high speed wobble experience was when I was a teenager in the 1980s. Took a friend of mine on the back of my motorcycle and had really bad tank slap at about 95mph going down a hill. Even he was scared when he saw my arms flapping side to side. Hung on for dear life, clamped the gas tank with my knees and closed the throttle to stop it.

In September 2004 I did 51.8mph in South Eastern Ohio. The hill was straight and not very long, so I didn't really have to handle the bike. I just got down in the drops and held on for dear life.


I've done 48 a few times near my house, however to do so you actually have to put alot of effort into it.

60.1 mph.

Bike was straight as an arrow with no shimmy. I could, however, feel it flexing vertically under me as I went over some dips in the road. Don't know if that was flex from the frame, fork, wheels or a combination of the above.

The yankers were waiting at the bottom of the steepest hill in the area for me. Three of them with a plan. Two of them head to the right side of the road forcing me to swerve left. The third one waited and ran in front of me to the left at the last instant. It got caught up in my spokes and I heard a loud pop.

The bike went into a wild high speed wobble. I rode it out. It was a miracle I did not go down. Once I got things back under control I looked back to see the dead squirrel, I then checked my max speed so I could get the story right. It was the last time I tried for max speed going down that hill.

It dinged up a couple front spokes and broke one of the rear spokes.


Did a search in General Discussions and didn't find a hit, so here goes.

What's your fastest recorded speed on a bicycle?

How did the bike handle?

And how did you feel (pucker factor off the chart, not fazed at all, etc)?

Me: I topped off at 56 mph on a long down hill. It happened on a group ride in northern Travis county (Austin area). I rode my '91 steel Basso Loto on that ride. It tracked straight with no shake or shimmy at all. All-in-all, it was a blast. But I always seem to have a passing thought on what to do if I have a flat at these speeds.

You're talking about just south of Bangor, right? I used to run up that hill at about mile 14 of a twenty miler. And I've ridden up it quite a few times but never down.

You're right about the hills on the KP. My highest speed was over near Manchester Ferry in Port Orchard and hit 54 mph. Bethel Road, I think.

It is the road that has crosses Hwy 3 and ends on Clear Creek next to a convenience store that once sold the winning lottery ticket. It is south of the main gate to Bangor. Going north on Clear Creek, I always enjoyed turning left at the gravel pit and going down the hill and through the nicely cambered turns before turning into the park where the old Hood Canal ferry used to be. I miss the riding, not the rain. I wear Lake sandals on my commute to Pearl Harbor.

I'm laughing... but ew. :eek:

I have recorded 129 MPH several times. Yes, I was going fast each time, but I was suprised at the end of the ride to see that as my recorded max speed.. No, I did not feel any fear. The bike handled fine, but then I am a great bike handler, clearly. Puts all these wimpy double digit speeds to shame, huh?

I suppose the puddles I rode through, combined with a faulty computer, helped me record this speed... if you want to be cynical about it.

56 MPH a long time ago ('87 MS-150) exiting Bastrop State Park.
Barely broke 40 MPH in a few flat sprints with a slight tailwind.

I used to train in the Wintergreen, Virginia area when I lived in Charlottesville and often hit 63-65mpg comming off the blue-ridge highway down \Reeds gap.

I think i was doing like 15.6 MPH! I think I had a good tailwind...

57.4 mph

2003 Deathride descending Kit Carson Pass. I was too intimidated by the number of other riders on the back side of Monitor Pass to really let it rip. By the time you get to Kit Carson Pass it's much more manageable since everyone one is pretty well spread out by that time.

I did the 2004 Deathride hoping to top 60 mph. No dice. Didn't even hit my previous max (I was close to it though).

Bryan

I've hit 47MPH+ several times, I don't know if I have gone faster as when I get up to that speed I'm not looking at my computer.

Lowest speed was .05MPH. I was climbing a hill with an 18% grade and looked down and realized I was almost not moving. I oftened wondered how slow you could go before you fell over, I think that's about it...

Lowest speed was .05MPH. I was climbing a hill with an 18% grade and looked down and realized I was almost not moving. I oftened wondered how slow you could go before you fell over, I think that's about it...

Hmm, I don't remember looking at my speed while climbing Mt. Wachusett in the Longsjo stage race... but I do remember seeing my cadence at 17. SEVENTEEN! I think that's the point at which I wanted to cry. People were WALKING up the climb faster than me!

Give a girl a push? Pretty please? :(

I have recorded 129 MPH several times. Yes, I was going fast each time, but I was suprised at the end of the ride to see that as my recorded max speed.. No, I did not feel any fear. The bike handled fine, but then I am a great bike handler, clearly. Puts all these wimpy double digit speeds to shame, huh?

I suppose the puddles I rode through, combined with a faulty computer, helped me record this speed... if you want to be cynical about it.

I have done the same thing with a max heartrate of 240. Damn puddles and powerlines.

I have done the same thing with a max heartrate of 240. Damn puddles and powerlines.

Aaah, that's nothing - I am seemingly the world's slowest cyclist. I downloaded my HRM the other day and was surprised to see that I had taken 6 hours and 22 minutes to cover 28.5 km!!

I found this really amazing as I had actually only been out for about 50 to 55 Minutes!

Ha! Mt Wachusetts was my slowest too. It was one of only a handful of times I actually ever used the smallest ring in my triple -the rest pretty much by mistake as I don't go up really steep hills.

Good for you for doing the Longsjo -heck, don't you have to go up Wachusetts something like 3 times during that ride?


Hmm, I don't remember looking at my speed while climbing Mt. Wachusett in the Longsjo stage race... but I do remember seeing my cadence at 17. SEVENTEEN! I think that's the point at which I wanted to cry. People were WALKING up the climb faster than me!


Give a girl a push? Pretty please? :(

Belltown Hill in the Allegheny National Forest. Fresh asphalt, Lemond Z, new tires. Pedaled only part way down and then put the knee to the TT to prevent any vibration or problems. It is not that you get used to those speeds but I have noticed that sub 50 seems scarier than faster. When the speed is ramping up, slight bumps really get amplified. I could have got 60mph that day had I pushed it a little, and was surprised with 57.8.

Slow? Riding back up that same hill later that day, 3mph I think maybe slower. I stopped at one point and could not get restarted. Kept toppling over into the guardrail.

I think the slowest I can go and remain in a straight line is about 3-4mph. I've had to maintain that speed a couple of times on 13% grades (i'm also pushing 220 pounds).

I think the slowest I can go and remain in a straight line is about 3-4mph. I've had to maintain that speed a couple of times on 13% grades (i'm also pushing 220 pounds).

Last year in the Climb to Kaiser going up the 18% Big Creek grade on my fixed gear, 42x17, was really, really slow. Some guys were walking, and I was barely faster. My indicated speed dropped into the 3's, but then that was traversing a bit, too, so my forward progress was actually about half that. At under 20 rpms, pedaling is more of a series of accellerations, too. Had to watch toe overlap on all the tight turns required while traversing, or I'd wreck at 3 mph.

On a route I ride regularly (Horsetooth reservour, for anyone familiar with the Fort Collins, Colorado area) there is a long, fairly straight descent (north dam) where it's easy to hit 52 or so. I topped out at 58.5 a couple years ago with a tailwind. In my younger and crazier days, I'm pretty sure I went faster, such as coming down from Loveland pass, but I didn't even have a computer back then. Now I've gotten a lot more careful and really don't try to top out my speed

62MPH with old man Phill on my tail! I was on my old Callfee Tetra Pro and the bike handled very well. Now that I'm older and have a family to come home to, I think I might be too afraid to go that fast now.


Did a search in General Discussions and didn't find a hit, so here goes.

What's your fastest recorded speed on a bicycle?

How did the bike handle?

And how did you feel (pucker factor off the chart, not fazed at all, etc)?

Me: I topped off at 56 mph on a long down hill. It happened on a group ride in northern Travis county (Austin area). I rode my '91 steel Basso Loto on that ride. It tracked straight with no shake or shimmy at all. All-in-all, it was a blast. But I always seem to have a passing thought on what to do if I have a flat at these speeds.

You guys scare me! My fastest is 46 mph several times on a local downhill, coasting only, no pedaling from the crest to the trough of the hill - guess I'm chicken. Pucker factor was really high the first time, but now that I know my line, I'm a little more comfortable with it.

bak

My Cateye read 51.2 mph going down South Park Drive in Berkeley last winter, when it's closed for newts. My Specialized Roubaix felt fine, and I didn't really let it out.

Back in my youth my brother and I topped 55 mph going down Rte 24 in NJ, between Chester & Mendham, taking turns drafting behind the family station wagon. That was kinda insane.... I had a PX-10 then, which I miss.

In 1998, 55 mph, downhill with a big tailwind--in a 53/13 no less. 50 was not too hard under the circumstances but I was pumping absolutely as fast as I could to hit 55. This was my Rossin steel frame, which was 14 years old at the time. I've had my recumbent over 50 as well. I don't think I'll ever try it again after reading some of these tales of shimmy.

According to my Avocet 50, I climbed about 5000 feet in 20 minutes one wet morning in France. It was amazing as we were nowhere near any mountains.

Always in the Sierra. Brockway Pass into Kings Beach, Monitor and Carson during the Deathride. I've heard Sherman, coming off the Kern Plateau, will get a bike well over 60 with a good tuck but I've never ridden there.

I've gotten up to 60 shooting down the mtn from VA Tech into the valley.

MAN! that was a good day. IIRC there were ~8-10. Some faster, some slower. We all regrouped at the turn at the bottom and rode out towards 311 for a bit.

There are a few things I miss about not being at Tech...

M

62MPH...coming down Carson pass during the 98 Death Ride.....

The fastest I ever have gone was in Green Brook, NJ heading down Washington Ave. I hit 49 MPH then saw a left hand arrow sign with a 15 MPH suggested speed. I ended up in the guard rail, got launched over the handle bars, and did a tuck and roll. I landed square on my head, skid a few feet, flipped onto my tailbone (ouch!) and flipped again ending up on all fours. My knees were all scraped up and my ears were ringing something fierce. A quick trip to the Medi Merge at the bottom of the hill and I was patched up and ready to ride a couple weeks later. As far as my bike (a Club Fuji), I ruined the rear rim, and it got pretty scratched up, but other than that, it was fine. Steal is real. This happened the summer of 1995, the same day Christopher Reeve broke his neck. If it hadn't been for my old Bell V1 Pro hard shell helment, I may have ended up as his roommate! SAVED BY THE BELL!!!

63 mph on a roadbike. There is a residential street in Laguna or Newport Beach that drops down at a good decline. The street wasn't that long, maybe a 1/4 mile or more but you were able to ride above 50 for quite a while. I remember laughing whenever I'd ride it because the speed limit was 50 or 55 and we would pass the cars.

When I used to do it I was younger and dumb, would ride without a helmet. It never even phased me. Now when I get above 40, in the back of my mind I worry about a flat - and yes I always wear a helmet now.

The bike I had then was an older Pinarello, it was very stable at speed. I think if I did it now on my Colnago I'd be a little more cautious due to the steeper steering angle.

Fastest Bicycle Speed
The highest speed ever achieved on a bicycle is 268.831 km/h (167.043 mph), by Fred Rompelberg (The Netherlands) at Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, USA, on October 3, 1995. His record attempt was greatly assisted by the slipstream from his lead vehicle. Fred has been cycling professionally for nearly 30 years and during that time has held 11 world records.

Ha! Mt Wachusetts was my slowest too. It was one of only a handful of times I actually ever used the smallest ring in my triple -the rest pretty much by mistake as I don't go up really steep hills.

Good for you for doing the Longsjo -heck, don't you have to go up Wachusetts something like 3 times during that ride?

Nah, you go around it a bunch of times (I think Women's 4 did 3 laps) then the finish is the climb up the state park there. It was really hard for me, not considering myself a climber. That's one hell of a climb. It's like 1,000 feet or something. :eek: Not including the 3 laps around it, which is a crapload of climbing in itself.

Stephane Augé, professionnel avec Cofidis claims his personal fastest in the January edition of a french bike magazine...

He says near his home (Pau, in the Pyrenees) he did record 110 km/hre.

That is 68.3 mil/hr!!!!.

So I guess some of you are pretty fast and have access to very long and steep inclines!


My personnal best is 57.78 miles/hr (93km/hr) recorded on a mountain bike actually. Coming down Mount Jay Peak road in Vermont. Slicks on pavement. I did get scared, especially when my brother passed me!!!

Surprisingly, on the opposite: on a road bike, even if I believe I've been faster, I managed 75 km/hre (46.6mi/hre) on a dirt road on my Giant TCR alu. Yes, the carbon fork was a charm! the bike railed and handled better than at lower speed. Definitely a racing bike.

I hit over 60mph coming down Fremont Pass in Colorado. When I backed off to a mere 50mph, the rush was gone.

Last summer, out alone, I hit the low 50's on a Kentucky hill - just outside of Rabbit Hash, Kentucky. No kidding. Problem was: around the second mild turn, the road had been washed out by a storm that hit a day or two before. I had to go way left to avoid the pothole, gravel and mud that covered 2/3 of the road. Luckily, no car was coming. I ended going into the high speed wobble from hell. I used every ounce of my strength to hold the bike upright, then went off the road on the left. I rode in the mud/gravel/berm between the road and a guardrail for about 300 yards before regaining control and getting back onto the road. I was shaking so badly that I pulled off and just sat under a tree until I regained my composure. Moral of the story: I don't have to push the limit, to go super fast, to have fun. I'm not doing that anymore.

By the way...I have had a wreck at 40mph. It hurts. A lot. I ended up in the ER. I don't want that to happen again.

66 mph, descending from Townes Pass into Death Valley during the Furnace creek 508. I was pretty tired and really wasn't paying much attention to speed at the time. The bike handling was fine like you were on rails, it wasn't until my Sag van told me in Furnace creek they were going 60 and I pulled away did I check my computer. I am going to give the hill another try when I head on down for the Double next month.

Fastest recorded speed was 46.3 at last portion just entering Bartlett lake outside Carefree, Arizona. It was on a 2003 Raleigh Grand Prix. With only Sora brakes and a few rides in on this mainly Tiagra/105 bike I thought it handled pretty true. Slowest was about 2mph on a curvy little road flanking Dana Marina up to a bluff in Cali.

Cheers :)

49.3 mph two days ago.

I don't know how I did it, I was coming down this pretty nice hill in my area; but it's nothing HUGE. I was pedaling pretty good, not really tucked or anything. I only glanced down at my comp for a sec and saw like 41, but no cars were passing me which I thought was weird. I get home and right before I go to bed I look at my computer and see that the max speed was 49.3, I flipped out. To be so close to cracking 50 and not do it, wow. I came back the next day and tried again, but the wind was dead in my face and blowing strong and I was just wiped out from the previous days hard ride and could not hit much bove 42/43.

My bike handled it well, no shakes, no wobbles, just smooth sailing.

48 mph for me, with no desire to break it. I live in Idaho and there are plenty of places where Im sure I could easily reach 60+. But, no thanks. I work in Law Enforcement and if I bite it hard, Im outta work! The bike rode straight but it felt overly responsive to the slightest movement.

during the first big decent in the road race, in the rain - way too fast

Just a few months ago. Hit 58 twice on a couple steep, long, downhills in the High Sierra Century up by Mammoth, CA. Towards the bottom of the second hill I was matching speed with a pack of motorcycles, until it flattened out.

Talked to a guy doing the ride on a faired recumbent who hit 63 on the same stretch.

Bike handled pretty well, no noticeable wobble or shimmy. At the time it wasn't that frightening, and I was actually a bit disappointed that I didn't hit 60, but afterwards you start going over all the "what ifs" in your head and it kinda freaks you out.

Some of the other poster's 60+ speeds sound terrifying. OTOH, once you hit 60 or so, you're probably better off just riding it out then possibly complicating things by getting on the brakes...

-Trevor

didn't notice it until we were at the bottom and everyone was comparing.......

what would it matter unless everyone could appreciate/ride the SAME terrain--for instance an experienced rider died at the first IM California on a sweeping turn on a downhill, so if you could take that turn at 40 that would be impressive, but if you are going down a straight downhill at 59 so what?

no wind, flat road in indiana i went 34 for a few seconds--can't sustain it long.
for me that is fast.
downhill it becomes a comfort with speed issue.

jim

63 mph down Whiteface Mountain, NY (near Lake Placid). Great road, very slow turns. Its so steep and long, you really don't have to pedal hard to get going, then gravity takes hold. Great climb too by the way.

I was on a Giant TCR Alum. No issues at all with handling

My ride logs only go back as far as 1999 so I'll cull from that.

Checking my ride logs, I remember passing traffic the summer before last
and a 45 mph reading on my speedo, but I can't seem to find that ride now...

But I see this past year on 10/24/04 I hit 42.5 and on 9/2/02 I hit 42.8.

Handling was cool but I wasn't doing any sudden braking or movements.
Aero tuck to be sure on my Giant TCR2.

When I was young, dumb and idiotic I descended a hill at night on my
old lugged steel Schwinn monster trying to outrun a thunderstorm at 62.5.
WAY too fast.

The most frightening bike ride ever. As I neared the bottom I started to
feel some shimmy happening and slowed just a little and coasted about
40 feet, then resumed pedaling. The hail hit about two blocks past the hill.
I holed up in a gas station until the storm passed.

I was soaked to the skin and probably deserved it.

What's your fastest recorded speed on a bicycle?

How did the bike handle?

And how did you feel (pucker factor off the chart, not fazed at all, etc)?
64.6 mph descending eastbound on Old U.S. 40 just outside of Golden, on 13-Nov-2004. This was with a sprightly tailwind, and part of the reason I was going so damn fast is that I was trying not to get gapped by my former D1 pro coach and his Cat1/2 buddies.

While I knew I'd gone +60mph, I didn't know my true max until I downloaded the Powertap later on that day.

Bike handled great, but then it always does (Colnago Dream Plus) My 11 cog came in handy, because I had to pedal to keep up with those boys.

I felt fine, no pucker factor really, besides keeping a close eye out for ground hazards as I always do at warp factor ten. But then, I'm a bike racer, and I've learned to manage the fear. You hit the ground doing anything over thirty, and you're pretty well screwed anyhow, so why sweat it? I've always been a decent descender (for a girl, anyway) and one of my favourite alltime race memories was keeping up with a Mercury-powered Pro/1/2 breakaway for all 8 miles of the Unaweep Canyon descent in a road race back in '02. I had to do it solo, too, 'cos the motorbike official was keeping a close eye on me (you're not allowed to mix fields) making sure I didn't catch draft from his bike or the break. We were going a tick over sixty for long stretches of that one, too.

hit 56 coming down Olde Stage Hill during the 2003 Boulder triathlon, usually get 50-55 on there during the race. I've done this on 3 different bikes and 4 different wheelsets, never had any handling issues. It's a nice straight descent into a fairly tight LH turn, I exercise the brakes before the turn..

I don't usually push the speed except in races. Worst pucker factor I've had on a descent was last year, coming down High Grade road to Deer Creek, front tire flatted in one of the turns at 40+.. I rode out in a straight line and prayed for no traffic, got lucky and stayed up. Nasty. Especially cleaning out my shorts afterward, I thought I'd done with that when my boys finished potty training..

I got up to 54 mph at which my bike developed a nasty shimmy. I was riding a Bianchi TSX that I always had problems with keeping the rear wheel aligned. Needless to say it was a bit scarey, although all I had to do was untuck and squeeze the top tube with my legs. The hill is Fountaingrove Pkwy in Santa Rosa, CA. It is about a 1000' drop on a nicely paved winding road. It was once used as a street luge course in an early version of the Xgames. I'm looking forward to trying it again on my new bike, I hope to break 60!

On the first ride the first day I had my new 2000 Tuscany/Record 10, on Rt. 29 in Saratoga County, NY. Just a straight, medium-steep grade about 1 to 1.5 miles long. I didn't have a comp mounted yet, but the speed had to be 55-60 mph or more because cars were barely passing me and most go at least 65 mph on that road. The 53/12 was just...gone...spinning as fast as I could.

Fork was a straight Wound Up and handled great, with Vitt Corsa CX sew-ups and Campy Shamals. I was lucky because the shoulder was very clean and smooth all the way down.

Sure, whatever... I've done it driving the crew car, we were never above 55mph, even less above 60. This is a fast downhill, but going above 60 would require some SERIOUS tailwinds.

In his ride report from 2000, Eric Ostendorff (Ostrich) calls it a 45mph downhill, not a 64mph downhill...

Pierre


64 mph, twice descending from Townes Pass into Death Valley.

That's why I have a blue tire in front and red in the rear. Good old dialiation.

and

62 or so in '74, north bound Texas St. into Mission Valley on my good old Peugeot U08.

It felt great!

That's why I have a blue tire in front and red in the rear. Good old dialiation.



Speeds like that are not possible with different colored tires on, HAL - causes too much cognitive dissonance. We covered that a few days ago, 'member?

I've hit 47.5 many times on the road bike. Just wig out and/or can't get any more out of the bike.

I hit 52 mph on the mountain bike going down the road on Sugarloaf up above Boulder. Hit the brakes and the whole bike compressed (full suspension) Crazy feeling. Rode all the way down to the highway and back up just to do it again.

53 suttin here on a nice long stair step descent. Tons of place to hit 45 most every ride, but for us with the shorter hills, the illusive 50 is tough sometimes. Many times have I beat my slow speed, we are home to the worlds shortest and steepest climb. We played the get up "The Wall" in the big rig and center on the rear game. Always great watching one of the better collegiate riders in the midwest fall over lol.

K

...mine goes to eleven!

Yep 50+ is possible in wisconsin :) Have done 53-55 numerous times while training on the Bluemound hills... I suspect I've done the same or slighty more in races - again in the Bluemounds area - but I don't recall ever chking the computer afterwards.

Hills here tend to be short but extremely steep.

- K

There is a road between Silverdale and Poulsbo, Washington that drops from the top of Silverdale Rd past a cemetary, across Hwy 3 and ends up on Clear Creek road. It has a short drop to accelerate to about 32mph before a short flat then a death drop to the bottom. I cannot imagine riding up this road. I did 66mph on my Eddy Merckx MX Leader with the steel fork. No shimmy. The road has a slight uphill tilt and you can coast all the way to the stop sign. The Kitsap Penisula has many great descents with lots of opportunities to set personal land speed records. You Seattle guys should get over there. Most of the great spots are well within riding distance of the Bainbridge Ferry. It was not usual for me to do a 45 mile loop with a 19mph average with a 50mph max.
I've ridden some on the peninsula but not recently. Don't remember this gem... but trying to find it on a map, is that Sherman Hill Road?

NASTY tailwind(20-30mph)(I dont realy know what i was doing riding that that day but w.e.) and i hit 62 for a brief second. I was was ok but my limbs were shakin soooooooo badly i didnt think i would make it.

I went 59.1 mph down 2222 in Austin. It's the !Fast Downhill! in this map:

http://www.utcycling.org/images/dam_loop.pdf

It didn't feel sketchy, though my eyes started to water even with sunglasses on. Some of the guys I was riding with tried to organize some sort of slingshot to go even faster, but I decided I didn't want to be near other people going that fast. Me and my 190lbs ended up passing their unorganized bunch at the bottom of the hill

Sure, why not, I'll whip out the old machismo ;-)!

Fastest I've gone is 85 (km/h that is) down Mt. Seymour in North Vancouver. There's a local ride where I am now that takes you down into the river valley. Nice long straight downhill, and I regularly hit 70 and upwards of 75 km/h (around 47 mph), not too bad for the flat prairies I figure!

One great tip I read about from the pros to help with speed and more importantly stability, is to clamp the top tube with your knees. It's amazing how secure you feel going that fast while clinging onto your bike for dear life (seriously!).

Hey, you know what I think? >>

"Sure, they're on pot that's all. THEY'RE ALL ON POT!!"

64 mph, twice descending from Townes Pass into Death Valley. The second time was at night, 220 miles into the Furnace Creek 508, with a crew car following close behind. This is a 5,000' drop all at once. The freakiest part is where the road sort of falls away at close to 60 mph, where it looks like you are going off a cliff. In daylight, this is disconcerting, but in pitch black, it requires pure faith to know you'll be all right, especially when your lights aren't very strong (are any at 60 mph?), and the car headlights behind shoot our over your head as you fall away. Yes, I pre-rode this hill several times before doing this at night.

The craziest thing about this hill is that you can sustain 55 mph for over 10 minutes, if you stay aero and don't touch the brakes, even around the big sweeping corners. I remained on the aerobars in a near superman position for maximum speed. [This was before I had kids ;-) ]

There are places near my house where I can hit 55 mph nearly every day, but another 5 mph to get 60 has been impossible. Big difference.

Oh, bike handling. Both times this was on a Colnago C40, I think using Ksyrium wheels. Absolutely rock solid, but then I've not had handling problems at high speed on any bike.
doug you are my new hero. I did 53 mph regularly down ox creek in asheville, but that too was before I had kids...heehee! Always dreamed of doing furnace tho.

Yep 50+ is possible in wisconsin :) Have done 53-55 numerous times while training on the Bluemound hills... I suspect I've done the same or slighty more in races - again in the Bluemounds area - but I don't recall ever chking the computer afterwards.

Hills here tend to be short but extremely steep.

- K
yeah but were you chanting good rounds at the time?

3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375 10582097494459230781640628620899862803482534211706 79821480865132823066470938446095505822317253594081 28481117450284102701938521105559644622948954930381 96442881097566593344612847564823378678316527120190 91456485669234603486104543266482133936072602491412 73724587006606315588174881520920962829254091715364 36789259036001133053054882046652138414695194151160 94330572703657595919530921861173819326117931051185 48074462379962749567351885752724891227938183011949 km/h


i like pi too

42.1 mph on some unnamed counrty backroad in Lee County, SC on my old Univega. Bike was solid as a rock. I did manage a 34 mph in a flat paceline with a professional racer.

Fastest Bicycle Speed
The highest speed ever achieved on a bicycle is 268.831 km/h (167.043 mph), by Fred Rompelberg (The Netherlands) at Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, USA, on October 3, 1995. His record attempt was greatly assisted by the slipstream from his lead vehicle. Fred has been cycling professionally for nearly 30 years and during that time has held 11 world records.

Speaking of slipstream . . .

The descent from Government Camp on Mt. Hood in Oregon is four lanes w/ wide shoulders (for vehicles to chain up for the pass in winter). The descent is not particularly steep, but it's long -- probably about 10 miles -- and it's a well used commercial corridor/pass over the Cascade mountain range.

So, coming down on a bike, it's easy to get into the slipstream of semi-truck/trailers. The "official" speed limit is 55 MPH, but everyone comes off the pass about 65 or faster. Trucks too.

A bike can get rolling down the edge of the highway, safely on the shoulder and then catch the slipstream of a passing semi . . . and get sucked right up into the back of the trailer. Yeah, sure . . . It's dangerous as hell. And the truck drivers don't like to see a bike ridding their fanny -- or worse, not be able to see a bike on their fanny because the bike is so close to the trailer that it's out of the mirrors and in the "blind spot."

But then I used to do all sorts of crazy stuff on a bike back before I had more cojones than sense.

...or was it 52.5? Anyway, it was 50+, on the downside of North Sims St. on the north side of the Jefferson County Airport. I was on my Lightspeed Tuscany and there was no crosswind and no traffic (for a change) :D so I just put the bike next to the yellow line, took my hands off the brakes, and tucked it. The bike tracked fine, and it was definitely a rush. Would I do it again? Probably not. I'm 56 now, and my winter sport is Masters Alpine ski racing. I've been clocked at 73 mph in a downhill some years back. It definitely gets your attention when you come unglued at that speed (I've done it three times, and walked away from all three), but it's not even remotely the same as taking a trip to McDonalds in 3 mm worth of a lycra shortie skinsuit...an experience which, fortunately, I've never had...

I did it last year going down the Perry County side of Wagner's gap. Nice long, straight descent with a hairpin turn 2/3 of the way down. Around here it isn't too difficult to hit speeds in excess of 45mph on a regular basis; lot's of steep roads with little traffic:D Just today I hit 48 on my 2 hr pre work ride.BTW-my KG 461 (as have all of my Looks) handles extremely well at those speeds.

Did a search in General Discussions and didn't find a hit, so here goes.

What's your fastest recorded speed on a bicycle?

How did the bike handle?

And how did you feel (pucker factor off the chart, not fazed at all, etc)?

Me: I topped off at 56 mph on a long down hill. It happened on a group ride in northern Travis county (Austin area). I rode my '91 steel Basso Loto on that ride. It tracked straight with no shake or shimmy at all. All-in-all, it was a blast. But I always seem to have a passing thought on what to do if I have a flat at these speeds.


i'm not sure. my computer wire melted to my fork and my eyes were closed. after the smoke cleared i noticed that my jersey was charred and i limped home to put some neosporin on the burns.

http://www.thinkcooper.com/180.JPG



oh, you said bicycle... I don't know my freakin top speed. But last summer I went hunting wolverines with my uncle in Alaska. They kept attackin my cousins, I shot like 50 of 'em.

http://www.thinkcooper.com/180.JPG



oh, you said bicycle... I don't know my freakin top speed. But last summer I went hunting wolverines with my uncle in Alaska. They kept attackin my cousins, I shot like 50 of 'em.


with a frikkin 12 guage , whadda ya think!

...or was it 52.5? It was definitely 50+, and definitely approaching my age (then 55). This was back in 2003, on North Sims on the North side of the Arapahoe County Airport. No wind that day, no cars, so I put the bike out by the yellow line, took my hands off the brakes and tucked it. The bike was a Litespeed Tuscany and it tracked like it was on rails. Was it a rush? You bet. Would I do it again? Probably not. I've never come off a bike at anything over 5 mph and I don't want to. My winter sport is Masters Alpine ski racing. I've been clocked at 74 mph in a downhill some years back. I've also come unglued while ski racing (3 times) at 60 mph plus, and walked away from all three...but it was like jumping in a cement mixer, and I was lucky. It'll probably happen again, but it won't stop me from ski racing. There's no comparison, however, between crashing at Mach 2 on skis and taking a trip to McDonalds on your road bike with nothing more than the width of a 3 mm lycra skinsuit between you and the pavement...

I've gotten up to 60 shooting down the mtn from VA Tech into the valley.

MAN! that was a good day. IIRC there were ~8-10. Some faster, some slower. We all regrouped at the turn at the bottom and rode out towards 311 for a bit.

There are a few things I miss about not being at Tech...

M

MShaw,

wow, you brought back some memories. I grew-up in the Burg. We used to shoot Ellett Valley regularly on bikes that had no business going over 40mph and we were at 55 (the whole bike shaking so hard, I thought it might dissentigrate right out from under me)--but hey, I was 15 and immortal, right?

Thanks bringing back some fond memories. Hadn't thought about that place in ages.

-bc

http://www.thinkcooper.com/180.JPG


Now, whoever had the Brasstown Balds to take a hand off the bars and snap that photo... I don't want to hang out with that guy drinkin' tequila!

Now, whoever had the Brasstown Balds to take a hand off the bars and snap that photo... I don't want to hang out with that guy drinkin' tequila!

Sure you do. I'll race you to the bar. :D

Did a search in General Discussions and didn't find a hit, so here goes.

What's your fastest recorded speed on a bicycle?

How did the bike handle?

And how did you feel (pucker factor off the chart, not fazed at all, etc)?

Me: I topped off at 56 mph on a long down hill. It happened on a group ride in northern Travis county (Austin area). I rode my '91 steel Basso Loto on that ride. It tracked straight with no shake or shimmy at all. All-in-all, it was a blast. But I always seem to have a passing thought on what to do if I have a flat at these speeds.

At the 2004 Death Ride or Tour of the Ca. Alps, I was a tad disappointed at my max speed on that day. I was flying down the front side of Monitor pass on my Merckx MX Leader, drafting behind a party of four riders. My computer registered at 54 mph. My '98 Steel Merckx experienced no wobbles of any nature; however, I was hanging on to my handlebars for dear life. During that descent, I remember imagining how disasterous a wipeout at that speed would turn out. Well, you can't get hurt laying in a lounge chair all your life, but how exhilarating would that be?

Heading down Carson Pass at 52 mph a big box van passed by and threw some "dirty air" at me. The bike (Bontrager Road Lite) went into the dreaded high speed wobble. I had to hold on for dear life. The pucker factor was "out of category"!

Somehow I didn't crash and wasn't hit by anyone else.

The frame and fork now has fixie duty.

On the MTB side, back in the mid 90's at the Sea Otter I hit 42 mph in a grassy field. Coming down the long hill on the back side of the race track, the only way to swoop the pack was to head off the dirt road onto the grassy field. A risky move but moved up a dozen places.

I've ridden some on the peninsula but not recently. Don't remember this gem... but trying to find it on a map, is that Sherman Hill Road?

Sherman Hill road is North of the road I am talking about. Sherman Hill is a great descent except for the end where you have to really lean into the brakes when it meets Viking Way. Another fun descent is Silverdale Way going South into Silverdale after turning off of Ridgetop. Anderson Hill road going towards Seabeck from town has some great descents and a climb that will make you fall over if you stop pedalling. Coming down that hill was my old speed record I set in 1990 at 56mph. It is fun because there is no reason to brake because it is straight and you need the momentum to help carry you up the next hill. I did hit 50 mph once in SC coming down the backside of the Greeneville watershed. My current Hawaii record is 46 mph coming down pineapple hill on the Kamehameha Highway heading towards Haleiwa on the North Shore.

Sure, whatever... I've done it driving the crew car, we were never above 55mph, even less above 60. This is a fast downhill, but going above 60 would require some SERIOUS tailwinds.

In his ride report from 2000, Eric Ostendorff (Ostrich) calls it a 45mph downhill, not a 64mph downhill...

Pierre

I'm a ***** when it comes to high speed decents myself, but around Northern California there are very few roads that are straight enough to build such speed and then scrub it off before turns. Pierre would you agree with that?
One obvious problem is as the speed greatens, the margin of error on the computer greatens as well. Accuracy is a serious issue, especailly in a pissing contest.
One poster said he shifted down at 48mph to try to get above 50. I find that I spin out around 42-43mph in 53/12. I could pedal a bit faster, but my pedaling motion at that cadence (above 140rpm) makes the bike somewhat unstable, especially at speed.
I have no doubt that people have legitimately ungodly speeds, though it certainly hasn't been me.

51.9 mph just a couple days ago. that was with a super roadie-tuck as well. I felt pretty good about it, but I still could imagine what would happen if my wheel hit a pebble or something. Strangly, my fastest speed ever was during a sprint on my trainer; 55mph. No wind resistance counts for something, i guess. :D

wow, some of you guys have gone really fast....60+mph!

I hit 50 mph on yesterday's ride, on a hill that drops down into the South Prarie river valley outside of Sumner, WA. Easily the fastest I've gone, and I was full tucked, eyes watering. I definitely couldn't stop thinking about the "what ifs" of a blow out or some other high speed mechanical.

I have hit 42 on a downhill mountain bike on a dirt road, at the Whistler bike park.

Bobby Root holds the world record for the fastest wheelie, at 86 mph drafting a delivery truck:

http://www.rohloff.de/index.php?lang=en&p=SPONSORING/MTB/Freeride&d=
(scroll to the bottom of the page)

Generally can hit 43 coming down Kole kole pass on the Schofield side here on da island. 45 or so on Roundtop/Tantalus drives on the hills north of Waikiki. Surprisingly my fastest was 46.5 somewhere between Haliewa and Mililani. Never would have thought that.

51.8...yesterday...on my mountain bike : )

69. I could never break into the magic 70+ speeds. It was back in 1992 and it was going down Hawthorne in Palos Verdes, CA. If you hit all the lights it is pretty much a straight shot top to bottom. I had a friend who weighed in at 198lbs and he would regularly hit 72 - 74 mph. But who knows how accurate the Avocet computers were back then. For allI know we never cleared 50.

57 MPH at Ft Knox KY going down the hill the known as Agony. The bike, a Bill Davidson was rock steady. Because of this, it was such a great thrill I rode back to the top and did it again.

hmmmmm

my current fastest speed is on one of the other threads...