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This is [b]SO[/b] going to come across as willy-waving, but surprised at the number of people struggling to hit 50mph* (unless they live in Norfolk...).
Find a steep, longish hill with no side roads or steep bends, tuck in (chin on stem, elbows in) and just let it roll. I don't weigh a lot (<11 stone) but can hit 50mph pretty easily.
*bike computer speed, so probably a couple of mph overstated.
58 mph on a road bike coming down the elan valley felt a lot quicker at the time and that was measured on my garmin.
My polar download had me breaking the 100kph mark in an ironman in Switzerland. I was slightly dubious but all 3 laps recorded at similar speeds. This was in a skinny little trisuit and I was very aware of my vulnerability! At that race I was using a road bike with proper drop bars as well as aerobars - there is no way I would have been happy at that speed on aerobars!
That said this was on a closed road course with the most amazingly smooth tarmac and the descent was about 2miles long with only the gentlest of curved corners. Simply no way I'd be happy at those sort of speeds in Britain.
The fastest I have ever FELT on a bike was coming down the Trudos Mountain in Cyprus. The top section drops 1000m over 10km of twisty quality tarmac. A bike seems to be able to hold its speed better than its 4 wheeled brethren and I overtook 4 cars and 3 coaches - in the odd glance I was prepared to make in their direction I got some funny looks! Not sure I have still got the same amount of bottle!
57mph off the top of Dundry hill just south of Bristol. Kept wondering what would happen if something broke on my my bike.
58mph coming down the east side of the String on Arran, and I wasn't the fastest out of the group. Was absolutely keeching myself.
56.3 MPH off Caerphilly mountain (road), the day after waxing my legs for the first time.
hopster - Member57mph off the top of Dundry hill just south of Bristol. Kept wondering what would happen if something broke on my my bike.
hopster - that's my local (road) downhill - think my best down there is 55mph
I've only recently got a cycle computer and my max is only 24.9mph (down some singletrack in Swinley)
Seemed pretty quick at the time (watery eye etc...) I wonder if my speedo is setup properly or if I need to MTFU as can't image what it'd be like doing double that speed on a bike...
Seemed pretty quick at the time (watery eye etc...) I wonder if my speedo is setup properly or if I need to MTFU as can't image what it'd be like doing double that speed on a bike...
There is a big different is percieved speed between on and off road - 24-25mph can feel damn fast off road!
There is a big different is percieved speed between on and off road - 24-25mph can feel damn fast off road!
40mph on-road on my HT feels comfy. 35mph on-road on a Brompton feels pretty exciting! My usual quick spot on a ride is coming out of the woods and down a fairly short grassy slope before hauling on the brakes to stop before hitting the gate - I don't think it's long enough for the GPS to measure the true peak speed but it normally shows 30mph. The last time I did it I had both the front and rear tyres locking up (despite my best efforts at modulation) when braking and I almost hit the fence.
20+mph on the rough rocky stuff feels fast to me on a HT!
In "It's not about the bike" Lance Armstrong frequently refers to 70mph descents in the mountains. Rather him than me...
Wunundred! 😀
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Not me, it's an ad for the rack! Only 45mph on the road here.
86.6kmh logged by GPS on a road between sections in the peaks. I was glad a mate was 20yrds ahead - just in case a car pulled out on us 🙂
"that is a massive brown trousers moment when you think what would happen if the brakes were to stop working."
Its more of a brown trousers moment when your brakes do actually go. Pulling on the brakes, slowing down a touch only to speed back up again isn't fun, neither was dodging the walkers, speeding across the crossroads or just making the corner afterward. Luckily the brakes were still biting a bit, enough to slow enough to ditch once it flattens a bit after the corner
Rotors were completely black afterward
Since then I don't drag my poorly bled small rotored brakes all the down a road doing 30mph+
Had a similar but not as bad incident coming into nenthead on the C2C on some really badly bled brakes of mine, on smaller rotors, didn't have the out of control thing quite going on though
Back on topic, 49mph on an MTB (crossmarks pumped up to probably 60-65psi) on the road down a dual carriageway, but of an aerotuc and some spinny pedalling going on
Andy - Member
Barbury Castle, south of Swindon. Regularly used to ride up there in the morning before work, on my 1979 Holdsworth Special. Sit on the old hill fort and smoke a fag and then come back down the road at 60 - 65mph.
Ok I hit a recorded 55 down there according to my old cateye computer the run back home to Wroughton was alot quicker than the ride up to Barbury
But on my old Litespeed road bike 64 down Snap Hill very forking scary
Aye Andy mine was on recorded on an old Cateye. I think the max speed was 67mph but the computer must have been over reading. All back in the day eh (20 years ago now!) ? There is no way I'd crank down there as aggressively now.
On my Claud Butler Majestic touring bike i did once hit 49.9 on the Crow Road above Lennoxtown with a tailwind. Front end was shimmying all over the shop ( me no likee).
Oh and did have a front end blow out on the Fintry side at 40mph plus another time. Still astounded at my skill/blind luck in not stacking it ( must be the fastest i have ever gone round a corner on a grass verge). Probably the most scared i have felt on a bike.
I do like the Crow for the ability to overtake cars. Always give a polite wave of course !
I reckon anything over 40mph off-road is exceptional. 50 on road, on a road bike is quite difficult to attain IMO.
I'm ashamed to say i did 70mph hanging onto the side of a friends car on the Rainford bypass in the mid 80's. I couldn't really see but it felt fast and i'm glad I didn't fall off.
15.9mph!!!!!!!!!
[b]Rad to the power of sick man!!!![/b]
135mph. BMW R1200RS and still accelerating when I realised. Only a test ride...
If we're including motorbikes 172mph on the speedo (2008 ZX6R), probably about 165mph actual. Should have been scary, wasn't. Modern sportsbikes are unbelievably good.
It's why I've changed to a naked (Aprilia Tuono) - lots of fun but mainly at >120mph speeds due to the windblast.
ermmmmmmm, that should read <120mph.... :-/
I'm seldom fast. However I did have a go on the road descent from Linderets (Goat Village) to Ardent/ Lac Montriond as I know the road relatively well. The mahoosive skid mark at the top is mine, when some over-tentative driver slammed on the brakes [u]and[/u] pulled out into the middle of the road at the same time. I really thought I was going to be turned into burger meat, a proper brown trousers moment.
There are a couple of hairpins lower down that you can cut off for some cheeky over/undertaking manoeuvres. Which is nice 🙂
Once coming down Wrynose Pass on the mtb towards Ambleside, just let go of the brakes, didn't even cover the levers....proper 'death grip'.
Scrolled through the computer at the bottom, max speed 56mph...
I remember being a bit disappointed that I hadn't reached 60.
On Dragon Ride 2008 attained (very briefly as I couldnt see despite having glasses on) and nearly cacking my pants 71mph on an accurately set up Polar C220 and had brake blocks melting and only just made the bend at the bottom of the mountain road.
Mam Tor on the full suss MTB at around 50mph overtook car and glanced in at his speedo.
Whilst doing LeJog in 2009 on the road bike drop down into Dunster 55mph followed by a decent up near warrigton way at 51mph, Berrydale descent in wicked side wind 51mph and Helmdale 55mph till I was shoved into the centre of the road by a gust of side wind.
I have found that due to my weight (17 and a half stone) that gravity has a really helpful effect on my descending maximum speed after the Dragon Ride maximum I found that I lost the bottle for going above 55mph.
Only other scary speed was doing a charity ride that took in Cat and Fiddle and it was horizontal rain up at the feed station at the pub so I just wanted to get down as fast as possible-45mph in the pouring rain on skinny treadless road tyres was way too slippy and made me slow down on the rest of the wet descents. I think the only reason I stayed upright was through mud riding on the MTB and not panicking when it started slipping sideways and waggling when aquaplaining.
Down the hill towards Hillsborough from the University roundabout. If I got a good run down onto the roundabout, bit of a slipstream and overtook, a couple of times the speedo read 40+mph but overtaking cars on a dual carriage way was the fun bit 🙂 I really used to trust my Claud Butler Urban 300 back then...
Not even approached that off road, GPS has given short sections that have sustained 25-30 mph speeds so probably fairly accurate with the usual spikes of 30-40 mph that I think we can safely ignore, under the trees, in a valley etc.
Did 52mph coming down Otley Chevin on my MTB. The stupidity luckily didn't hit until after I got to the bottom.
46mph on the roady. Was drafting a car down a hill where the speed limit was 40. Was catching them up too.
Was from my bike computer, but i think it's fairly accurate as i rode with a friend whos GPS was reading the same speed as my bike comp.
Ive had mid 40s offroad in the alps on the open landrover tracks, and 56 on road on a rigid MTB with slicks, spinning my heart out, both on "calibrated" speedos (GPS on the alpine one, normal bike speedo on the road one checked against a car speedo to about 40 so possibly 10% out I suppose!)
77.1 MPH, kirkstone pass....
Awesome
Mike Bomber Harris
55mph on mtb same place as saladdoger, were very limited in the Swindon area!
according to a car driver who was following me down westbury white horse hill (was on my mtb).he beeped me at the bottom,and said that he was clocking me at 52 mph.i cannot confirm it though as i didn't have a cycle computer.
77.1 MPH, kirkstone pass....
Sure you've not mixed up your mph and kph? 😉
48.7 mph down Billinge hill on my Allez and it was damp, and there's a corner, and its bumpy. Scary
77.1 MPH, kirkstone pass....
I've hit 60 on Kirkstone and I was going faster than that.... I'd check his speedo.
I've hit 60 off Waddington fell too.
Anything significantly above 50 needs a tailwind.
26mph according to Endomondo, on a mild fireroad decline @ Cannock (last section, in place of closed Tackeroo).
72 mph on the last stretch down into Los Christianos off Mount Tidy in Tenerife. Me weighing 16 stone on a Colnago road bike. Too tired to brake any more so just let it roll. It's a long, straight, very steep stretch of smooth highway. Definitely MPH, and I was bricking it.
49.5 mph off road down Butser hill. That was on rigid or ht back in early 90's when big rings were bigger and I had more balls! Never matched it
54mph on road bike on tail wind assisted descent. Not sure I buy the 70+ claims you'd need a hell of a tail wind. The pros don't claim those speeds.
45mph off road on a fireroad on a HT with V brakes. Never clocked a full sus.
Mikeharris666!
That gave me an adrenalin rush just watching that film, but also made me feel sick just thinking what could of happened! 😕
c50mph - road bike long smooth descent in Corsica
77mph = kidding oneself 😆
Sean Kelly when he was commentating on this years TDF mentioned that he once hit 120kmh on one of the alpine descents. He also reckoned that Sean Yates was able to go a lot quicker because he was heavier and crazier. I'm damn sure Yatesy was never 16 stone in the TDF.
Last year I hit 55mph on my mountain bike coming down Winnats on the road into Castleton. Slowing down for the cattle grid my disc rotors were red hot.
On MTB - 55mph descending into Soloman's Hollow heading toward Leek. No side roads so you feel pretty safe letting it go full chat.
On Road - 63mph descending towards Weston after coming past Bingley hall. Only one minor side road so felt fairly safe letting it go.
Bike computers so who knows how accurate (or really cares)?
169mph on an aprilia rsv mille 😀