Maximum Speed: Bicycle

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chivalryder
chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
in Chit-Chat
For the cyclists out there: What's the fastest you've ever gone?

Back in my hay-days, I have hit 56 kmph on dirt, riding my lightweight single speed hardtail, while riding over large stones and rooted dirt. That's 35 mph for those who use old schoo lmeasurement.

On pavement, I hit 70 kmph (44 mph) on my grandfather's old road bike, which had the origional brakes... and origional, silky-smooth steel rims. It took me a long, long time and a lot of noise to bring that bike to a stop.

Please note: I live in southern Ontario. There are no mountains here.

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  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
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    bump
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    Probably around 40 MPH coming down from the mesa back into the valley here in town during my 1/2 century in May. I was pumping the breaks a lot so I could have gone faster but I took a really good spill doing about 20 MPH about 6 months ago in March when I was training so I was pretty hesitant to push it. I'm still rehabbing my shoulders from that wreck...they were killing me after my 1/2.
  • CallMeRuPaul
    CallMeRuPaul Posts: 151 Member
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    wowsers!!! 44 mph is fast. I've probably gone 25 mph on my mountain bike. BAM! bumpity bump!!!
  • Fit_in_Folsom
    Fit_in_Folsom Posts: 220 Member
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    Close to 55 coming down a gradual mountain during the Tecate to Ensanada Bike Ride. My best friend is a semi professional bike racer and routinely gets in the high 50mph range on descents.
  • galenofedgewood
    galenofedgewood Posts: 146 Member
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    42 mph so far going downhill in a 35 zone. Hahaha. Lots of fun.
  • Mr_Bad_Example
    Mr_Bad_Example Posts: 2,403 Member
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    2rmscg8.jpg
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
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    Probably around 40 MPH coming down from the mesa back into the valley here in town during my 1/2 century in May. I was pumping the breaks a lot so I could have gone faster but I took a really good spill doing about 20 MPH about 6 months ago in March when I was training so I was pretty hesitant to push it. I'm still rehabbing my shoulders from that wreck...they were killing me after my 1/2.

    Yeah. Had I crashed, I would be have been toast. That road is now closed because it's too dangerous for cars. There's a tight 90 deg bend near the bottom, followed by a hairpin, followed by another tight bend that turns into gravel halfway through. I nearly crapped my pants.
  • davemunger
    davemunger Posts: 1,139 Member
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    According to my Garmin Connect, the fastest I've gone recently (since I've had GPS) is 41 mph on a big hill near my house in Davidson, NC. I'm mostly a runner though, don't ride very often.
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
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    42 mph so far going downhill in a 35 zone. Hahaha. Lots of fun.

    I love going faster than traffic. :D
  • ecarl65
    ecarl65 Posts: 1 Member
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    45 mph. I have a few friends that race and they've hit 60 mph.
  • cdoesthehula
    cdoesthehula Posts: 141 Member
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    I used to be friends with a professional XC rider. He once told me going fast downhills was easy. All you needed, he said, was a blatant disregard for your own safety. :tongue:

    I did 48mph on a descent a few times, as the end of my regular training ride there was a great big hill. And believe it or not, the fastest bikes for doing that are tourers with 32mm tyres. I probably would have got scared if I had been riding my sunday best road bike.

    I thought nothing of them at the time. It all ended one day, though, when I was riding the "nice" bike down a hill at about 35mph and the binder bolt on the stem cracked. The bars tilted forward and I had to stop by pulling the bars up.

    That was the end of my fast descending and my superlight road bikes.
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
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    88mph.

    Were you falling off a cliff? :P
  • chivalryder
    chivalryder Posts: 4,391 Member
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    I used to be friends with a professional XC rider. He once told me going fast downhills was easy. All you needed, he said, was a blatant disregard for your own safety. :tongue:

    I did 48mph on a descent a few times, as the end of my regular training ride there was a great big hill. And believe it or not, the fastest bikes for doing that are tourers with 32mm tyres. I probably would have got scared if I had been riding my sunday best road bike.

    I thought nothing of them at the time. It all ended one day, though, when I was riding the "nice" bike down a hill at about 35mph and the binder bolt on the stem cracked. The bars tilted forward and I had to stop by pulling the bars up.

    That was the end of my fast descending and my superlight road bikes.

    That's some seriously scacy stuff right there!!!

    The fastest off road riders i've ever heard of were downhill riders on a trail near Whistler, BC. There's one section called the 'autobhan' which is a dead-stright trail that goes through a field, on a scary-steep descent. Guys go down it without touching the brakes and reach speeds to 96 kmph (60 mph). As for on the road, the fastest i've heard of was 74 mph (120 kmph) from the French Alps.
  • Building_Bulk
    Building_Bulk Posts: 20,596 Member
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    Upper 30's. Knowing my luck I am sure if I go any faster I will blow something and end up on the pavement.
  • cdoesthehula
    cdoesthehula Posts: 141 Member
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    Have a look at Eric Barone on Youtube. That's when speed down a hill becomes a mental illness.
  • Cyclingbonnie
    Cyclingbonnie Posts: 413 Member
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    A few years ago as I headed out across NC with the CNC Mountains to the Coast ride, I was heading down Highway 9 after climbing up over the Eastern Continental Divide. I let it go. Just relaxing in the wind. I looked down at my speedometer just as it was edging up to 50 mph. I thought "You idiot! Start pumping the brakes and slow down!" Just as I got the bike back down to a more reasonable 35 mph I heard sirens go off and the ambulance went flying past me. In the curve about a mile ahead of me someone had hit gravel and had not slowed down before getting there. I have never really tried to push it since then, and I try to always keep it below 30.

    However, for one brief moment, I was flying!

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