General Cycling Discussion - Highest max speed

WARNING: IN NO WAY IS THIS POST WRITTEN TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO FASTER, IT IS ONLY TO SEE WHAT SPEED MEMBERS HAVE REACHED AND TO SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS ON IT.

well the subject says it all. anyone ever had a crash at high speed? what do you recommend doing (e.g. trying to roll as opposed to slide)

My top speed is 78km/hr, and once I went down a long as hill, and came over the brow of the hill @ 15, tucked myself down and coasted. The bike just kept accelerating for ages right up to 70km/hr!! Not bad for coasting aye?

trying to roll is a good thing. However, if you crash too fast, I'm not sure how easy it will be to actually pull it off. I slid in a 40km/h crash a couple of years ago (after bouncing off my head), it hurt.

Managed 48 mph down the backside of a couple of the mountains in Colorado last year (Wolf Creek & Slumgullion passes). Was very nice. All one needed to do to slow down was to sit up and use the wind as a brake. This brought the speed down to 33-34 mph. Never was able to hit 50 mph, but 48 seemed pretty fast. Biggest problem was the wind made my eyes water at this speed. Definitely want to have good vision when flying down the mountain. Great Fun!

Oh yeah, my max speed of all time - 84km/h. Would certainly have been faster but for that idiot who put a sharp corner at the bottom of that 22% hill. No matter, I prefer riding up it anyway. :D

48 mph, down hill withtail wind in bike race in TX (one of the best experiences I've ever had on a bicycle). It was an out and back course - return speed, up hill and headwind - 12 mph

Zack

Max speed :: 45 MPH

Speed of bike during my only crash so far :: 25 MPH - ended up rolling. Didn't really have much of a choice. I don't recommend dismounting your bike at that speed.

I hit 50 on a downhill in a tour that I do every year called, the Columbus Fall Challange..That was quite an expierence for me, very neat!!.


Benjamin

I have a nice hill about a mile from where I live, once for a cheap thrill I strapped on a 56 tooth chain ring, wound 'er up and hit 54 mph.

54mph, sweet; nothin' cheap about that, man ...

There are two types of cyclists: The ones who've crashed and the ones who will crash.

Being a charter member of the "who've crashed club" I would say that despite the suggestions offered in Bicycling Magazines you don't really have a choice on rolling or sliding... physics will dictate what happens and it's different for different types of crashes at different speeds. In most cases short of an endo, you'll either land on your hip, lower leg or shoulder while still attached to your bike at the pedals and let me tell you -- you don't slide far once you're on the asphalt.

The "roll" that's talked about assumes you've gone head first over your handlebars (e.g., endo) and the basic suggestion is don't: a) stick your arms out like superman or you'll break your wrist before you do a face plant, OR b) keep your head up with your hands on the bars otherwise you'll basically end up like Kivilev. Therefore, the instinct you'll want to develop is tucking you chin into your chest to give you the best chance of minimizing a severe head or face injury.

Fastest speed on a bike during a crash: 26mph buried in a racing pack where a lead rider clipped a rear wheel. Gloves saved the palms of my hands, lost all the skin on my left lower leg, 1' diameter deep bruise on my hip along with some serious abrasions and a permanent chain ring tooth pattern scar on my right rear gluts -- this from the bicycle rider behind me who tried to "bunny hop" the mele and ended up with a broken collar bone when he endo'd on his landing.

As for max bike speeds: 54mph on a single bike and 63mph on our tandem (40 - 50mph is common on any ride with a descent). What do you think about at those speeds to keep you safe? "What if" a car pulled out in front of me and "what if" I flatted a tire -- what would I do and where would I go?

I chicken out at 40MPH. That is the speed where my mind stops thinking about the road and starts wondering about fork failure, a sudden flat, a car pulling out, an unseen pothole, a patch of gravel on the shoulder, a pack of javalina running into the road (or coyotes, take your pick), etc.. I suppose if the road were really smooth that number might rise a little but I have yet to find a smooth steep hill around here. BTW I hit this barrier at 100 on a motorcycle. Guess I am a lame- o. Perhaps this is because of past crashes. Luckily I have only had sprains and not broken bones, I did hit a car going 30 when I was young and more stupid (my bike racks were full of newspapers which exploded everythere when my rack clipped the car which suddenly stopped in front of us). I ended up flying through the air over my handlebars and landed about 15 feet down the road. My leg caught a truck bumper on the way.

I got up to 43 mph on a 6% downhill... it was nice jsut to coast a bit downhill, before the 10% uphill to my house...

Jeff

Are we talking road bikes or mountain bikes? Road bikes seem to have a perpensity for going faster than maountains. Anyways, i've been 42mph on a mountain bike on a long gradual decline that was straight, it's pretty weird "steering" that fast.

52.7 during a descent in a race. Otherwise I keep it under 40mph during training/fun rides. Sometimes if the road is straight I will go a bit faster, but the thought of something happening and causing a crash keeps me from doing somethign to dumb.

I hit 47mph on my MTB last year descending a 20% hill. Does not make up for the 5mph speed going up it for 8 miles.

Hit 62 MPH in 1997 going down from Newfound gap in the great smokey mountains National park for a short stretch. Had the 53/11 spun out as fast as my legs could turn and then tucked in and held on for the ride.

I have rarely gotten over 50 since then because it is so nerve racking. At that speed you start scanning the surface for any possible object that might blow a tire.

I hit 36 mph down a hill near my road. Now I feel left out.

Originally posted by SamDaBikinMan
I have rarely gotten over 50 since then because it is so nerve racking. At that speed you start scanning the surface for any possible object that might blow a tire.

And I imagine at that speed, by the time you identify the object as a threat, you're already past it, so there's no point. . . just fly and hope - LOL!

i'm novice bike rider... i've hit 45.1KM/h on the road... my first time on the road too...

i waited for red light... and went to the other side where no cars were... then just PEDALED like crazy... switched gears (i have 12 on this bike...) to the fastest one... looked at my computer... boom.. 40+KM/h.... i couldn't believe i was doing it... :eek:

edit: just learned how to read... this old bike is a Giant Perigee... dun ask how old... i've searched the net with no luck...

I hit 47mph ~78KPH a few weeks ago drafting behind a moving truck (not reccomended). I was able to hold that speed for only 3 miles, I was spent! I spun out at 158 rpm (52 / 13). I also over shot my turn off by a block and a half, i couldnt get the bike to slow down! :D

All time top speed was 58mph, coming down american fork canyon with a stiff tail wind.

58.8 MPH riding the off road tandem with my ex wife..... hmmmm

fastest speed (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?threadid=8870&perpage=15&pagenumber=1)

48 mph, was on a downhill of a local mtn here, would have gone faster but it was extremly windy that day and I decided it wasn't safe to go much faster than that :p

42mph downhill on my road bike on a back road in Lee County, SC
32mph on a flat in a paceline on Hilton Head Island, SC
35mph is the best I've ever got out of my MTB going down a bridge near Parris Island USMCRD

Originally posted by ChezJfrey
And I imagine at that speed, by the time you identify the object as a threat, you're already past it, so there's no point. . . just fly and hope - LOL!

Yes, hope and pray. To go fast on descents takes some big nuts like this little guy...

I got up to 44.6 mph going down a local hill on my last group ride. I'm new to the sport so thoughts of blowing a tire don't really enter my mind. I'm sure it will once I crash during a descent.

I once hit 51 MPH on an old Schwinn Circuit in a semi-residential area in San Clemente CA. I made a few passes of the same hill and that was the best I could attain. I don't have the nerve to go that fast again, but occassionally as I'm driving along in the minivan, I glance at the speedometer as it hits 51 MPH, a little grin appears on my face thinking about the good old days. Gino

My top speed is 47mph on my road bike.
Did I mention that it happened in the last turn before the finish of a race??? (the turn is at the bottom of a steep little hill) Needless to say it was an interesting sprint.

-Matt-

Oh yeah, I forgot to add, my computer showed a max. speed of 95km/h a couple of weeks back (almost 60mph), but there's no way I was riding anywhere near that fast at the time.

I'm chicken when it comes to speed.

I estimate my highest speed to be around 35 mph (about 56 km/h) downhill. When I start going too fast, I begin to touch the brakes.

47 mph on the Nantahala Skyway in North Carolina. Was still gaining speed, but did not want to start passing cars on that road.

I always think of downhills as dividends on the 'gravity tax' I paid climbing uphill.

According to the gentleman who took me to the emergency room, I was doing between 40-45mph on an extreme downhill when I was "tapped" by a car. To tell you the truth, the crash happened so fast, I think that it was all instinct in terms of my reaction.

I ended up with my posterior torn up (the nurse scrubbed pavement out of my rear for about an hour), my left palm torn down to the meaty part, and my left knee needing many stitches. I remember sliding on my butt, and attempting not to roll @ the speed I was scraping down the pavement. My helmet didn't even have a scratch.

I think that crashing on my mountain bike many times helped in my reaction, and perhaps saved me from being more seriously injured.

Bac, Did they get the guy who tapped you?!?

Originally posted by bac
... (the nurse scrubbed pavement out of my rear for about an hour)...

Aren't you glad you don't have THAT job.

Just did my fastest speed to date yesterday! From the purchase of my road bike over a year ago. 38. 4 MPH. And it "Scared the crap" out of me, I don`t think I want to go any faster on a bike, maybe i`m not brave enough,
Its amazing how sitting in a vehicle 38 MPH seems quite a modest speed, but on a bike it felt rocket propulstion, guess its all relevent.

35, but it was on a mountain bike and on the flat road

35 MPH that is.........

55mph on a bituminus (paved gravel) road outside of Helen, Ga.
I got out of my tuck to SLOW down. My handlebars were vibrating so much that I couldn't read my computer, I had to look at my max next time I stooped.

Invigorating.

37mph on just a straight hill with my uphill mountan bike which weighs practiacall nothing and was fishtailing the whole time. No joke guys, i had to lean back and keep the bottom down. I tapped the brake and the back would just float and i was on my front wheel the whole time. Very fun and at the same time i was scaring the **** out of me. Then there was that time that i was going 47 mph down loch raven around the turn and the bike was going to fast around the turn. It was a dry day and the dirt was very dry and not packed in..... i slid out and fell down the hill with the bike... man did that hurt.....i should have used my mongoose inferno sooner. now that i have it it is soooooo nice
i love it
aaron

I've hit 32 mph twice, and backed off. I feel inadequate. Although, I prefer a steep climb over a steep descent any day...

Originally posted by Bikedud
55mph on a bituminus (paved gravel) road outside of Helen, Ga.

Which road was that? We've had some blistering fast descents on the Tiger Loop out of Batesville and 6 Gap but -- thankfully -- those roads have pretty good asphalt.

Max speed I recall. 53 mph coming down a hill called Schearer's grade.. I looked at the ground moving below me. Convinced me...I usually top off at about 35 mph. Still pretty fast..When you think about impact.. I am one to set up sail to slow down and wear out my brakes and hands...

Recorded speed of 71km/h or 43mi/h on a Mountain bike, I lost contact with peddling at about 58km/h. so I rested my chin on the Stem and went for it.
I am unsure of the true max, My computer topped out at 51Km when set for "mountain", on a longer downhill.
Ill get back to you in June.

47mph - When I was living in Christchurch, New Zealand on Summit Road.

I had a front tire blowout at 40mph on Beaudry Rd. (fire rd) in Glendale,CA. I did manage to stay up. It scared the crap out me.

In Miami I ride on Key Biscayne. I can get up to 42mph coming off of the high bridge. That is where I run out of gear.

Originally posted by livngood
Which road was that? We've had some blistering fast descents on the Tiger Loop out of Batesville and 6 Gap but -- thankfully -- those roads have pretty good asphalt.

Don't have a clue. It was a county maintained road between Cleveland and Helen. We were on the 1988 Am. Lung Assoc. trek from Gainesville to Helen. It was a great ride.

Originally posted by Bikedud
Don't have a clue. It was a county maintained road between Cleveland and Helen. We were on the 1988 Am. Lung Assoc. trek from Gainesville to Helen. It was a great ride.

Kewl.

Did ~60 mph on a long decent down by Birmingham AL. Of course I was younger and much more fearless than I am now. I am lucky to have a lot of hills around here in Western New York so descents just sort of happen on a regular basis. Hit 38.4 mph today going north on Cole Rd. with a nice tail wind. Not a steep decent, but a long one. I am spoiled since hill training back in Indiana consisted of finding one hill and riding up and down like intervals. :D

41.7 mph on the MS150 last weekend. Road was still wet from fog, or I would have pushed it faster. It was tons o'fun.

Originally posted by Da Tinker
I always think of downhills as dividends on the 'gravity tax' I paid climbing uphill.

That's funny, I always thought it worked the other way. :D

Originally posted by willic

Its amazing how sitting in a vehicle 38 MPH seems quite a modest speed, but on a bike it felt rocket propulstion, guess its all relevent.

And relative, too. :D

It's amazing how much of a difference the wind in your face makes. I don't know how some of those motorcyclists do it sometimes.

Fastest I hit was 85 kmh. That's what, 52 mph?.

It felt smooth as butter, the road was in great shape. I've done 70 kmh on a rougher road and it felt much faster.

I used to draft trucks at 50 kmh in the city but I was young and stupid. I once even drafted a tractor with a big grass cutting rig folded up into a triangle at 50 kmh in the rain. I think that was probably the stupidest thing I've ever done on a bike.

Originally posted by closetbiker
I used to draft trucks at 50 kmh in the city but I was young and stupid

Whenever I get the chance I draft off the school bus going to school. The only chance I get to do this is on the same road my school is on, where there are about 6 schools within the space of 800m. I usually draft at 45km/hr+. Crazy, I know, but I'm 16 and still stupid :rolleyes:

Sam.