I find it difficult to get past ~130 running 53x16, on the road/track.

On the rollers I'm likely getting over 180, can't say for sure w/o a computer though.

one of my coaches, Chris Deirdorf maxed out at 200 the other day.

he has legs like a horse!

On the track, 150ish with an 86 gear.

On the rollers, 190 or so with a 47 X 13.

Downhill on the road, 42 X 20 fixed, somewhere past 220. When you get going that fast, you've got to be applying power to keep the bike on the ground even as you apply the brakes.

car: 10,500rpm (i<3honda)
bike: i dunno.. powertap only goes to 141rpm

I once spun on an exercise bike with an RPM counter and I got up to 225. I'm not sure if it was accurate though, and I could only do it in one or two second bursts.

Ummmm, what kind of gearing are you all running? My road race on Saturday saw me to 244rpm. I know that track sprinters get going to very high rpm's, around the same or higher.

i don't have a computer, so i never really know my cadence. i've never looked at a watch and counted my pedal strokes, either, so i can't even have accurate ballpark guesses. i do know that i tend to have a fairly high cadence. i assume i max out around 150 or 160. i've probably gotten higher, around 180, but how am i to know? i don't really care, and tend to just rely on body feedback. on the track, that's, crap i'm spinning out this is fast my lungs hurt.

on the road, that's, crap i'm spinning out this hill is really steep i hope that light stays green.

during goldsprints, it's, crap, this hurts. holy ****! no thinking. just spinning.

wine.

Ummmm, what kind of gearing are you all running? My road race on Saturday saw me to 244rpm. I know that track sprinters get going to very high rpm's, around the same or higher.

rpm X gear/336 = mph

rpm = mph X 336/gear

So, 244 = 40 (?) X 336/gear

gear = 40 X 336/244 = 55 inches.

Shift up, dude!

Ummmm, what kind of gearing are you all running? My road race on Saturday saw me to 244rpm. I know that track sprinters get going to very high rpm's, around the same or higher.

Is that a typo? 244 seems impossibly hard to maintain for more than a few seconds. That's 4 revolutions per second!

wine.

yes!!! preferably of the red variety.

yes!!! preferably of the red variety.

that was pretty much the situation when i basically did the main rambling type of reply, above.

i max out around 133, but that's equal to my age + 80, which is the accepted formula.

Is that a typo? 244 seems impossibly hard to maintain for more than a few seconds. That's 4 revolutions per second!



yes!!! preferably of the red variety.
I could take a screenshot of my PowerAgent file if you'd like. At the end of the season last year I was focusing on high rpm's, descending in a climbing gear, and climbing in a descending gear. It wasn't unusual for me to get to 230rpm; this race I was in a good gear for jumping in a sprint, and I did shift.

I could take a screenshot of my PowerAgent file if you'd like. At the end of the season last year I was focusing on high rpm's, descending in a climbing gear, and climbing in a descending gear. It wasn't unusual for me to get to 230rpm; this race I was in a good gear for jumping in a sprint, and I did shift.

And yet the math of it runs against you. Review my previous post. Were you running at a speed that would give you an 11.25 flying 200, and were you doing it in a 39 X 19? Unless it was downhill, roadies don't go that fast the first weekend in May.

I could take a screenshot of my PowerAgent file if you'd like. At the end of the season last year I was focusing on high rpm's, descending in a climbing gear, and climbing in a descending gear. It wasn't unusual for me to get to 230rpm; this race I was in a good gear for jumping in a sprint, and I did shift.


Poweragent? You are aware of the PowerTap tendency to double count cadence right?

leg speed with no resistance and leg speed on the move are two differant things. Most sprinters can rev over 180 no issue when behind or coming off a motor. On rollers 200 RPM is also very realistic. The ability to do that doesnt nesessarily make you able to do that in a race but it does give you a very smooth and quick pedal stroke.

To be able to spin up specific gearing at faster cadences requires strengh. Example - If you make a 47x14 go 65kph, and a 48x14 has the same speed you need strenth in your training.

leg speed with no resistance and leg speed on the move are two differant things. Most sprinters can rev over 180 no issue when behind or coming off a motor. On rollers 200 RPM is also very realistic. The ability to do that doesnt nesessarily make you able to do that in a race but it does give you a very smooth and quick pedal stroke.

To be able to spin up specific gearing at faster cadences requires strengh. Example - If you make a 47x14 go 65kph, and a 48x14 has the same speed you need strenth in your training.

+1

there is some confusion in this thread, as the title is rpm max, while it seems that what people are really looking at is speed max in a certain gear. i am certainly not a sprinter, but on trainers/rollers, i can easily hold 200rpm for 15 or more seconds with light to moderate resistance. all that means is that i have the ability to spin my legs fast, not that i will sprint fast (and trust me, that isn't the case;)).

yes - the old school way to get max rpm was to get on a stationary trainer with NO chain attached and get a cadence count for 5 to 10 seconds (depending on count method - human or computerised) and then multiply up. I think I remember hearing that Gary Neiwand could hold around 297 that way for a little while.

The contention I think is that there is NO WAY that someone is going to intentionally max out at over 200 in a road sprint, unless it was on a road going to the centre of the earth. The only other way is if a top road sprinter had a mechanical and was stuck in a low gear (ZAP Mavic anyone?)

Electing to do this when you have bigger gears (and everyone around you is riding about 40 to 50 inches more than you) though? no way.

Poweragent? You are aware of the PowerTap tendency to double count cadence right?

Yeah, I feel like an ass now. I got another count of 244 rpm's yesterday. However I do trust that my computer was reading right when I got a high of 213 in a training crit on Tuesday. Anyways, sorry, and thanks for the info about the PT.

sorry man - just read my comments and they were unnecessarily harsh. (I did have a fever at the time though! sitting at home with tonsilitis and bronchitis :-) )