General Cycling Discussion - is 39MPH to fast?

I hit a nice downgrade today on my Trek FX 7.3. Before i knew it i was about to hit 40MPH, when i got a little nervous. The bike didnt wobble, or go crazy or anything..some vibration of course. It's 24 speed, I tucked my knees.

is this stupid? The bike is pretty new..i think it will be ok, but it would sure be a bummer to wipe out at 40mph

SEARCH entire forum for title only "descent." I think sum1 says he hit 68 mph.


There are hills in Las Vegas?!! :eek:

yes we are in a valley. The strip is low elevation about 1500ft. Where i live it is above 2300 feet westward all the way up Charleston blvd to Red rock..and vice versa away from the strip east bound it goes up to around 2300 ft. So either way you go for about 9-10 miles from either east or west...it will be down hill towards the STRIP. Same for south or north, though north is more level ground all the way down.

not so much hills, just one very large descent in any given direction, it's very subtle, maybe 2% grade.

i got this speed out near lake mead and boulder city, with a very steep incline.

Nevada has some of the best mtn biking around, although i don't mtn bike.

i was only curious, if this type of bike could stand those sorts of speeds..or should it be left to a good road bike only.

That's just a matter of personal judgment. It's like driving your car 90 mph, is it safe or not? Personally, I'm a chicken and if I wanted to ride motorcycle speeds, I'd want motorcycle wheels under me and a motorcycle helmet and leathers. So I try to hold it down on the descents. But lots of people enjoy going down them fast.

I don't know that the style of bike makes that much difference. A bike intended for speed is going to be lighter than others, not necessarily stronger. On the Worksman site, they show industrial cruiser bikes being used to descend the volcano in Maui (bus takes you up, you coast down on a bike). And those bikes are about as unroadbikish as you can get.

I have hit 45 -50 regularly..... my max was 54.9 coming of Teton Pass going into Jackson Hole...

that sure beats the 5 mph on the way up

I hit a nice downgrade today on my Trek FX 7.3. Before i knew it i was about to hit 40MPH, when i got a little nervous. The bike didnt wobble, or go crazy or anything..some vibration of course. It's 24 speed, I tucked my knees.

is this stupid? The bike is pretty new..i think it will be ok, but it would sure be a bummer to wipe out at 40mph
40 mph isn't bad, just stick with good brands of (flat-resistant) tires and watch out for rim-destroying pot-holes. I find I need goggles at much above 35 mph.

This sort of thing is a lot safer with a good full-suspension MTB than a road bike, and it would be stupid to try on a silly-featherweight-carbon-flexy road bike.

Here's a widely-circulated story about a lady clocked doing 68 mph into Scottsdale:
http://www.rockhillbikes.com/arizona-woman-charged-with-going-68-in-a-45-zone-on-her-bike
I saw another article where she said that she rode into work in the morning because it was almost all coasting downhill, but her husband picked her up with a car in the evening because she couldn't make the return (uphill) trip in a practical amount of time.
~

I've gone 35mph on a hybrid before, when the bike started to feel wobbly and unsafe. I decided that's just about as fast as I want to go on a bike.

This sort of thing is a lot safer with a good full-suspension MTB than a road bike, and it would be stupid to try on a silly-featherweight-carbon-flexy road bike.



It's a lot harder to get up to speed on a full suspension bike, but I've done close to 60MPH on both road and MTBs.

Key: Good brakes.

Fastest I've ever gone is about 36 or 38mph. Downhill while touring. Above 35 I get a bit nervous.

fastest I've gone is 80kph, or 50mph.

Had to slow down because I had 1 front pannier on and it caused an aerodynamic wobble.

If doing this regularly, I would be careful to check tires, brakes etc, carefully.

on my old commute I regularly got above 40mph (max was 44) on the last hill on my way home. the old road bike that I commute on gets more and more stable the faster you go, its bound to get me in trouble some day!

I hit 52 on my Motobecane Mirage 10 speed during my first RAGBRAI. It's all what you're comfortable doing. I've also hit the wrong bump at 40 and pinched flatted. Luckily it just slowly went down instead of blowing.

I hit a nice downgrade today on my Trek FX 7.3. Before i knew it i was about to hit 40MPH, when i got a little nervous. The bike didnt wobble, or go crazy or anything..some vibration of course. It's 24 speed, I tucked my knees.

is this stupid? The bike is pretty new..i think it will be ok, but it would sure be a bummer to wipe out at 40mph


"To fast" is when you overdrive your brakes and the design limits of your frame. It's stupid
to "speed" when you don't know these limits. Remember, your skull isn't designed for much
past walking speed.

Wheeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course, if you wipe out, it's a bummer. But if you ride near cars, you've no guarantee that one of you would ram into you and accelerate you to the same speed. That doesn't stop you from riding though, does it?

is this stupid? The bike is pretty new..i think it will be ok, but it would sure be a bummer to wipe out at 40mph
Then DON'T. With a reasonable maintained bike, IMO, it's more on the skill of the rider than the hardware. If yer hesitant, the battle is already lost.

Seen those extremely skiers tacking what look like impossibly steep hills? On occasions, I've tried what's steeper than what am normally comfortable with. I've found if I hesitate, it makes matter worse, on ocassions when I've been able to "let go" the run turned out to be fine.

Well sure, it's not "if" yer gonna wipe, is matter of "when." So ur choice. Is this simple tranportation or yer gonna push it a little (push = always means risk, and potential FUN). And needless to say, ur helmet is well fitted. and ur insurance is up to date? :)

cool well this was out at redrock, not in town at least. I would never go that fast in town.

It was fun, I suppose if i hit a pothole or had a blowout i could bail out into the dirt in time, or hit pavement =[ Come to think of it i will slow down

I hit a nice downgrade today on my Trek FX 7.3. Before i knew it i was about to hit 40MPH, when i got a little nervous. The bike didnt wobble, or go crazy or anything..some vibration of course. It's 24 speed, I tucked my knees.

is this stupid? The bike is pretty new..i think it will be ok, but it would sure be a bummer to wipe out at 40mph

I hit low to mid 40's regularly when riding the hills of Southern Ohio. Getting nervous is a good thing, it means your senses are in a higher state of awareness and you are concentrating more on the task at hand.

I've done about 35-40 on a mtn bike coming off of Red Rocks.

Actually, the mtn bike or hybrid is going to feel more solid than a road bike.

It's all up to you. Speed has its fun and its dangers.

You just have to make a choice. I wouldn't do it where there is any gravel or road bumps or potholes!

speed is where it's at.

i can't say i've gone as fast as you guys, though. maybe i'm just a wiener and can't pump it? i think i've hit a max of a little over 60km/h. not too many hills 'round where i live, and the ones that ARE around me and relatively short... so it's hard to build up the speed. i haven't tried this season to break any top speed records, though.

i find riding fast is what makes road riding exciting! i'm comfortable with speed until i'm going over 55km/h, and then i start to focus in a little more. if i'm wearing my spandex, i'm comfortable around 60km/h too (i just find that with street clothes, that when the wind hits you, it knocks the bajeezus out of you!).

Try mountain biking... i think that might be why i'm comfortable with the speeds. i find it a lot more intense doing 35 through a tight single track with trees on either side than doing 60 on an open road.

I've hit 40 on my mtb and 43 on my road bike. The mtb felt much safer, but it was more fun on the road bike. I suppose you've just got to accept that you could get messed up pretty bad if you were to go down... That said, I'm concerned more with cars than crashing @ speed. As long as your bike is in tune and you can handle your steed, I wouldn't worry. Just watch out for obstacles.

40 mph isn't bad, just stick with good brands of (flat-resistant) tires and watch out for rim-destroying pot-holes. I find I need goggles at much above 35 mph.

This sort of thing is a lot safer with a good full-suspension MTB than a road bike, and it would be stupid to try on a silly-featherweight-carbon-flexy road bike.

Here's a widely-circulated story about a lady clocked doing 68 mph into Scottsdale:
http://www.rockhillbikes.com/arizona-woman-charged-with-going-68-in-a-45-zone-on-her-bike
I saw another article where she said that she rode into work in the morning because it was almost all coasting downhill, but her husband picked her up with a car in the evening because she couldn't make the return (uphill) trip in a practical amount of time.
~

A Silly road bike absolutely screams on a downhill. ;) I routinely top 50MPH on a couple of the the little hills here in the Wabash Valley. :D

Well, some people can descend pretty safely at high speeds. I am really not comfortable going much over 40 mph on a descent. Like you, I think of the consequences of falling at high speed. Generally, if you are not comfortable doing something, it probably is not a good idea doing it. Going beyond your comfort space makes one more prone to accidents. Now many people can descend at very high speeds safely (over 50 mph). But it never appealed to me. This is supposed to be fun.

This is really eye-opening. I'd always thought that most bikes would burst into flames at speeds above 40mph. Unless it's raining hard.

Young, dumb, and full of ***. This story is about 20 yrs old now.

The fastest I've been was 90-110 kph drafting a transport truck in the wee hours of the night. I held the draft for about 5 km or so. A very weird experience indeed. I was down in the drops (waiting for the slightest hint of tail lights.), 'spinning' my largest gear, and still having time to pause and coast for a sec or two. It was 'quiet'. I could hear the motor on the truck, the truck tires on the road, the clicking of my freewheel, and light laboured breathing. Amazing.

Then I remembered the railroad tracks that were on this strip of highway (the warning flash from this almost caused me to panic as I didn't know exactly were I was in relation to the tracks. A pause off of the peddling and a feather to the brakes, and I started to break out of the slipstream. That is when the speed/air became a real issue. I was being pushed from both sides and the front by huge turbulent waves of air. Just as I slowed to normal speeds I came up on the tracks. A thrilling ride, but a real close call.

Riding 'windless' is an experience that is hard to beat or repeat. Risking turning myself into hamburger at 2 am 'JUST GOES WITH OUT SAYING', is ONE of the many stupid things that I've done while riding.

lol. I'm scared coming down a hill at 15mph. I brake brake brake brake my way down the hill. Especially since there are speed bumps toward the bottom.

I'm scared going 20mph flat next to cars w/o a bike lane. Well nto actually..just because this street has some crazy un evenness and little holes and cracks.

I've hit 65mph on a mountain bike with zero pedaling, it was a very very steep hill, but not very long. i did it once and lived to tell the story, i will not do it again, at least on that road :D it was the most thrilling thing i ever done on a bike and yet the stupidest.


if anyone is considering going fast, just remember that the more speed you have, the harder it will be slow down! also, ride the hill a few times prior to going all out to check for safety hazards that may not appear the first ride or two...

"also, ride the hill a few times prior to going all out to check for safety hazards that may not appear the first ride or two... "

One of the steeper hills near my house has a stop sign at the bottom. No problem for me, as I went up it, not down, but the kind of thing to watch for.

49 mph going in to Trail Ohio this morning, friends on a tandem beat me to the sign doing 54.

I've hit 40 on my mtb

Definately not safe with knobbies.

I can hit 40 mph on descents here despite the fact we have no hills :rolleyes:

Fastest I ever went was 90 kmh / 55 mph on my old Nishiki road bike and then I ran out of hill... that was totally insane.

Hitting 40 on flat ground is far more impressive.

Some bikes are more steady then others. I have better luck with touring bikes. A straighter road with a long run-out is nice so you do not risk flipping over the handlebars when you hit the brakes. Fresh brakes pads are good too. I have smoked two sets of pads at altitude in Colorado. Winds whether natural or from passing vehicles are bad. At extreme speeds with faired recumbents aerodynamics can flip you sideways into a roll or lift you off of the ground.

I've hit 65mph on a mountain bike with zero pedaling, it was a very very steep hill, but not very long. i did it once and lived to tell the story, i will not do it again, at least on that road :D it was the most thrilling thing i ever done on a bike and yet the stupidest.


if anyone is considering going fast, just remember that the more speed you have, the harder it will be slow down! also, ride the hill a few times prior to going all out to check for safety hazards that may not appear the first ride or two...

good point to ride the downhill first before going ape **** on it on the second pass down.