"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - 110 km/hour

That's 68+ mph. That's how fast Lance said the boys were descending @ the Giro today.

Whoah.

Start the pissing match!!

meh, thats nowhere near as fast as they should be going...I mean, they are professionals.

Hmmm. That is fast. Makes 50 mph seem kinder pokey.

Would suck to have a wheel come apart at 68 mph, ja?

At least you can't attribute that speed to doping.

That would put my kinetic energy at about 45,000 joules.

My heat shields are only rated for about 30,000.

What bicycle warp factor is 110km/hour?

http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Academy/4460/sounds/plaid.wav

^^^

Oooooh wow that totally made my day!!
:roflmao2::roflmao2::roflmao2:

110 km/h?

i'd hit it, if i could.

And their carbon frames didn't spontaneously explode?

From twitter
"We had a fast downhill in the middle of the stage and we were comparing top speeds, heard JJ Haedo hit 117kph!! That's 72.7mph to be exact."

I'd need a fresh set of bib shorts.

I still want to break 100 km/hr before I die... hopefully not right before.

From twitter
"We had a fast downhill in the middle of the stage and we were comparing top speeds, heard JJ Haedo hit 117kph!! That's 72.7mph to be exact."

and that's probably in the scary, hands on the tops, chin on the stem position. I'd hate to get a wobble in that hand hold, no leverage.

Hi,

From Eurosport (http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/14052009/58/giro-d-italia-scarponi-powers-maiden-victory.html):

The 37-year-old American, who is considering taking over his struggling Astana team, was shocked by the speed.

"At one point today we reached 110 kmph. That's almost 70 mph. Crazy!" he told his Twitter feed.

"Not sure that's necessary really. Tomorrow is the same kind of finish. It's bike racing, not MotoGP."

Back before bike computers, I was racing in the first Empire State Games and the NY State Troopers at the bottom of the descent said that we were hitting 65+ MPH on every lap (per their radar). Since the advent of computers with max speed memory I have never had a speed greater than 52 MPH.

This does beg the question, was lance Twittering on his Blackberry during the race while actually going 110km/hour? Now that would be impressive.

Levi twitter

"Got some ?s about what we think of going 70mph. Think about 15lb bike, 2mm thick lycra and the 190 other guys inches away! no mistakes pls"

Dang. I just broke my record today with 55.8 mph in a 50 zone. :innocent: Of course that was with a nice tailwind and in the full tuck position. I'd love to hit 60+ mph at some point, it's just a matter of finding a nice, smooth, steep downhill. Bike felt very stable at 55, no twitches except some wind gusts.

I've gone 62mph down the back side of the Galibier (French Alps).
No helmet, cars going both ways and a corner fast approaching.
WTF are we thinking when we're younger???

JJ hitting 72mph in a group is frightening to even daydream about.

40 mph on a bicycle feels like Warp Factor 9. 50 mph feels like Warp Factor 12.

I can't even imagine what adding 20 mph to that 50 would feel like. My sphincter puckers at the notion. The odd thing is that on a nice day on Black Meadow Road down here, when I can see either side of the road (i.e. when I'm sure a deer won't run out in front of me) and I juice my motorcycle throttle, I find myself doing 70 mph with some regularity.

My motorcycle doesn't have 700c tires and it weighs 700 lbs, not 15. Oh, and it has disc brakes that actually stop the bike. You can't stop on a bicycle going 50+ mph. Try it some time. Let me know how that works out for you.

40 mph on a bicycle feels like Warp Factor 9. 50 mph feels like Warp Factor 12.

I can't even imagine what adding 20 mph to that 50 would feel like. My sphincter puckers at the notion. The odd thing is that on a nice day on Black Meadow Road down here, when I can see either side of the road (i.e. when I'm sure a deer won't run out in front of me) and I juice my motorcycle throttle, I find myself doing 70 mph with some regularity.

My motorcycle doesn't have 700c tires and it weighs 700 lbs, not 15. Oh, and it has disc brakes that actually stop the bike. You can't stop on a bicycle going 50+ mph. Try it some time. Let me know how that works out for you.

Hitting 40 mph on my bike has started feeling oddly mundane. There are plenty of hills, races and weekly group ride around here where those speeds are achieved on a weekly basis, so after a while it becomes disappointing rather than thrilling to click the cycling computer over to "MAX. SPEED" and see 44.01 mph. I mean, c'mon, where are the really BIG numbers? I hit 38.13 mph on a group ride the other day. Can I get a "meh."

I'm not saying this to brag, I'm saying it because I think it's a little weird and possibly creepy (but maybe not) to see how experience breeds familiarity with such a ludicrously insane behavior as bombing down narrow, winding roads, well above the speed limit, whilst on a flimsy machine with questionable traction, unquestionably worthless brakes and all this while wearing nothing more substantial than cotton briefs and an A-shirt. After a while, this even becomes "fun." What I mean is, everything that Levi says about descending at 70 mph still applies at 40 and even at 30 mph. Yeah, it's magnified at higher speeds, but losing the plot at any speed that you might expect to drive in a car is bound to be an utter suck-fest. If you have a bike without any nasty high-speed habits, the actual risk of crashing when descending at 70 - though the thought of descending at that speed is indeed terrifying, - is probably no greater than it is at 50. But the potential consequences... that's a different matter. I mean, it's easy to see how, after crossing that barrier without anything awful happening, you feel okay and keep going. But then you look at the speedo, see "68" and, well: :twitchy:

I love how the media is now quoting celebrities' twitter feeds in almost every article about them.

My goal in life is to get a speeding ticket on my bicycle......

Great thread. I believe I read that Sean Kelly was once "radared" at the TdF doing 120kph on a descent. WAAAAAAAAAY beyond what I would ever do.

Video game speeds.

I have ridden in excess of 240 kmh on my motorcycle... that was easy.

Descending on a road bike at 90 kmh... scary.

Descending in twisty single track that is bordered by bike eating trees at 40-50 kmh... is madness.

117 kmh on a bike... insane.

That's 68+ mph. That's how fast Lance said the boys were descending @ the Giro today.

Whoah.

i've hit 60, following a trusty wheel, on a long, long, long, long straight descent.

that the pros hit higher speeds isn't much of a surprise. those guys handle their bikes better than a hibachi chef.

And their carbon frames didn't spontaneously explode?

No but they went backwards in time a little.

that the pros hit higher speeds isn't much of a surprise. those guys handle their bikes better than a hibachi chef.

They also have fine tuned, stable equipment.
The slightest wobble at anything over 50mph becomes nasty quick if your bike is not "pro".

My goal in life is to get a speeding ticket on my bicycle......

Come to DC. Police sometimes give tickets out in Arlington Cemetery. The limit is 15 mph.

At the La Primavera in Lago Vista (fairly big TX race) there is a steep downhill section. We were hitting 50+ on every lap. What sucked is that the gully we were descending into was acting as a funnel for the crazy 40mph winds we had that day, so at one point we were doing 50mph and got blasted with a 30-40mph crosswind that moved the entire peloton uniformly over a couple of feet to the left. Talk about clinching your cheeks... Come to think of it I did break my saddle that day... :D

Hitting 70mph is nuts - esp considering some of the roads they were doing it on. Can't believe there were no wrecks.

My goal in life is to get a speeding ticket on my bicycle......

I've gotten one. I was 15 years old and got a ticket for going 32mph in a 25. Early Sunday morning, no traffic. The officer came behind me and flashed lights and beeped the siren. I assumed he wanted to go around me, so I just pulled over to the side and kept rolling, but he kept slowing too. Finally, he yells at me through the PA, "You on the bicycle, pull over."

His first question to me was "Can I see your driver's license."

"Ummm, I'm not old enough to drive. And do I need one to ride a bike?" He's not amused. I get the ticket and he tells me to stay within the speed limit.