Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - →→→!¡!The how fast can you spin thread!¡!←←←

Saw this video of Japanese Keirin riders practicing sprints. Insane cadence!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVbwngNoHm0

How fast can you spin? Outrageous claims video proof please!

FTR. I can only max out at about 120-130 I think.:(

i walk my bike everywhere so people can see it's fixed. i dont know what a cadence is. it's a company right?

FTR. I can only max out at about 120-130 I think. here's 120 or so.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_fyjwUVi3I

i'm pretty sure you can go faster than that. i mean, if you think about it logically, 120rpm is 2 pedal strokes per second. that's not fast by any stretch.

i'm kinda curious to see how fast i sprint on rollers. it feels decently fast, but i don't have a video camera to see.

i certainly don't look as calm and smooth as the guy in that video though. subtract speed, add shaking, pain, sweat, and fattiness and you have me haha

My ratio is 44/18. My max speed has been 28.5mph, which works out to 146rpm.

I max out at around 140 but it's not very smooth.

fastest i've gone is 34mph with 50/18 gearing. duno what that cadence is.

ok so, it's about 155rpm.

not sustained for very long.

http://www.bikecalc.com/cadence_at_speed
166RPM

My best (not on rollers, but on a hill) was 192rpm, give or take. I hit a max speed on my computer of 42.42mph on 48x17 gearing. I might have sustained that amazitude for all of about 20-30 seconds. But hey, that puts me in the lead so far, right?

52kph on a 46/16 143

164 rpm. 35 mph on 46/17. big hill.

Damn that guy spins so smooth.

Having no speedometer on my bike, I can only guess that my top speed is around 30ish. According to that chart, I think that puts me around 140. I would like to find out more precisely, but I don't have any means.

69.
His bike is #69.

I got a computer a couple weeks ago, since then I have hit 36mph down some hills at 66.6 GI. On the flats I have sprinted to a little over 30 mph. Those weren't very long sprints.


No video, no camcorder :(



[edit] ok so with http://www.bikecalc.com/cadence_at_speed

I've gone around 176rpm, but that's where my legs begin to feel like noodles. At least now I have a reason, other than masochism, to climb the big hills on the fixed gear.

I didn't say I was a good spinner, but I aspire to be good. I have just been working on average speeds, so riding a long distance with a pretty good cadence. I "cruise" around 90-95. I haven't tried pushing my cadence for a while. And can't at the moment because I am waiting for my new bike to come.

I don't have a computer because all it is going to tell me is how slow I am

I don't have a computer because all it is going to tell me is how slow I am

:thumb:

ive got at least 80rpm.

there was a top speed thread a while back kind of like this.

I peak at 189. 48x17t @42mph

Man... I need a camera or computer cause I've been wondering this about myself for a while now. I'm guessing not much faster than 120 ... :/

42/17 I've hit 30mph over 150rpm though not smooth at all. My legs were kind of dragged along for the ride. For me right now anything over 120rpm isn't controlled

http://www.bikecalc.com/cadence_at_speed
166RPM

Using this link, at 46x17 I've done 39.5mph, which looks to be just south of 189rpm. I'm almost daily hitting 30-33mph (due to some big rolling hills across Toronto) on my commute now, which is 141rpm.

Though I changed to 46x16 last week, I can't remember what my cadences have been in those hills.

I've gotten to about 180-190 on the rollers before. On my big ring I was doing around 40 mph. I could only hold that for about 30 sec them I was cooked.

I can probably hit 115 rpm on the flats in Chicago without wind assist on my 48x17. I usually cruise at 85 or 90 rpm, and I've never taken a fixie on a big hill so I have no idea. I feel like these crazy numbers you guys are getting on hills aren't exactly the question since your legs are along for the ride at however fast the inertia of the bike bombs down the hill.

I can probably hit 115 rpm on the flats in Chicago without wind assist on my 48x17. I usually cruise at 85 or 90 rpm, and I've never taken a fixie on a big hill so I have no idea. I feel like these crazy numbers you guys are getting on hills aren't exactly the question since your legs are along for the ride at however fast the inertia of the bike bombs down the hill.

this isn't how it works. if you try to just relax your legs and "take them along for the ride" either

1. you're already at / getting to a high cadence and you start bouncing all over your seat like a crazy person and losing control of your bike as well as slowing down

2. you slow down, because the weight of your legs is resisting the pedals.

the "along for the ride" method is actually a good way to slow down if you're tired. you just relax your legs and let the cranks push them along, and you'll naturally slow down.

your legs are surprisingly heavy. they definitely weigh more than your track bike. the only time the inertia of the bike would override the inertia of your legs would be if you weighed 15-20 lbs. total.

I guess that's true that keeping a smooth cadence with good form down a hill without slowing down from the weight of your legs requires control. I'll stand by my assertion that it's a totally different benchmark though.

I feel like these crazy numbers you guys are getting on hills aren't exactly the question since your legs are along for the ride at however fast the inertia of the bike bombs down the hill.

Spinning down a hill (in a controlled way) is comparable to spinning on rollers. Is it the exact same benchmark?...no, but its similar. I've spun up to 190 rpm (based on my gearing at the time, about 45mph) going down hill. You still have to be able to spin that fast to get to that speed, at least on the hills I ride, you can't coast a bike much over 30mph. You can only get up to that speed by being able to push the pedals and retain a smooth spin at that cadence.

I have hit 190 rpms, but I don't consider myself a badass or anything. I don't think people who report their max cadence in the low hundreds have ever really tried. 120 rpms is two circles per second...thats nothing. You can't measure you max cadence by riding on a flat surface unless you have a really low gear...your speed will top out long before your ability to spin will. You have to try on a hill or rollers where either there is no wind resistance or it is negated by gravity.

i spin my barz like 300 rpm

Probably something like 140-145.

Hit something a little over 30mph with 46x17

In the range of 140-150, 48x16, flat ground.

I've hit 30 plus on flat gound with my current set up. 48/18 with 23c armadillos pumped to 115 psi. I figure that is around 160 rmp, for sure not uber smooth.

i walk my bike everywhere so people can see it's fixed. i dont know what a cadence is. it's a company right?

Wait, is this a joke? I cannot tell. :twitchy:

so, according to my computer and gps, i rode 53-58kph for 40something seconds (i was racing a car cause i was bored)
with a 46/18 that puts me at a solid controlled 170. no bouncing, no along for hte ride, actually keeping up the speed. i was ****ign shocked when i did the calculations. thats way better than a few weeks ago. all this big cog spinning has helped me get smoother

164 rpm on rollers with 49x15 gearing at 42mph. I can't hold the bike steady beyond that point.

Wait, is this a joke? I cannot tell. :twitchy:

no, i mean, who rides bikes anyways? kids. i ain't no kid.

but the american eagle window display had a fixed gear in it, so i figured it would accessorize my collection perfectly.


in all seriousness i gotta throw my computer on later and hop on the rollers to get a number

OVER 9000 rpm

Before I switched out to single speed I put my gearing on the lowest (34x27) and went 19mph @ 188rpm. Thats what my Cateye Double Wireless told me and the bike calc has it around that estimate. only sustained that for 20 seconds or so @ max and my legs felt very wobbly after....

But I routinely go 100-110rpm and average 26 mph with the Caad9 in single speed and the gearing is 50x14 which the bike calc says I should be going faster or I'm actually spinning slower... maybe not real world numbers from that thing....

169 rpm at 33mph on 45/18.

But I routinely go 100-110rpm and average 26 mph with the Caad9 in single speed and the gearing is 50x14 which the bike calc says I should be going faster or I'm actually spinning slower... maybe not real world numbers from that thing....

You pound 94 gear inches? Is this on a track?

OVER 9000 rpm

Beast!!!!!!

OP video reminds me of this. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJJW7EF5aVk)
I've hit about 32mph with a 40/14 ratio. No idea what cadence that was, but people looked at me funny.

37 mph on 48/17 for 168 rpm

You pound 94 gear inches? Is this on a track?

This is for my commuter bike...

http://media.use.com/images/s_4/070594fdd6744907e56a.jpg (http://www.use.com/070594fdd6744907e56a)
http://media.use.com/images/s_4/20eef71b5c3d6f8ab7f3.jpg (http://www.use.com/20eef71b5c3d6f8ab7f3)

Yes, I know I spit out crazy numbers (compared to most commuters), but it is what it is. I wouldn't be able to ride with that gearing unless it was fast.. my knees would have blown out long ago!

just went about 160 i think. it was pretty fast but i know i can go faster. ill see about maybe getting a computer cause i'm kinda interested to see how fast i can spin.

i wasnt on fixed though. i dont have a fixed gear right now. it was downhill, in 42/16.

But I routinely go 100-110rpm and average 26 mph with the Caad9 in single speed and the gearing is 50x14 which the bike calc says I should be going faster or I'm actually spinning slower... maybe not real world numbers from that thing....

Hey CyciumX, are you getting your numbers while on rollers or a trainer, or from riding outside? Rabbit and I (I being bikecalc (http://bikecalc.com) :)) use slightly different tire sizes, but we both agree that 50x14 at 100 rpm is around 27.8 mph and 110 is 30+.

I think the math is right, but from the mathy point of view, even an occasional very slight lowering of your cadence will noticeably lower your average speed.

I'm just sayin....

I don't think bike calc is good for real world numbers. I only judge these stats from a Cateye Double Wireless... it shows my cadence and my speed. Now the cataye has proven to be accurate through real world testing of time and distance calculations so I can only assume subtle forces of hill-climb, traffic, stopping, going and wind are a factor. I can faithfully say that when I reach around 32mph my cadence is at 121.... I really don't know the finality... both number systems aside its pretty clear going 26mph is around 100 rpm... and that's how I do my commute.

OVER 9000 rpm

http://johngibbonscomedy.com/images/over9000.jpg

I only judge these stats from a Cateye Double Wireless... it shows my cadence and my speed. Now the cataye has proven to be accurate through real world testing of time and distance calculations so I can only assume subtle forces of hill-climb, traffic, stopping, going and wind are a factor

Ok, that makes total sense. BikeCalc is giving you an instantaneous number, ie, at the exact moment that you are going N mph in gear ratio X with wheels of total diameter Y you MUST be using Cadence Z.

Once you add time and distance (actually go on a ride) there's no way for it to tell you average cadence from average speed. As you say, hill, stops, etc all have an effect. The calculators are only useful for figuring out your cadence at a specific speed at a single point on time.

The spanner in the works is wheel diameter. BikeCalc thinks it knows your wheel size and so does your Cateye. Differences in those numbers account for the differences in results.