Fifty Plus (50+) - Speed Deflation - How Slow Can You Go?

Riding around the park with my son yesterday (he was riding his 3 wheeler), I was averaging 1.5 to 2.0 mph for a full mile, with speeds as slow as 1 mph for about 60 feet. Can anyone beat that?

And, please be careful - no false claims of speed deflation allowed.

Next time out with my grandson (riding sidewalks) I'll have to boot up the GPS. Riding with toe straps/clips has it's advantages :lol:

Posted in the wrong Thread so deleted my previous posting.

But many years ago I took my daughter on a long organised ride that had a hill in it. Mainly flat but there was this hill and it looked like a mountain from all the flat ground around it. Daughter was about 15 and I told her we were going up the hill and she was not going to walk. She did not walk but she did get a bit annoyed when a rider came past her--Pushing his bike. I was struggling to keep the bike upright at the slow speed she was going at.

Here in Bangkok it is common practice for a builder to drive all his employees to and from work in the back of his pick up like animals. I have often stopped behind one of these vehicles. When these workers realise that I have stopped but haven't put a foot down they are surprized.

But I do have to add that I can only stay still like this for a few seconds before I either fall over or have to get moving.

There really is a thread about this on the recumbent forum, where going at very slow speeds up very steep grades is a survival skill. I don't yet have the balance to go slow enough to use my granny gear, which is 30X34 on a 26" wheel. I literally spin out in that gear at 5MPH. Sadly, on really steep grades I just bail out :(

How did you not fall over Dnvr? I get very wobbly around 3-4 mph. At 1 mph I'd definitely fall over. Kudos for your slow riding skills. :thumb:

I'll drop to 2 mph while climbing very steep hills. Not only do I have to keep from falling over, the front wheel will lift if my pedal stroke is not smooth. Anything less than that, I'll decide to stop or to speed up.

Going up big hills in my 18 inch gear, the slowest I find myself going is about 2.7 mph.

When I was younger, I could come to a complete stop and not take my toes from the clips, look for oncoming traffic both ways twice, and start pedalling again. I'd have to train my balance to be that good ever again.

I'm not a strict goal or statistic-keeping cyclist, so when bike meets hill, feet meet ground! ;)

Is this the track stand thread?

How did you not fall over Dnvr? I get very wobbly around 3-4 mph. At 1 mph I'd definitely fall over. Kudos for your slow riding skills. :thumb:

This is on the mtn bike - it may make a difference, although I can go pretty slow on the roadie, also.

Is this the track stand thread?

That was my question:innocent:does a track stand disqualify you? It isn't forward motion and I figure a fellow engineer isn't going to allow a technical violation to give an advantage:roflmao2: Actually, the track stand is the one balance thing I retained following my surgeries. What say you Sir Denver of Fox?:innocent:

Bill

I can go as slow as I want - well below 1 mph; when I was just getting started, I managed to climb a (to me) really steep 1/4 mile hill in about 45 minutes, so that's somewhere in the vicinity of 0.34 mph for 45 minutes. I guess this is where I have to admit, though, that like your son, I'm on a trike... :innocent:

Yep, but you are out riding and enjoying life. Good on you and keep up the rides.

Bill

I have no idea but I did get close to a track stand, barely moving, but I couldn't even say how slow it was--was trying not to have to stop while a bus was loading and I managed to keep moving, barely, as the bus started off.

A race was conducted up here a few weeks ago. The winner was the one who covered a measured distance in the greatest amount of time.

Not sure who won or what the rules were. There was a brief snippet about it on the local news.

That talking about a Trike. Several of my friends are into Time Trials and are pretty good at it but they were appalled at one entrant. He did the 10 miles in 30 minutes -well below their timing but admit the rider had a bit of a disadvantage.

255255

He had a Brooks saddle.

Not sure how slow I was going, but I have been passed by pedestrians.

One of the drills my friend does with his youth bike camp is a slow race. The total distance for the course is only 40-60' and the last one to cross the finish line without putting a foot down wins. One of the instructors can bunny hop backwards so he always wins.

I was going to post this on the speed inflation thread since no one would believe me.
I did a metric today, my best average ever. I thought I was going to break the land speed record. At mile 55 I saw this guy up ahead, he was keeping up a steady pace, I struggled but was finally able to catch his draft. I stayed with him for about 10 minutes then he dropped me like a hot potato and I collapsed in a heap.













































255309

That was my question:innocent:does a track stand disqualify you? It isn't forward motion and I figure a fellow engineer isn't going to allow a technical violation to give an advantage:roflmao2: Actually, the track stand is the one balance thing I retained following my surgeries. What say you Sir Denver of Fox?:innocent:

Bill

Two categories:

1. How slow while still moving?

2. How long can one hold a track stand?

Cyclin Fool,
No wonder he dropped you:eek:, look at that TT style aero shell and beak:roflmao2:. He had every advantage in the aero department that the TT types drool over.;)

Thanks Dnvr, now I'll know what class to compete in.:thumb:
Bill

. . . Can anyone beat that? . . . .

Not on two wheels and for that long. Hat's off for for the combination of skill and patience in going that slowly for better than half an hour.

I don't normally attempt slow-speed records.

My best recorded slow time was about 2 hours to ride 9 miles on my usual commute home from work. That was on flat terrain with no more than a gully or an overpass to slow me down and no noticeable wind. I just did not want to get home that night.

My Garmin is set to autopause below 4mph. On five or six of the hills last week on BRAG, it was chirping like a bird, pausing and restarting.

That was my question:innocent:does a track stand disqualify you? It isn't forward motion and I figure a fellow engineer isn't going to allow a technical violation to give an advantage:roflmao2: Actually, the track stand is the one balance thing I retained following my surgeries. What say you Sir Denver of Fox?:innocent:

Bill

I think I guy I saw last week takes the record. He and two other riders were stopped at a red light. He was doing a solid track stand the whole time, but a car came up behind them, turning right. So two of them used their feet to move over and let the car pass. The track stand guy hopped the bike sideways, without putting a foot down. I was awed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcEF2GyBR_Q

If I am going as slow as walking for any length of time......well, I get off and walk.

Now on steep hills I have been passed by joggers. As I hate jogging, I don't get off and jog.

There really is a thread about this on the recumbent forum, where going at very slow speeds up very steep grades is a survival skill. I don't yet have the balance to go slow enough to use my granny gear, which is 30X34 on a 26" wheel. I literally spin out in that gear at 5MPH. Sadly, on really steep grades I just bail out :(

Me too. The lowest gear on the Red Rover is 24 X 32. I can ride that on a flat surface but I'm a little intimidated about trying it on a steep uphill. For me the test is the hill from the Katy Trail up to my condo. I was doing that comfortably last summer in a 32 X 32 but that was with longer crankarms. My problem is mental - not physical and certainly not equipment related.

My Ground speed is often much lower than my Air speed.:50:
(prevailing headwind)