Old Town

What's the fastest speed you've ever attained on a bicycle that you are sure of. No guesses, speeds recorded with yours or a pal's speedometer. In 1985 I reached 49 mph down a long hill alone. I was riding a steel-framed Cilo road bike. That was the first time I ever started to wonder what would happen if my front wheel collapsed. I was not comfortable at that speed.

Rogue Leader

39.5 on a couple downhills during thriathlons.

We don't have many long steep drops here....

mechBgon

This is on a properly-calibrated Cateye computer, so it should be legit. Old full-rigid Gary Fisher steel mountain bike + long steep highway descent + tailwind + 1.25-inch slicks:

caloso

54.5 mph down the Brockway Grade on the North Shore of Tahoe. I really wanted the speed limit but couldn't get it.

stapfam

110mph on a rainy day when the seal to the battery went and shorted the battery.

Dolamite02

In the 5th grade I would ride my bike to school daily, including a huge steep hill. I distinctly remember beginning that and not being able to get up the hill, but as the year progressed I could fly up to the top. Going down I would FLY past every car like they were stopped.

That year I got a friends dad to pace me in his minivan - I reached 35mph on a flat, and felt like I could beat The Flash on my bike.

**I'm 26 now and started riding again about a month and a half ago. I don't know how fast I've reached thus far, but I know I can still keep up with traffic on the side streets.

RonH

32 mph on a flat section for maybe 1/8 mile.
I limit my speed to ~38 mph on a downhill. Faster than that gets scary.

JanMM

243mph a few weeks ago before I replaced the transmitter/sensor and receiver batteries.
What a ride!

(I think I've been the in 40's but absolutely was in the 30's, up to 37.5 last weekend on a smooth downhill)

billyymc

A smidge over 50 this spring, shortly after I got my first road bike in years. The hill was pretty steep, but too short, too rough (country road), and too many driveways to worry about, but the ride felt very smooth.

umd

56

DX-MAN

56 here, also -- 1974, weeklong bike trip, 10-speed Schwinn, looooong downhill leaving Brown County State Park, doing 30 at the top.

That was a priceless morning, watching a deer bounce along in the woods alongside the road, pacing me.

nickbubblehead

52mph on a downhill during the Rosarito to Ensenada bike ride in Mexico. I had a Miyata Team Titanium w/ DA. Road was not in the greatist condition and I was praying to god that I did not wipe out.

Old Town

Good stories. I could not believe the air pressure on my chest. Have never ridden a motorcycle. Must be similar feeling all the time.

fotooutdoors

Something over 45 (top of what my speedometer reads). I know it's forbidden to guess, but I'm guessing 47. Long decent of an Appalachian ridge on smooth pavement, long sight lines.

ebonyresearch

58 mph, back in the day...Town Line Road in Maine, New York, just outside Johnson City New York. That road is literally one of the steepest I have ever ridden on.

zonatandem

Broken 50 mph many times on our tandem. Fastest was 53 mph in the White Mountains in Arizona at about 7,000 ft elevation . . . and downhill, of course!
Pedalin' and bouncing on the saddles on our tandem: 43 mph in a 120" gear racing a couple other male/male tandem duos. Hey, the could not drop us even if we were a male/feamle duo and the oldest in the bunch by a couple decades.

Old Town

zonatandem: 43mph can be made and maintained on a tandem on the flat? That's rollin'. I have never been on a tandem.

Panthers007

36mph on the best downhill we got here. Unfortunately that hill is also full of potholes and other hazards. If it were a clean run, I have no doubt I could wind it out at the upper 40's.

Arrowana

37 MPH downhill on my old GT mountain bike. The bike was having some issues that day, probably could have broken 40 MPH if I felt it was safe to pedal.

Velo Dog

52 for me, once, on a steep downhill just south of Reno. I had the same thought you did: "Everything on this bike was bought off a clearance table and installed by me. How fast do I really want to go?"
During a pro race here on the same hill several years ago, the peloton came down at 68-70 on the cops' radar.

Louis

50MPH on a screaming downhill. Very scary...I nearly peed down my leg. Never again!

kendall

My speedometer read just over 38 coming down from fisk knob on algoma towards 22 mile, then I ran into patches of crap splattered around the road and decided to slow down. It was actual crap from manure spreaders for the farms around there, I was alright with a potential wipe out, but that crap was too much.
Certain I've hit higher speeds on Alaska hill on 68th, but never had a speedo hooked up when I rode it.

Ken.

f4rrest

52 on the garmin coming down Kanan Rd. with 2 others.

Panthers007

Geeze Louis - your avatar looks like Allen Ginsberg! Or a close protege. I knew Allen, is why I noticed.

stapfam

Mountain tandem for me and 53.7mph on a downhill section but admittedly pretty smooth. But while in training for a big ride we got a bit of speed up on the flat. Slight downhill to start and we got to 45mph for about a mile before I cried enough. It was not the speed- it was the cadence of 150 with 48/11 that got me.

And on the road bike I did a long downhill with several other idiots. 53 mph again but the thing that was noticed by us. One had problems withwheel wobble- One could not get over 45mph- but the two of us that raced all the way down with no problems had the same wheels. Ultegra's fitted with Michelin PR2's

There are other things that will affect the speed on a bike besides you.