Depending what wheel size you choose, you can go just about as fast as you want ;)

Right, and on the bridge I hit my record on I doubt I could go much faster so I don't really push it anymore. If I was just shy of 50 I might keep trying but I can barely top 40.

I get over 30 mph on a daily basis. The hill coming down from my house is such that even braking to slow down through the turn near the top and sitting completely upright I get to around 31 mph without even pedaling. If I get into the drops, I can hit 35.

I pay for this coming home at the end of the day, but gradually I'm becoming a strong climber.

http://web.me.com/aaronshort1/site2/...apeimage_3.png


That's km/h, so about 45 mph
(loaded touring bike)

I have never ridden a motorcycle, but what I hear from those who do makes me think you are much more likely to lose control on a motorcycle than on a bicycle.

It seems to me the power to weight ratio is too high on a motorcycle. Plus, there is an awful lot more mass (and thus inertia) to manage as road conditions change. I've heard more than one motorcyclist talk about how the bike "went out from under" them for apparently no reason; that they "must have hit a slick spot" or something like that.

I don't know what a typical motorcycle weighs or what its horsepower is, but my total "vehicle" weight is around 220 lbs with a load. My "engine" normally puts out far less than 1 hp. Plus, anything over 30 mph or so is totally unpowered for me.

Exactly that. It's a rush.

I usually commute between 18-22 on the flats on the way to work, but on good hills I've maxed at 36.5 a couple times. That 40 will be mine..

Top speed 45 mph. Big downhill. I have 4 big downhill choices on the way to work, none great. First one involves a very steep hill with a 90 degree turn at the bottom. So that one I avoid. Next invovles a steep hill with a stop sign at the bottom, really wears out my brakes and if it's wet it's a treacherous stop if one can do so without sliding through. The next involves a light at the bottom and a line of cars turning right without stopping and cars turning left without stopping (yes, even on red lights) so that is another avoidance. The one I use is a straight through roadway, no stops and only one intersection at the bottom. I have to watch out for drivers pulling out of that roadway in front of me but luckily I've got a good bird's eye view of it so can get rid of speed if car is approaching stop sign. Only took me one time to learn that lesson. :twitchy:

I average 17 to 20, low teens up a hill, high 20s down a smaller hill. If I go into my toughest gear, there's a long stretch of busy road on my way home where I can pump like a mad-man, hit all the lights, make drivers think I'm nuts and hit 35.

Hell, I hit 35mph today in fact. :) Road bike, Sora group, steel frame, messenger bag.

Blastin' !

I have only passed 40 mph 3 times in the area I live in. I get up to 30 mph when the wind is with me. I passed 50 mph 3 times on my cross country trip. 57.7 is my all time top speed. I had to goal of passing 50 forever, now that I have I need to look to 60 mph. With that being said I was a bit scared a few days after I got to 57.7 just thinking about it.

On one of the hills 1/2 mile from my house, I regularly get over 35mph. My fastest speed so far on my trike was actually Sunday on a hill at the opposite end on the way to a meeting. I hit 45.3mph, and it felt completely stable and awesome.

Crappy cell phone pic as evidence:
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...maxspeed-1.jpg

My average speed for the 21.1 mile commute in (+544 / -1001 ft) is usually around 15-16mph if I don't have a killer headwind. The fastest this past semester was 16.2mph average.

For the 21.2 mile commute home (+1012 / -549 ft) my average speed is usually 12.5-13.5mph if I don't have a killer headwind. The fastest this past semester was either 13.7 or 13.8mph average (can't remember exactly).

This is the elevation profile of the commute home:
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n...omecommute.jpg

Going down a steep hill with a tailwind and I'm a clyde.

How do you all hit such speeds?

Gravity. And crouching down.

That's exactly the same computer I have! :)

Fastest I've ever hit on my commute is 50km/h. Shanghai is pretty much flat as a pancake, and even when there are downhill sections, mostly under and overpasses, the bike traffic is usually too heavy to safely go very fast.

Fastest I've gone on the flats is about 40km/h, but only for short distances. I can keep up 30-33km/h for quite a while, though.

My most direct commuting route has a 4-lane bridge (nearly flat) where I routinely approach 30mph in either direction with my commuting bikes (one road, one mountain). Motivating factors include 4 lanes of arterial traffic, a short green light at one end, and the need to merge to the left-turn lane at the other end. Plus, it's never a bad time to shock the cagers :)

I'd have to go a fair distance out of my way to add some big descents to my commute, but there are several that would easily clock 45mph+, and one that... well...

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...hBgon/fast.jpg

(mountain bike, 1.25" tires, and before anyone asks me again, that's a Sky Mounti inclinometer and you get them from eBay)

That was me yesterday. I guess I better come up with some better long-term goals because I averaged 15.6 MPH on the way in this morning!

I realize that almost everyone here is talking about top end speed rather than average. My top end this morning was 25.7. Again, on a 20+ mile ride I am not going to blow myself up on a sprint.

Top speed ever was 42 mph on my SS (what was recorded on my iphone apps). My average speed on a typical day is about 13 mph within a 13-15 miles commute - one way. With headwind.. don't even talk about it.

Some of you guys are hitting some crazy speed.

How to go super fast: Live in area with lots of long, tall hills and grades of ~18%. Downside is you have to go back up them. :notamused:

On flats with no headwind I'm usually around 18-25 mph depending on traffic and other cyclists around.

Up hills can be as slow as 0-4 mph (I have never been able to ride all the way up one hill by my house...I have no idea what slope it is but it's insane) but ususally more like 8 mph.

I got up to 33 today going down the steepest/longest local hill (this is fixed-gear). Coming back up it later was substantially slower.

Fastest on my commutes is going downhill on the Brooklyn or Manhattan bridge, around 25mph. On flats i do around 17mph, but i maintain between 13 to 15 mph.

When I'm rested I believe I'm moving in the mid 20s during my 3.3 mile ride. I need to get a computer for my bike, but my ride is a 30MPH zone the whole way and the cars only "walk" away from me rather than blow by me (besides the ones clearly speeding). I'm going to assume that they're not going 35 & I'm going 30 haha.