I have always been a speed demon in cars, on motorcycles and bikes. I spent a week in hospital when I was 27 because I was bombing a hill I hadn’t ridden before and launched off a big drop. 23 years later I have rediscovered the love of cycling but road cycling not mtb or bmx. After 4 months back on the saddle I find myself pushing as hard going downhill as anything and went from going 34 and being like wow that was fast to hitting 47 recently. I realize at this age hitting the road at that speed is going to hurt but it’s so fun!!! Anyone else?

Pics or it didn't happen.

lol here you go 46.19

True confessions. My dad always drove fast and I loved it. When I learned to downhill ski at 10, speed was my drug, as well as jumping off every bump and ledge. In high school I started ski racing and loved that. When older, I took my cars to the track for the rush. With cycling speed was always the thing. When I combine, speed, calculated risk and an element of danger it can be intoxicating. Top speed on a tandem bike, just over 60 MPH. Have hit 53 on a single. Since I am now mid 60s any speed more than 50 that I start becoming nervous and back off. Visions of hitting a deer or squirrel or dog. On the flats I TRY to run between 18 and low 20s.


. I also mtn bike, but the speed is greatly reduced by the thrill is definitely there.

thats what I’m talking about! 👊 #goals

We have a few hills around here where you can easily break the speed limit. Here’s one from this summer:

i hit 50mph heading down a steep hill by Camelback ski area 20 yrs ago.
it is fun up and until you actually realize wtf your doing and then it gets scary. ill do 40-45 on certain rides now and love it.

In my mid-30's I did a downhill at 53 mph. Now, 40 yrs later the risk is greater than the perceived rush. I will always take the "racer's line" but I am done living on the edge. I notice that I have had the same change of attitude on my Ducati so maybe it's an age thing. Or maybe I just have nothing left to prove to myself.

Downhill speed is not my friend.
Uphill speed is not my strength.
Flying on the flatish is my fetish.


Keep you bars clear, and your mind will follow.

Some of the descents around here are pretty straight with a few gentle curves and little traffic so I tend to just let it run usually. The day I hit 59.8 mph I had battled an awful headwind all the way up the climb so when I got to the top and turned around I figured I'd let it push me on the way down as reward for just making it to the top.

I am much more interested in how fast I can ascend, rather than descend. The highest gears on my road bikes are in the mid-90 gear-inches (e.g. 46/13, 50/14), and I have a 104 (48/12) on my mountain bike, and all of those are perfectly adequate for me. According to the velometer on my mountain bike, my maximum speed has been around 50kph, or 30mph (on road -- I would never go that fast on dirt).

Remember-----------------------this is the internet, and everyone posting claims they went 50% faster than they really did.

Speed going downhill is some kind of achievement?

A bad motorcycle crash is partly what got me started cycling. Just going fast down a straight hill does nothing for me but I'll always enjoy leaning through a curve. Having said that, my risk tolerance is a fraction of what it used to be.

It's all relative. I still like to ride fast, but what counts as fast for me now is not what I would have considered fast ten or twenty years ago.
Just yesterday I hit 38 mph on a descent near where I live. It felt fast, but Strava tells me I hit 46 mph on the same hill right after entering the 55-65 year-old age bracket. Average speeds are now usually in the 15-16 mph range on moderately hilly routes, down from around 18 mph just a couple of years ago. I tell myself that it's because I've been riding steel bikes instead of my carbon bike, but deep down I know it's the engine that's changed.

I go by airspeed. When my face starts flapping, I touch the brakes. In my current configuration, that's the low 40's.

A number of posters screen-shotted from their data apps. Are you suggesting that they altered them before posting in order to impress you?

Here is mine:

I go as fast as the WIND let's me. Same as for any bike. The second last day of my last tour, I was cruising on the flat freeway/ highway at 25 to 32 mph, with a 120 lb bike. When I stopped for lunch at the A+W, * 3 * drivers came over and commented > you was flying. LOL. The second day going, I had a 30+ mph direct headwind, I got 23 miles at 3.5 mph.
My SA XL-RD5w is my speed machine. 9 mph wind + 9% slope = near 46 mph on a 1/2 mile hill near here.
I have 2 videos to prove it. The first was my maiden voyage for my tour bike custom. The second was after I added a whole bunch of CF addons, frame bag and weight. LOL.

Awesome responses from everyone. I think for myself the speeds I have hit are fast enough and I don’t need to try any faster. Fwiw I have been riding a 1984 Trek 670, and I ride mainly in Redondo Beach which is a mix of flat and hills, and Palos Verdes which is all hilly. My top speed is coming down Crest Dr. which is a big climb to a dead end, there are always bikers at the top congregating and it’s fast sweeping corners you can take going full speed.

As for the comment about going fast downhill not really being a challenging, I am pedaling as hard as I can the whole way down with very little coasting at all. Obviously not as winded at the bottom as at the top though haha... it’s always windy here which definitely affects your speed, but when it’s still and flat-ish I definitely cruise in the low 20’s.

Keep posting these childish posts and you might live to 100. Makes me happy to see this attitude. Can't wait until a 70 year old posts " I did 70 mph." Nothing about age diminishes b-lls. Has it been done already?

I ride fast enough to wind up in Intensive Care on life support

Probably the slowest here. I clocked over 50 kph on a slight downhill. Of course the speed I could do depends on the size of the hill. If I found a large hill without a lot of bends on the way down, I could go as fast as anyone else. But if I came off, life may cease to be fun.

The real question is how fast do you go when you are on a flat road? Again I am slower than many here. When I am just taking it easy, and not in a hurry, I used to cruise at around 15 kph. However, I have lost some fat, and gained some fitness. I now cruise at around 20 kph when I am just taking it easy, and not in a hurry. I am strong enough to go fast, but only for a short time. I am not as fit as some.

To all the other fat challenged people out there. Don't worry if you are not as fast as others. Just work on getting fitter.

Yeah, I love going fast if the downhill allows it (smooth clean pavement, gentle curves, and good sight lines.) Unfortunately there aren't any hills that are big enough near my home range to reach much over 40 mph. However there's a particular hill I do semi-regularly on DALMAC where I've hit 52 using several of my recumbents and another one I have to ride my brakes continuously to keep it under 45 mph. I'd let 'er rip on that one but there's a congested business route at the bottom.