how "fast" is fast for ya?
 

so i'm ridin' around yesterday in a pretty good wind and i got to thinkin' about what is "fast" for city traffic ridin'. my perception is that i feel i'm goin' pretty good at around 18 mph and gettin' up over 20 mph is movin' real good. this is all on the flats. around 22 or 23 i feel like i'm really movin'. (15 mph and under is just pedalin' around lookin' at stuff). (this kinda assumes ya have a cycloputer or whatever ya want to call 'em things--i have one of those cateye ones).

what's ya'lls perception of "fast"? i say "perception" cause it's subjective in terms of traffic ridin' i think. :)

too fast = when your ass starts to bounce off of the saddle, and your legs are spinning to the point of being out of control

fast = flying past cars in downtown and never having to look back

slow = passing everyone on the bike path

Pretty much what you said.

really fast- getting over 30mph on a gnarly rocky downhill

too fast- getting over 30 on a gnarly rocky downhill and eating a rock for lunch

15-20 is my average cruise speed. fast is anything past 28. gotta love ridiculous gear inches.

I went 42 mph downhill yesterday with 40x16 . No bounce. I was amazed what a little tail wind and an overpass can do for speed ! According to the cadence calculator, that is 209 rpms. It is most likely possible that there was a glitch on the cyclocomputer... but who will ever know or care ? LOL

On my own power, on a flat with neutral wind, I have been able to hit 30 mph... ONCE. =)

/\/\ I call that kind of spinning "the food processor of doom"

On a blender, that would be the "frappé" setting.

for city traffic riding, i never think of fast, i think of good and smoothe.

when i'm really cruising along some flat or tearing down a boulevard, i think i'm doing around 25. not sure though--no computer.

I've hit 39mph on a downhill on a 75" gear and 32 on a flat. My teammate can get up close to 200rpm, though. He's fast.

According to my calculations, if you were going exactly 42 mph you'd be spinning at almost 215 rpm.

As for my answer to the OP: pretty much the same as everyone else. My cruising speed is between 15 and 20 mph, but sometimes I'll get a nice downhill or catch a draft and get up to around 25 mph.

Damn, and I thought my hitting 35 on 40x15 was good.

I have old school 27 inch wheels with big fat whackmart tires... lol

Was your calculation based on 27 inch or 700c ?

Recalculating for a 27 inch wheel gives me approximately 209 rpm :)

Seems fishy...I'd like to see someone get to 209 rpms, I'm on a 48x16, 700cx23 wheels and 42mph for me would be 180rpms which is nearly out of control spinning.

look here:

http://nyvelocity.com/content.php?id=533

indoors and on rollers, but 180 was probably the LOWEST cadence of the night.


edit: better link here with times...most everyone was running 50 or 51 X 14, so with those 500 meter times they're all well over 200 rpm:

http://nyvelocity.com/content.php?id=589

my objective for city traffic riding isn't fast. It's always faster than the vehicle traffic in the rightmost lane for sure, and when it's a good day for my body, or bad for traffic, I'm in the leftmost lane (and sometimes I say **** it and ride against the flow of traffic on the leftside of the street). I generally dont try to push myself too hard for saftey reasons.

25 is scary fast for me.

on straight, level roads with few cars, i dunno...maybe 22, 23 mph in general. i really need to throw some sprints in there, because it's become too easy to keep that pace.

as far as city riding, i keep it a little slower, as i have to watch my surroundings like a hawk. still, 18, 20 mph. i don't know. that's not what i'm paying attention to at that point. i'm more concerned wth control and navigation than speed. unless i'm racing, then it's all 3.

please please tell me that you guys rocking 40x15 and smaller are riding single speeds while doing 40x mph. that cadence is so high your knee ligaments should liquify and escape through your pores for their own good. self-preservation or something. christ.

yeah, really...209 rpm? that's insanity.

For me "fast" when riding fixed is when I'm going too fast to slow down comfortably.

I get bouncy at > 130 rpm. Can't imagine > 200.

I had my cranks redrilled to 95mm. Helps keep my cadence up ;)

depends on my gearing really