Fastest you have ever gone on a bike

[MikeWaters]

I can't remember the exact speed. Low 50s, I think. Going down a hill (not a mountain).

Going down a hill on skateboard--now that is a rush. Not being able to stop....when the skateboard starts vibrating like crazy....good times.

[SteelBlue]

I can't remember the exact speed. Low 50s, I think. Going down a hill (not a mountain).

Going down a hill on skateboard--now that is a rush. Not being able to stop....when the skateboard starts vibrating like crazy....good times.

Approached 50 on a very straight downhill during centuries in Solvang and Yreka, CA. I was too scared to look at the computer at that speed and my computer was no longer saving top speeds.

[creekster]

54 mph on my tadnem on a stretch of Highway 1 north of San Luis Obispo. A good sized, but not huge, hill. We had been passed by some obnoxious singles on the way up who had made some anti tandem cracks that I thought were inappropriate so as we crested I could see them just ahead and I bore down. Once we hit about 45 my wife/stoker started telling me to lay off and dial in the drag brake (which we use as sort of a speed governor on downhills) but I ignored her. we absolutely flew by these guys at about 48 mph, almost spinning out (the tandem is a mtb and is not really geared for high speed) but I wanted to pass and distance so I kept bearing down and, with the blessing of the patron saint of No Flat Tires at Really Bad Times and the aid of gravity got it up to 54 mph, spinning at some incredible cadence just before and then spinning out. This was done all the while my wife was literally pounding on my back telling me to slow down.

As the hill bottomed out we then turned off in about a mile for our lunch break and at that break and later that day I learned why the tandem maxim that "The Stoker is always right" is true, especially when stoker and spouse are identical. Since then we have never gone above 48 (although on the tandem or triple it is VERY easy to do on a hill) becasue I don't want a bruised back.

I refuse to celar out the computeer for some time afterwards, making all of my freinds look at it becasue I was please we had gotten it up that high. I must admit, however, that it was a little scary, but I guess I proved my point. My wife said I had been a typical stupid testosterone charged male idiot, or something like that, and that was after she had cooled down.

[Archaea]

but I'm not completely certain, coming down from Lake Arrowhead in SoCal. We were weaving in and out of cars, scaring the literal crapola out of me.

I kept praying to said Patron Saint of No Flat Tires at Bad Times, all the while contemplating what to do if I lost traction.

With family and kids, speeds over forty cause concern and I want maybe to hit sixty, but friends who've done it, claim it's frightening on a bike.

It's amazing, I've crashed in the thirties, and the road rash is amazing. I'd hate to see it at forty or fifty.

I was thinking of Quis, as I tried to break forty this weekend. On a flat I was able to maintain the 25 for a while, but 30, but for a sprint, no way, and I'm eight percent body fat on a fat day, six percent before a race.

[creekster]

My uncle the track racer (you long timers will recall my mention of him in the past) told me he once hit 68 mph while stoking on a tandem coming down Parley's Canyon and it "scared the living shit" out of him. On that same ride they had to hit the brakes for a corner (This was before the freeway was put in all the way down the canyon) and the rim heated up so much that it blew out their rear tire. At that point they had slowed significantly, however, so the road rash was garden variety.

Heated rims leading to blow outs are not uncommon on tandems, btw, which is why you will typically see drag brakes on tadnems that get used very much.

[Quisqueyano]

This is where I guess I have to admit mortality.(another joke ;).
I am a chicken on downhills. I start tapping the breaks at 40.
Downhill is not my strongest point.

[MikeWaters]

what's your top speed on a flat, no wind, Arch? (roughly)

[Archaea]

but I believe it was about 35, could have been less, but drafting does wonders for speed.

It was between 30 and 35, spinning my 11 out. My cadence goes wicked after about 120, whereas great sprinters can do 140.

[MikeWaters]

drafting doesn't count. Solo. You know, 1/4 mile TT speed.

[creekster]

This has now turned into the little guys thread. DOn't you guys want to hear more about how well a gut reacts to gravity? Sadly, my number does not have a 3 in front. In fact, right now, its not even close.

[bluegoose]

I hit 54 going downhill from Carsons Pass during last years Death Ride. And it didn't even take single pedal to get there. Going up, I didn't even notice the grade, as the headwind had caused us all to grind to a near-stop. i seriously think most riders were going between 3-5mph on the way up. Once I hit mid 40's and I was still accelerating I knew I was in trouble, as I didn't feel comfortable with feathering the brakes. At about 50, I hit speed wobbles and just about ruined my shorts. Even a small cross wind would have likely sent me sliding out in a heap of steel and lycra.

Not a pleasant experience, by any stretch of my imagination. Mid40's are fun up to about 45 or 46. After that, no thanks.

A friend of mine hit 65 coming down out of one of the Cache Valley canyons while he was going to USU. Another terrifying experience per his report.

[MikeWaters]

I haven't tried it very much, and I can't say exactly what the wind was, but my top speed (no drafting) the couple days I did was around 34mph.

So if I fantasize that 1) I had a leadout and 2) I lost weight and 3) I trained, that number could be higher.

I think my talent definitely is towards shorter distances. I ran the 200/400. "Talent" not really a term that matters when you don't have time in the saddle.

[Archaea]

so that's why I'm slow.

[mtnbiker310]

A little late to the party, but thought I'd chip in here.... according to my bike computers, a few years ago I went 48.5 down Guardsman Pass in Park City, past the silver mine where it's 12% grade, on my road bike, in the spring when the road still had run-off dust & dirt on it. That felt pretty sketchy and squirrely. A week later, I took my mountain bike down the same stretch and felt much more comfortable at 53.5. That's mph, not kph.

[bluegoose]

A little late to the party, but thought I'd chip in here.... according to my bike computers, a few years ago I went 48.5 down Guardsman Pass in Park City, past the silver mine where it's 12% grade, on my road bike, in the spring when the road still had run-off dust & dirt on it. That felt pretty sketchy and squirrely. A week later, I took my mountain bike down the same stretch and felt much more comfortable at 53.5. That's mph, not kph.

Wow, 53.5 mph on a mountain bike. I didn't realize that they went that fast. I don't have a speedometer on my mountain bike, but doubt that it has come anywhere near that.

I'm sure it felt much, much safer than a roadie though.