Personal best downhill speed

[Rick Newton]

Personal best speeds

Very impressive speeds Marshall & KidneyBoy. It is indeed thrilling to go fast on a bicycle. Less than an inch (x2) contact with the road, no protection, wind in our faces, the feeling that at any moment we could wobble and go down. I remember riding down the Col Du Tourmelet, the western side is12 km downhill, but only averages 7.4% gradiant. I was set in kph, and don't remember the speed, but I was passing everybody because of my weight (about 200 lbs.) I was on a DF bike, back then, and would really like to try it again on my Silvio. I do remember getting up to 50 as a teenager. 55 is amazing though. Stay safe!

KidneyBoy - damn straight that is pretty good for any age.

 

[kenhardwick]

My personal best is now 35.5mph from this past weekend



But that is nothing compared to my Texas biking friend's 50mps on his Musashi low-racer recumbent..done somewhere in Texas last year....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyWviIaBw9o&feature=share

 

[Eric Winn]

Oh that looks like fun,

Oh that looks like fun, except for the chipseal and the cattle guards...

I wonder where they were riding?

-Eric

 

[John Dorlon]

Just north of San Antonio.  

Just north of San Antonio. http://realaleride.com/

 

[JustTooBig]

of course, downhill speed is

of course, downhill speed is simply a function of physics and keeping one's fingers off the brake levers. As a heavyweight trackie, I'm a fantastic descender (we won't talk about climbing). But all that really means is that I'm relatively heavy and my sense of self-preservation isn't as strong as some -- so I tend to stay off the brakes longer.

What happens when the discussion turns to speed unaided by gravity?

 

[Andrew 1973]

34 MPH

I've used the Silvio for commuting only but my top downhill speed hovers around the 34 MPH mark. Keep in mind, this is the middle of the state of South Carolina and it is fairly flat here. If I were back in Pittsburgh, my descents would be faster, but my climbs would probably be quite a bit slower.

 

[Lief]

Downhill 50.1

Best downhill speed - 50mph - high adrenaline, very fast, very stable.
Best flat - electronically timed 200M sprint, no wind, 35.79mph (?http://www.ohpv.org/HPC/page10/page11/Results.html) - don't really know what my top/top was tho. (sigh)

SOOPER proud of that 200M sprint time - would LOVE to do it on a Vendetta but can't justify the cost of a V for that one event each year and commuting on a Vendetta would be like herding cows with a Thouroughbred.

 

[Shakey]

64 kph

Top speed downhill on my Quest is 64 kph, that was with a full touring load.
I tucked in behind a car at the top of the hill and drafted

For a few weeks a couple winters ago I kept getting top speeds of 260 to 380 kph ..... until I figured out that my light (900 lumen) was interfering with my wireless bike computer :-o

 

[counterpoint]

hmm, maybe it's because of

hmm, maybe it's because of the thin air or my steed (a Carbent Sea Dragon) but a recent high was 49 mph, and when I was really gunning for it last year on a Nelson Road near Loveland I hit 54 mph.

 

[bladderhead]

The journey to where I used

The journey to where I used to work was all up and down. I got my Grasshopper to 37.8 mph on the way down. I was overtaking cars. These idiots don't realise how fast a bicycle can go, and pull out. I don't want to slow down. Going up was a slog. I was chased by a dog that did not have any back legs. Now the journey to work is almost flat and it is very hard to do 30 mph.

I do love trying to reach 40 on my Grasshopper. Looking forward to flying on the Silvio. I thought I would never go faster in mph than my age in years, but maybe I still can. I am 50. Do not go gentle, and all that.

 

[LarryOz]

New high for me 52.4mph = 84.3kph on Vendetta

This was during my 111 mile ride today, actually had to apply brakes several times due to cross-wind.
Should NOT have ridden my 88mm rims - bad choice.
The crosswinds where terrible (20mph sustained with gusts).
I was white knuckled the whole time, especially with cars passing me head-on.

https://www.strava.com/activities/268835601

 

[super slim]

https://www.strava.com/activi

https://www.strava.com/activities/82789892/overview

86.4 kph max speed on a very rough Forest road KOM (DOWNHILL only) for 2,200 riders of Cycle Oregon 2013.

No cross winds as in a valley with lots of trees, but a few NON signposted tight rough corners, just after passing two tandems with only 28mm tyres and no suspension, with 30 year olds males racing each other!

 

[tiltmaniac]

57 mph down a pass in the

57 mph down a pass in the Alps where I was counting on wind resistance to slow me down instead of hitting the brakes and possibly causing the tubes to explode (I've had this happen).

I may have tucked for a brief moment, just to see how fast I could go on the well maintained Swiss road given I had clear visibility the whole way, and no kids nor sense.

I believe it was somewhere around Grimsel pass, though I'm not sure which one, since the GPS on which I had the ride recorded was stolen last year (sad panda here... wanted to keep that data! Should have backed it up!).

This was on my diamond-frame touring bike, during a ~2000 mile, 150,000 ft climbing tour.

 

[LarryOz]

Here is a video of my High Speed Decent

http://youtu.be/wDj_eECxcLc