Broke the half-ton

[Holdsworth]

Yes today I broke my speed record and reached a staggering 52 mph descending Cothercott Hill near Shrewsbury on the touring bike. I was staying at my Gran's house in the village of Longden and decided to do a quick ride up and back the hill as I didn't have the time to do a long ride today. It was painfully slow riding up the hill as it reaches well over 10% in places but I made the miles there and back in 35 minutes with an average speed of 14.9 mph.

The wind was in my face all of the way up which kept my speed down and my lung straining all of the way. I did manage to make it up the hill without stopping, thanks in part to my increased fitness but mostly due to my 28t chain ring on the triple

The tailwind coming back helped push my speed up and I pedalled up to 35 mph in my top gear and then just let go completely and freewheeled the rest of the way down and tucked myself in good and tight. The tailwind turned to a crosswind in places and caused unnerving wobbles as I streaked past 45 mph and beyond. I was worried with these wobbles and proceeded to grab the handlebars tight and kept my sight straight ahead. My last recorded speed that I remember seeing was 47 mph but looking at the speedo seconds later when I'd slowed a little with max speed showing I saw the magic 52 mph showing on the screen.

Then I went down a second dip at the base of the hill and again nudged 45 mph for one last time before bottoming out and climbing back into Pulverbatch at a steady speed.
I can only say that the adrenaline was truly pumping after that and I would love to tackle that hill again, with maybe a bit more pedalling effort and calmer winds.

I was really concerned about the handlebar wobble, it could've been a speed wobble but I am not sure. I am sure that if I had come off at that speed my helmet would've been worse than useless in protecting me. I have never taken the touring bike anywhere near to that speed before so I had no idea how it would handle at this hill (where I had done a very fast run on the Holdsworth last year).

So that's my record, I am interested in how fast others have managed to get to on their bikes?

 

[HovR]

45mph recorded. I think I beat that descending a mountain in the US on a borrowed bike, but had no speedo or GPS.

My 45mph top recorded speed was going down Birdlip Hill.

I probably could have gone a bit faster, but I was stuck behind a car that was stuck behind a MTB rider for about 1/3rd of the descent.

When the road straightened out, I tucked in further and overtook both the car and the MTB rider, as the car was showing no signs of overtaking - and the road was too narrow for this, anyway.

No sign of speed wobbles either.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Wow that's some serious speed!

A mere 41.8mph for me - also down Cothercott Hill on my Raleigh (currently shown in my avatar pic). It's a fun descent but I wasn't brave enough to push it harder than that, especially through the corners. The bike was steady as a rock though at that speed.

That is a great stretch of road as the general trend is downhill all the way to Shrewsbury plus the prevailing wind tends to be behind you the whole way. I love cruising along there at 25+ with hardly any effort.

Surprisingly I rarely see other cyclists riding this route - I think they're missing out!

 

[Oxo]

Yes today I broke my speed record and reached a staggering 52 mph

Why not convert your mph to kph and your speed goes up to 83? Sounds even more impressive.

 

[calibanzwei]

Brace the top bar with one/both knees to keep it a little more stable at speed.

 

[Boris Bajic]

Congratulations!!

My best is a tad over 45 mph, which feels like warp speed to my old bones. Even with 53/12 on 700c x 23s, I'm not really pedalling at that speed... Just tucking and hoping while flailing my legs around.

Anything that even looks like it might be a bend, a junction or a steep drop to either side and I'm on the brakes and back into the thirties.

Give yourself a big pat on the back for cracking 50, but not until you've slowed down a little.

On the wobble: This is not uncommon if you're being buffeted on a fast descent. Do the knee/crossbar thing suggested above, or just keep pedalling gently - even if the freewheel is outpacing you.

Also, keep your grip on the bars nice and loose. it is counterintuitive, but it does stop a vibration turning into a full tank-slapper.

Although the books don't recommend it, I carry over from motorcycling the habit of gently braking with the rear to iron out a speed wobble. it's always worked for me - by which I mean I haven't been thrown off....

 

[biggs682]

you guys are mad

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

you guys are mad

Maybe a little bit.

Come Biggs, join us. You'd like to throw yourself down this hill wouldnt you.

 

[biggs682]

i will always remember going down clee hill on way to ludlow , when lad in fronts pannier started to unload clothes in front of me , since then always aproach descents with some caution .

 

[Gary E]

Britwell Hill in Oxfordshire. I usually manage to top 50. My best so far is 55.5mph.

Oddly that was on my Hybrid, my roadbike has only managed 52.5. One reason I think is that the Hybrid feels quite stable (relatively) at that speed whereas the roadbike, on skinny tyres, feels quite twitchy and the ride is not as smooth.

 

[Holdsworth]

Britwell Hill in Oxfordshire. I usually manage to top 50. My best so far is 55.5mph.

Oddly that was on my Hybrid, my roadbike has only managed 52.5. One reason I think is that the Hybrid feels quite stable (relatively) at that speed whereas the roadbike, on skinny tyres, feels quite twitchy and the ride is not as smooth.

Strangely as I remember it, my road bike felt more stable when I last attempted that hill last year (no speedo so I cannot tell what speed I achieved). Compared to my tourer, which I assumed would be more stable at speed, the roadie with its 531 frame and 23c wheels felt less twitchy and no speed wobble that I can remember. Maybe it was the crosswind or something else that made this run different.

Anyway Cothercott is now MY hill that I will try future record attempts on, the hill is steep and the road is relatively straight and smooth with a few gentle curves that were easily negotiated on the bike at speed. According to ridewithGPS it drops 140m in 2km which is pretty good, I do not know the formula for working out average gradient from that though.

 

[kernel gadaffi]

My best is 49.2mph downhill, that was with my mate tucked in behind me, screaming as we overtook a bus.