highest speed?

[Dave 123]

52 doing that one. I live close to there so do it on a regular basis, it`s a great downhill stretch!

I've only done it once, and that was after getting up there! I'm down there next month... you never know!

 

[marcusjb]

how fast do the pros go?
i reckon my flat bar hybrid has the edge downhill as it is heavier!
bet wiggins, froome etc go faster uphill than me down hill
Cheers Ed

Pros are regularly seen doing 110 and more kph on the mountains.

They have a number of advantages - they can use the whole road, they know it will (should) be clear, their team should have fully recce'd the course and made notes on the descents. They often have a motorbike ahead of them that they will watch to see any deviation from expected lines etc. (though when it's very twisty, the motorbikes can't descend as fast as the bikes).

They have balls of steel and their livelihoods depend on getting down the hill faster than everyone else (and staying upright).

There are very few roads in the UK that have decent enough surfaces and sightlines to safely go much above 80 - a few in Scotland and Wales that I've experienced so far. But in the big mountains, there are lots of big, well-surfaced descents that you can ride at those speeds with less concerns.

Oh and weight will only get you so far - aero is everything - hence the crazy tucks they adopt.

 

[Foghat]

No matter how fast you think you're going - nothing compared to the pros (they do have the advantage off being able to use the full road and know there's not cars etc.). My fastest ever was on Tourmalet and is still around 20kph slower than the pros can go down mountains.

This seems a rather odd assertion to make - that non-pros cannot achieve the same high maximum speeds as the pros. I've ridden extensively in the French Alps, and know very well that it is perfectly easy to attain the same high speeds as pros if you've got the right qualities. These high maximum speeds are dependent on:

• long straightish stretches of steeper road
• reasonable or better road surface
• wind not against
• having the balls to 'let the bike go' - admittedly doing this on open roads takes more balls and concentration than on closed roads, but the full racing line is frequently possible on open roads, and even the pros don't achieve their highest speeds on sections where the sightlines aren't good
• good judgment and ability to assess risk (if you want to survive the exploit without crashing)

None of this is dependent on being a professional, or even a racing cyclist. The rider qualities needed may be honed slightly by a professional career, but they tend to be innate in the people who are fast.

However, where the pros do have an advantage is on the slower parts of descents where pedalling effort is required to maintain a fast average speed. Here, the additional strength and fitness of the pros makes a big difference sprinting out of the many hairpins, and on the many shallower or against-the-wind sections. What some people don't realise is that racing hard down a descent in the Alps is bloody knackering too.

Funnily enough, though, in my many trips to the Alps, only a small proportion of riders encountered seemed prepared to put the effort in on descents....most toddled down on the brakes!

 

[srw]

it is perfectly easy to attain the same high speeds as pros if you've got the right qualities.

...the main one (in the absence of closed roads) being a complete disregard for the safety of yourself and others!

 

[Foghat]

...the main one (in the absence of closed roads) being a complete disregard for the safety of yourself and others!

Wrong. It's quite common to have long deserted sections with long sightlines. And read to the end of the bullet points.

 

[smokeysmoo]

My max was a shade over 50mph once upon a time, won't be doing it again anytime soon though

If conditions suit I will go upto 40mph still but I tend to control it now so I don't go past that.

Lets be honest though, if you come off at 40 wearing lycra you're going to hurt for a good while afterwards

 

[Big Nick]

Fastest on my road bike was 40mph and on my hybrid 37mph

Plenty fast enough for me!!

 

[ayceejay]

I don't see the point.
So you dive down a hill/mountain at a scary speed, at the bottom you have to clean your bike and change your shorts, how much time did you gain?
I try to find a route that has no hills in it this way I don't feel fazed by descenders and their dicing with death.

 

[Tim Hall]

Can't remember, but something north of 45mph on Lonjog when we were going through Rutland. A tandem with well nourished adults goes downhill like a homesick rock, whatever Gallileo might have to say on the matter.

 

[classic33]

Do that descent nearly every day. Still haven't managed to set the camera off.... fastest I've clocked is 53.7 - but that's on a "proper" bike

Bike isn't a big enough target for the camera sensor. Thats why I thought I'd see what I'd get out of that one.

 

[AndyWilliams]

37.63

 

[steveindenmark]

43mph on this one. But it felt a lot faster and it stops you breathing.



Steve

 

[bpsmith]

I don't see the point.
So you dive down a hill/mountain at a scary speed, at the bottom you have to clean your bike and change your shorts, how much time did you gain?
I try to find a route that has no hills in it this way I don't feel fazed by descenders and their dicing with death.

Descending fast is as much of an attraction to some as Climbing quickly, or time trialling on the flat, or racking up big mileage. Not everyone needs to change their shorts from the experience. That's what makes us all different.

 

[steveindenmark]

Ayceejay,

I wish I had contacted you before I went to Cornwall last week, you could have planned my route for me. I am going to Soller in Mallorca next month. Do you think you can help?

Steve

 

[ayceejay]

Sometimes humour doesn't work but if I wanted to avoid the hills in Cornwall or Majorca I would go to Holland.