Max Speed?

[Tollers]

I'm sure a thread like this must have been done before...... What's the fastest you've ever been on your bike and where did it happen? I'm curious as i'm trying to improve my woefully bad descending technique and lack of bravery with a target of getting up to 40....to start with.

I'll start - 34mph down a coastal road in SF

 

[I like Skol]

49.7mph dropping down from the moors above Dovestones reservoir, Greenfield, Saddleworth. I was on my mountain bike running a 48T/11T drivetrain. I was gutted that I didn't touch 50mph but have only hit the mid 40's since and my new hybrid has a 46T (I think) chain ring combined with 12T cassette so doesn't get close, only done 42 or 43mph on this bike so far, seems much harder to hit the high speeds but could be the upright position while my MTB is low with a long stem?

 

[Glover Fan]

Yesterday actually, 33.0 MPH on the dot on measured for accuracy by GPS. Pretty sure I can go faster, but the gearing is fairly low on my bike right now.

 

[Tollers]

49.7mph dropping down from the moors above Dovestones reservoir, Greenfield, Saddleworth. I was on my mountain bike running a 48T/11T drivetrain. I was gutted that I didn't touch 50mph but have only hit the mid 40's since and my new hybrid has a 46T (I think) chain ring combined with 12T cassette so doesn't get close, only done 42 or 43mph on this bike so far, seems much harder to hit the high speeds but could be the upright position while my MTB is low with a long stem?

Were you on/off road? Going down a straight or winding road? I would have thought at anything above 40 the gearing becomes irrelevant and aerodynamics is everthing.

 

[HLaB]

The fastest I've been on road is 47.6mph down the String Road in Arran but tbh I'm a terrible descender so if I can hit that other folks would hit +60mph there.

The fastest I've been is 54.7mph on the turbo but I don't think that counts and I got the whole of 4 inches

 

[Tollers]

The fastest I've been on road is 47.6mph down the String Road in Arran but tbh I'm a terrible descender so if I can hit that other folks would hit +60mph there.

The fastest I've been is 54.7mph on the turbo but I don't think that counts and I got the whole of 4 inches

If you're a terrible descender, then i must just be a complete coward!

Ah well. Gonna keep trying to get quicker/braver/better until i'm up in the 50s

 

[fungus]

My max speed is 62mph descending the Tourmalet

In the UK probably 48mph descending the Lecht (A939) towards Tomintoul, I didn't have to touch the brakes once & would have been quicker but I was spinning out on 52/16. I had a 16/27 rear block on for the End2End Audax.

 

[asterix]

Over 80 km/h down Holme Moss (during which I was overtaken - my top gear is fairly low) and down Sutton Bank (watch out for the hairpin) and down Garrowby Hill (watch out for the side winds). Timing is critical down Garrowby Hill as it is easy to get stuck behind cars.

I did a very nice descent down the Col du Tourmalet (west side) during which several cars kindly pulled over to let me pass. I don't remember my top speed but it would not be exceptional due to the panniers' wind resistance. It was a lovely warm day and just right for descending.

The trickiest descent I did last year was also in the Pyrennees 32 kilometres long, down to Prades. It was both wet and cold and there were sections with road works and quite a bit of car traffic. Concentrating down such a long descent is quite wearing so is keeping warm but our support team had made sure all of us were warned about that. No idea of my top speed as I don't bother with cycle computers any more!

 

[User269]

I live at the foot of an 18% hill, down which I get 51mph on a fairly regular basis in the right conditions.
Descending Mont Ventoux you can overtake the cars as seen in my video (but beware it's 25 mins long, and the fast bit doesn't start until after Chalet Reynard).
I often get faster speeds in the UK due to the steepness of the descents, but it's only in Europe where I descend for 30 mins or more at 30-40mph!!
I love descending, but only if I've done the climb first!

Oh, and be careful.

 

[HLaB]

If you're a terrible descender, then i must just be a complete coward!

Ah well. Gonna keep trying to get quicker/braver/better until i'm up in the 50s

Its not really a too technical descent, IIRC after you pass the summit there about a kilometre of straight (downhill) before a sharp rise before it does get more technical. You'd be able to easily get a good speed up on that first section; iirc my first pass (not knowing about the rise at the end) was 44.3mph. My second run was the 47.6mph, pitty I didn't have time for a third.

On the more technical and shorter hills closer to home I usually hit in the region of only 30mph+ (usually somewhere between 33 and 38mph).

 

[Salad Dodger]

43 mph on A road near home in Kent. On my 27 speed mountain bike I was in top gear and pedalling pretty hard, although I probably could have got a couple more mph if I had taken my brain out and really gone for it. But 43 felt plenty fast enough, thank you. I was a bit concerned that if anyone pulled out of a side road I would never have had enough brakes to get down to a sensible speed to take avoiding action.

So basically, I chickened out......

 

[edindave]

I was proud of myself freewheeling at 37.4mph down a slushy Redstone Rigg a few weeks ago on my hybrid

 

[mcshroom]

46.8 coming off of cold fell towards Ennerdale Bridge in the Lakes, completey spun out on a 48/14 hybrid. The end of the road there is a long straight where you can see all the way down to the end with a good run-off so I can really go for it without any worry about cars pulling out etc.

When the weather improves I'll have another go with my tourer as I feel I could make 50 on that.

Scariest decent was probably Blue Bank near Whitby. 40mph in the dark. Tigerbitten almost made 50mph on the same ride on his trike.

 

[Panter]

54.7mph on my SCR3.0 descending Detling hill in Kent. I'd been trying to beat the 50mph barrier for ages!

 

[Dave Davenport]

52mph with gears and a freewheel but 35mph on a 72" fixed gear is much scarier!