What is the fastest speed you have cycled ??

[SuperHans123]

40mph down the big hill on the Cotswolds Heart Foundation bike ride.
On my 'weighs a ton' Specialized Roll Elite hybrid.
Clung on for dear life!
Bike would have gone quicker but just too narrow a track with some undulations meant I had to brake a bit for fear of death.

 

[razabbs]

46.5mph at some point coming down around Snowdon

 

[nickyboy]

Managed to add another to my 50+mph list

Mount Road into Marsden https://goo.gl/maps/V6yZyptxw352

Maxed at 80.6 which is 50.08 in old money

 

[bpsmith]

52.1mph down Cefy Bryn, Gower, last month. Just have to watch out for Sheep!

 

[nickyboy]

So to broaden the discussion....

When you watch the big pro cycling tours they always show them descending some mountain pass at 60+mph. I'm pretty fearless on descents and amongst the quickest on the really fast ones around here. But I can't get up to the pro descent speeds.

So why is that? I don't think their descents are steeper. they don't seem to be pedalling at all at those speeds. So are they more aero? Or maybe the bikes are more aero? I can only think it is some aero advantage they have

 

[Heltor Chasca]

Just looking at a response from my post re' the Lake District (someone reached over 40 mph down Wrynose Pass)......it reminded me of when I cycled the Horseshoe Pass (North Wales) when I was 16 years old (52 years ago........NO FEAR at that age). My mate had a 'gizmo' for speed & distance that showed up to 40 mph and the needle was way over the top !!
Nowadays......as soon as I reach 25 mph the brakes go on as I see danger now (potholes etc.) that somehow never existed back then .
Got me wondering.............what crazy speeds have others reached and lived to tell the tale

The year was 1999. Silly speed down Wrynose Pass and I lost control when my bike shimmied and chucked me off. I broke two ribs and a piece of grass pierced my lip. Weird injury but it looked cool in a tribal kind of way.

I was ill in the pub at the bottom (Wool Packer?) from the shock and my bike was trashed beyond repair. The Crud Catcher mudguard was the only salvageable gubbins from the whole thing.

Speed? How the hell do I know. All I know, it hurt.

 

[SuperHans123]

52.1mph down Cefy Bryn, Gower, last month. Just have to watch out for Sheep!

I got up to almost 40 on that hill last year freewheeling down on my hybrid.

 

[bpsmith]

I got up to almost 40 on that hill last year freewheeling down on my hybrid.

That's impressive freewheeling.

Once you get to 45mph, you have to really pedal hard to gain anything further, as it's not that steep.

Cadence of around 140rpm that day.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

105 mph. Or that is what the gps sat on my desk said yesterday

 

[BikeCurious]

42.3 mph somewhere between Whichford and Lower Tadmarton in the Cotswolds.

 

[mjr]

So why is that? I don't think their descents are steeper. they don't seem to be pedalling at all at those speeds. So are they more aero? Or maybe the bikes are more aero? I can only think it is some aero advantage they have

OTTOMH a combination of more aero (including squatting on the top tube), low-rolling-resistance tyres (which may have been stored and run-in for the optimum time) and slicker bearings set just so.

 

[si_c]

OTTOMH a combination of more aero (including squatting on the top tube), low-rolling-resistance tyres (which may have been stored and run-in for the optimum time) and slicker bearings set just so.

Plus closed roads where they dont have to worry about traffic.

 

[SuperHans123]

That's impressive freewheeling.

Once you get to 45mph, you have to really pedal hard to gain anything further, as it's not that steep.

Cadence of around 140rpm that day.

It is made of mainly scaffolding though!

 

[froze]

63 mph (101.389 KPH), assuming my then older tech bike computer was correct. I live in America and was riding down Tram Way in Palm Springs California when I reached that speed. I may or may not have gone faster but those times were before bike computers so there is no way to know, so 63 mph is as fast as I've gone since bike computers that I know of.

 

[Dave 123]

We had 48.8mph the other day on the tandem. It was a long, straight hill.