Over 50 mph??

nipon

Hi everyone,ive been cycling for about two months now and i have been trying to improve my top speed of 41.9mph coming down Mugely hill in wedmoor.I have heard loads of cyclists say they can get over 50 but i just cant seem to pedel any faster,is it that they are just fitter than me or are some bikes geared diferent,mine is a Bianchi with mirage 10 speed.Also ive been told that if i get some better wheels it will make me faster,dous it realy make that much diference?

Evil_Cod

Tyres with lower rolling resistance will make you faster.
Same with wheels really.

The gear ratios will also pay a small part in it.

mididoctors

don't worry about it the majority are probably exaggerating..

I have only achieved such speeds coming off a mountain

be safe before fast...

gavintc

I have hit 51mph, but that was pure gravity. I was not pedalling - just flying down Ventoux with a massive grin.

brownbosh

53.5 mph off the back of the trundel at chichester, body positioning has a huge part to play in fast desceneding.

salsarider79

I went past someone who had 49.2mph on their computer. Wish I'd put mine on when he told me, considering how fast I went past him! He said I looked a bit like this: :shock:
You can get those types of speeds, but as mididoctors says, you'll only get that off really steep slopes. Oh and not using brakes helps too...
p.s. Below is a picture of me atop the 'mountain' in Menorca. I think you could get over 50mph going down, but my nerve gave out at 40mph. The bikes not mine, but I got a faster top speed than the bloke who owned the bike peed him off a little bit...

hipjazzcat

Out on a ride in Australia i was giving it large portions on a nice descent at around 82kph when i was overtaken by a kid about 16 years old. He looked across at me, gave me the peace sign and left me for dead. At the bottom of the descent with a busted ego i had a massive reality check and realised i just dont have what it takes to be a race winner. Still enjoy the riding but just descend slower.

AaronH

Think one of my mates has the same bike as you (bianchi nirone) and they have compact chainsets with a slightly smaller gearing which is probably why you're pedalling like mad at those speeds.

I did 47mph the other week flying past the same guy on his bianchi, mind you I think reaching that speed was more to do with me being 15st than being a demon decender.

nosmo-king

I just touched over 50mph on a good downhill stretch in Scotland many years ago. I was on a Harry Hall custom built tourer, fully loaded, so the low centre of gravity might have played a part. I still ride the same bike, but being twenty years older the nerve ( or foolhardyness) has gone. (Is foolhardyness a word?)

johncp

Evil_Cod wrote:

Tyres with lower rolling resistance will make you faster.
Same with wheels really.

The gear ratios will also pay a small part in it.

Just the opposite surely :?: If you can't pedal any faster, it doesn't matter how little rolling resistance you've got, you've hit your top speed. On a compact chainset I've hit 47mph down a 12% hill but completely spun out. Down a similar hill but much longer and freewheeling :shock: , I bottled out at 48.5 when I saw a bit of a bend looming up :oops: :roll: Maybe next time down that one I'll strap on the large cojones and go for the full 50!

feel

can't imagine anyone still pedalling at 45+mph. Reaching 50mph will be a lot about aerodynamics, having plenty of bodyweight , a very steep hill and having total disregard for personal safety or no imagination as to what a high speed crash will do to you.

milton50

can't imagine anyone still pedalling at 45+mph. Reaching 50mph will be a lot about aerodynamics

Precisely. You may want to pedal hard at the start of a descent to give yourself momentum but no one pedals all the way down a hill unless it's very short. It's all about using gravity in the most efficient way i.e. adopting the most aeordynamic position on the bike.

By the way unless you're quite experienced I don't think descending at 50+mph is something you particularly want to be doing.

balthazar

It's entirely about how steep your hill is and whether or not you have a tailwind. I have 53x11 top gear, which runs out somewhere around 45mph, though I usually gain speed even then by stopping pedalling and getting into a tuck. A steep hill very near me has allowed over 60 mph with a tailwind, but usually limits me to 45-50 because of the prevailing headwind.

I suspect experience counts for virtually nothing. Bikes are well balanced at high speed, it would take a considerable misjudgment, or unlucky event like a front wheel puncture to make you fall off.

chuckcork

Milton50 wrote:

can't imagine anyone still pedalling at 45+mph. Reaching 50mph will be a lot about aerodynamics

Precisely. You may want to pedal hard at the start of a descent to give yourself momentum but no one pedals all the way down a hill unless it's very short. It's all about using gravity in the most efficient way i.e. adopting the most aeordynamic position on the bike.

By the way unless you're quite experienced I don't think descending at 50+mph is something you particularly want to be doing.

Hit 100mph on my motorbike a few years back a few times. 50mph on a pushbike is relatively slooooowwwww.....

Other than my current (bicycle) having worse brakes, thinner tyres, less strong wheels and frame and not being designed for such speeds, that I'm wearing a pretty flimsy helmet and absolutely no other protective equipment whatsover, what could go possibly wrong?

nasahapley

There's a few loops I do where I get over 50 on a regular basis, if the wind's right 55 has been known, and my fastest is bang on 60. Like Feel said there's no mystery to it, I just live near quite a few long, straight, steep hills with good visibility, I'm quite heavy, and I'm still young enough to thing I'm invincible!

hopper1

I used to regularly ride my (Motor) bike in excess of 160mph, and have clocked 178mph, but that was wearing approx. 2grands worth of protective kit!
I came off at 80 once, in full kit - No problem.
I came off at 60 in jeans and a fleece....Now that hurt! Having the gravel scrubbed out of wounds.
Where is the sanity in trying to achieve similar speeds with only a pair of lycra shorts for protection!! :roll:

hopper1

I used to regularly ride my (motor) bike in excess off 160mph, clocking 178mph plenty of times, but that was wearing approx. 2 grands worth of armour and leather!
I came off at 80 in leathers - No probs.
I came of around 60mph in jeans and a fleece - That was sore! Getting the gravel scrubbed out of my wounds.....
I wouldn't even think about trying to get up to 50mph with only lycra for protection.
Bone wears out at 1cm per second!! :shock:

sub55

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trickeyja

I have been 46mph down Leckhampton Hill which is around 10% for about 2 miles. I feel relatively safe at that speed because the road has recently been resurfaced, I know it well and it only has one critical corner... it is almost guaranteed 40+mph (even in the wet I went down it at 42). Definitely the best descent round Cheltenham though.

Thinking about it after doing it, it sounds crazy but when I'm actually on the road I feel confident enough to reach those speeds.

a_n_t

51.4 today descending into the goyt valley

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/episode/view.do?episodePk.pkValue=6760103

Nick6891

all you need to get to 50mph is a long downhill straight and a good tail wind, and a couple of lorries to give you an extra little boost

shane515

My new Garmin has a logged top speed of 69.5mph on it, phew :shock: ...........thats only because I was fiddling with it on the EuroStar back from Paris and it logged the speed of the train. My nerve would never allow me to do 50mph on my bike

Shane

gtitim

I've still yet to hit the big 5-0 but i've have reached 49.4mph on the london to brighton bike ride. One thing is for sure though - I definitely wasn't doing a pedalling - a good tuck position is what you need. I generally don't do a pedalling over 30mph if i'm descending.

But seriously - hitting 50mph is not as important as not dying and I wasnt aiming to get this speed when I hit it - the road was straight, smooth and car free - all the right ingredients.

Be safe my friend.

RyanBrook

49.8mph descending Ventoux. My cleats were worn and flung out and kick the wheel at which point i sh*t myself.

I only got around46mph in the pyrenees this summer. Descending the L'aubisque I wasn't going much over 30mph. I wouldnt like to race down it the surface is terrible and scattered with stones. The Soulour is a great descent however.

ownworstenemy

My computer went mental a few weeks back - when I checked the stats at the end of the day my top speed was apparently 94.5mph. I think not....

teagar

How much does weight make a difference?

I'm a weenie 56kg and always get dropped on the descent. I like to think it's my weight, but I might just be rubbish.

Happens on all decents -technical or not.

dennisn

If you really want to go faster all you have to do is increase your computers tire size
Not sure if you should believe all you read about everyone going this or that speed. If you would have written in saying you had gone 60 MPH everyone would have posted back
that they regularly do 70 MPH. I'm an 80 MPH "most of the time" kind of guy. :shock: :shock: :roll: :roll:

Dennis Noward

brownbosh

Oh i see, nooe else could possibly go that quickly because you cant???

fubar!

knedlicky

feel wrote:

Reaching 50mph will be a lot about aerodynamics, having plenty of bodyweight , a very steep hill …

Aerodynamics, yes. Bodyweight isn’t so important if you can tuck aerodynamically. Nor does the hill have to be ‘very steep’ if it’s got length.
In my case, 60 kg + 8% + 800 m = 80 km/hr (ca. 50 mph). On a 12% hill but only half the length I don’t reach this speed.

teagar wrote:

How much does weight make a difference?
I'm a weenie 56kg and always get dropped on the descent. I like to think it's my weight, but I might just be rubbish.
Happens on all decents -technical or not.

I only weigh a bit more than you but on descents I catch up more than be dropped or passed. Despite losing out in the weight/gravity stakes, the smaller rider can usually tuck in better than the big blokes.
It might be you need to improve your aerodynamic position.

milton50

Bikes are well balanced at high speed, it would take a considerable misjudgment, or unlucky event like a front wheel puncture to make you fall off.

Well what do you consider an unlucky event? At 50 mph it doesn't take a lot to throw you off balance: a pothole which you either have to swerve around or hit, a sudden side gust of wind, an obstacle like a dead rabbit that you have to swerve around or hit. All these are pretty common.

If you're consistently descending at 50 mph then good for you and if you want to become a competitive racer then at some point you need to learn how to descend fast. All I'm saying is that it's probably better to have gained hours and hours in the saddle before looking for the steepest hill you can find.

boybiker

I dunno I get over 42-43 and I start thinking about how much its going to hurt if I come off, youve got to have HUERGE balls to go over 50 :shock: