Who wants to do 50mph?

simpoman
simpoman Posts: 29
edited May 2011 in The bottom bracket
So I was doing my normal browse around the forums and came across the following statement in a post re. advice about cassettes....

'The 11t cog sounds great for downhills but do you really want to get up to 50 mph.....?'

...well actually I do! There is very little more exhilarating than being flat out down a hill, 51.7mph is my tops....

Problem is that these days, at my great age, that nagging thought comes to me as I reach top speed.....namely 'ffs it's really gonna hurt if it all goes wrong now'!

So am I abnormal and what is your top speed on the road.....and more importantly, just how much does it hurt?
«1345

Comments

  • jim453
    jim453 Posts: 1,360
    Here we go.
  • cloggsy
    cloggsy Posts: 243
    50+ on a road bike... On our roads?

    You say 'if it goes wrong?' More like when...

    It's going to really hurt when it goes wrong :?
  • rja
    rja Posts: 78
    simpoman wrote:
    ...well actually I do! There is very little more exhilarating than being flat out down a hill, 51.7mph is my tops....

    Me too. I'm up for going as fast as possible. There's no feeling quite like it, fair enough if you don't fancy it. Each to their own. But I'm a +1.

    Not gonna get into bragging rights re:speed, runs level with the how much does your bike cost in my opinion.
  • ride_whenever
    ride_whenever Posts: 13,279
    I clocked 45 on a fairly short but rather steep hill on the first proper ride of the caad. Would have been faster but I realised fairly early on that the front brake cable was a touch to tight for properly controlled braking on very fast descents
    Neeermad
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  • AndyF16
    AndyF16 Posts: 506
    Fastest I can vouch for is 40.5mph, a lad I was riding with in Lanzarote (who had a CatEye where I didn't) assured me we touched 80kph from Femes down to Uga, but the road surface is near perfect and you can see for a long way in front of you

    Unless I know the road/surface I'm loathe to exceed 30mph at home, being totally honest
    2011 Bianchi D2 Cavaria in celeste (of course!)
    2011 Enigma Echo 57cm in naked Ti
    2009 Orange G2 19" in, erm orange
  • simpoman
    simpoman Posts: 29
    ...no 'here we go' or intention of 'bragging rights'. Just curious about others opinions.

    To be fair I only do it on roads I really know and where I can see to the bottom tho.

    anyways I'm fatter than all you racin' snakes.....have to take advantage of the momentum it generates!
  • giner1961
    giner1961 Posts: 135
    60mph down hill a few miles from the finish going for the win.
  • simpoman
    simpoman Posts: 29
    giner1961 wrote:
    60mph down hill a few miles from the finish going for the win.

    See now that's the sort of reply I didn't need....feels like a challenge LOLs
  • rjh299
    rjh299 Posts: 721
    I've got a compact with 12-26 cassette so can't push it downhill but I never really bother pedalling at 40mph+. I figure that's quick enough and would rather save my legs for the inevitable uphill. Saying that my top ever speed is 51.8mph (internet top trumps!) going down Porlock Hill on Tour of Exmoor. Great fun!
  • unixnerd
    unixnerd Posts: 2,864
    47.5mph on a slight downhill section of Dava moor (north of Grantown of Spey) with a light tail wind. I was doing over 100 cadence with a 52x12 and spinning out. Kept it up for nearly 2 miles and it was huge fun. Surprisingly for such a remote area it's a good road surface. I can only imagine the consequences of a fall at that speed, I don't do it often. The road from Dalwhinnie to Laggan is good for that too.

    Going down the Cairngorm ski road I'm on the brakes all the time because frost heave makes it pretty treacherous and there's a few tight corners, lots of grit. Someone with larger testes could do a heck of speed down there.
    http://www.strathspey.co.uk - Quality Binoculars at a Sensible Price.
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  • simpoman
    simpoman Posts: 29
    rjh299 wrote:
    Saying that my top ever speed is 51.8mph (internet top trumps!) going down Porlock Hill on Tour of Exmoor. Great fun!

    Must be SW thing.....mine was down from Merrivale to Tavistock
  • Bobbinogs
    Bobbinogs Posts: 4,841
    Some good descents in the cotswolds and I often do 40mph+ on a ride (although I think my top is only ~45, which is the part when I start feathering). One of my bikes is a retro bike with aluminium forks which are beautiful... but sometimes I look at them, think of alu fatigue, look at the speedo and apply the brakes a bit more.
  • jimwin
    jimwin Posts: 208
    Must be SW thing.....mine was down from Merrivale to Tavistock

    Yep, we have fun in the SW. 52mph down Pork hill near Tavistock. Good wide road with plenty of visibility.

    - JimW
  • Stuy-b
    Stuy-b Posts: 248
    52.96mph is my fastest so far this year, there was a big cross wind so lost my nerve at 52.96, and was on the training bike. i think i can hit 58ish on a good day on that road
  • frazerbrown
    frazerbrown Posts: 64
    Another SW one, College Way in Dartmouth. You can get quite fast down there!!! There's a speed camera on the way down as well for more of a challenge :twisted:
  • the_one_with_the_big_wang
    the_one_with_the_big_wang Posts: 35
    I bought a 55 tooth front ring to get as fast as I could down Titsey Hill (Surrey) when I was in my teens. It has a bend at the bottom but I hit 56mph and that was the fastest I have ever done. My speedo currently has 49.8 mph max on it which I did a couple of weeks ago. I'll probably try Titsey Hill again at some point but the surface is a bit rough now and would shake my bike and me apart. But nothing beats hitting that top speed and I never think about the consequences of a fall...I'm too busy spinning those pedals and blinking to prevent water build up in my eyes! Perhaps i should get a better pair of googles :shock:
  • micken
    micken Posts: 275
    Stuy-b wrote:
    52.96mph is my fastest so far this year, there was a big cross wind so lost my nerve at 52.96, and was on the training bike. i think i can hit 58ish on a good day on that road

    Where's that road?
  • morstar
    morstar Posts: 6,190
    unixnerd wrote:

    Going down the Cairngorm ski road I'm on the brakes all the time because frost heave makes it pretty treacherous and there's a few tight corners, lots of grit. Someone with larger testes could do a heck of speed down there.

    Oh the memories. Did that one on a MTB whilst wearing hiking boots one October over 20 years ago. Absolutely gob smacked (and a little unnerved) at how rapidly the bike accelerates with very little effort. Fairly soft nobblies for off road use made an amazing growling sound.

    Anyhoo, 50 on our roads is far from impossible. There are associated risks but it has been a bit overstated. You're not particularly likely to have a disaster riding at 50 on a UK road. The obvious issue is when you do, it ain't going to be pretty. I've only knowlingly exceeded 50 once many many years ago and can't imagine I've done it since. Do regulalry get into low 40's though and the hills are definitely steep enough for 50 but they all have bends at the bottom.
  • simpoman
    simpoman Posts: 29
    Pork Hill is good, bit straight though. other side i.e. last hill going from Princetown to Dousland much more fun....cattle grid, bit of a corner, bit of a dip.....find that a real exhiarating blast....never get to bottom without a grin!
  • Stuy-b
    Stuy-b Posts: 248
    micken wrote:
    Stuy-b wrote:
    52.96mph is my fastest so far this year, there was a big cross wind so lost my nerve at 52.96, and was on the training bike. i think i can hit 58ish on a good day on that road

    Where's that road?

    dropping down to the goyt vally from the top of long hill.
  • Cumulonimbus
    Cumulonimbus Posts: 1,730
    Fastest i have done since moving to the south-east is 46.5mph going down Gatton Bottom just near junction 8 of the M25. There was a tailwind that day. Dont think i could give Titsey Hill a go flat-out, would be too worried about what would happen if someone came out of those turnings. :shock:
  • TommyEss
    TommyEss Posts: 1,855
    56mph on a 50x12 - but I'm hefty.
    Cannondale Synapse 105, Giant Defy 3, Giant Omnium, Giant Trance X2, EMC R1.0, Ridgeback Platinum, On One Il Pompino...
  • Pokerface
    Pokerface Posts: 7,960
    55.6 somewhere in the Peak District:

    http://connect.garmin.com/activity/57677166


    Have gone faster (slightly - 57) in Spain.
  • patchy
    patchy Posts: 779
    47mph on a 50x12 is my best... :(

    I've now changed the cassette to an 11-25, so I'll be chasing that magic 50mph mark shortly
    point your handlebars towards the heavens and sweat like you're in hell
  • kettrinboy
    kettrinboy Posts: 613
    43.5 mph so far and have hit around this speed 4 or 5 times, going to have to take the bike somewhere with bigger hills, the hills round my area are steep enough but are not long enough for me to push it to 50 safely.mind you my Edge 800 said i,d done 55,400 mph the other day on a quick trip to the Phillipines and back in a couple of seconds due to a bad datapoint.
  • marksteven
    marksteven Posts: 208
    51 in cornwall somewhere on a fully loaded touring bike on lejog in 2004 & 58 coming down the ventoux in 2000 roads wre a bit wet so would of got 60 i reckon in the dry
  • Slack
    Slack Posts: 326
    simpoman wrote:
    Pork Hill is good, bit straight though. other side i.e. last hill going from Princetown to Dousland much more fun....cattle grid, bit of a corner, bit of a dip.....find that a real exhiarating blast....never get to bottom without a grin!

    Ah yes, Peek Hill. One of those hills where the computer says 47mph, so you just have to spin up and tuck in to achieve the 50!
    Plymouthsteve for councillor!!
  • brin
    brin Posts: 1,122
    Hit 47+ on a descent during a sportive in N.Yorks last year hope to hit the magic 50 this year, ground out a steady 33 on the flat for 1/4 mile or so on a local training loop.
    Having a mishap at 50+ or 20+ is gonna hurt regardless, you are just more aware of the outcome whilst travelling faster, so go for it.
  • micken
    micken Posts: 275
    Stuy-b wrote:
    micken wrote:
    Stuy-b wrote:
    52.96mph is my fastest so far this year, there was a big cross wind so lost my nerve at 52.96, and was on the training bike. i think i can hit 58ish on a good day on that road

    Where's that road?

    dropping down to the goyt vally from the top of long hill.

    Cheers, I'll have to look over that area on Memory Map. I've walked in the Peak District but not cycled there, although we have plans to do so at some stage.

    I recorded just over 50 on a ride I did with my wife near the Trough of Bowland, it was her route and a few years ago, so I'll look it up. I remember her saying that the descent was good, it had a good line of sight as I remember, so not too extreme.
  • micken
    micken Posts: 275
    Pokerface wrote:
    55.6 somewhere in the Peak District:

    http://connect.garmin.com/activity/57677166


    Have gone faster (slightly - 57) in Spain.

    Max cadence 239 :shock:

    Your legs must have been a blur. :lol:

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