top speed

Peanutt
Peanutt Posts: 229
edited July 2011 in Road beginners
Hi, every time I go out I try at least once to beat my top speed on the flat 31.2mph, yesterday I was determined, hard tyres, wind behind me, super smooth flat tarmac and I managed 32.4

How do pro riders get up to 40? I was in the topmost gear pedalling like a crazy fool but I can't get anywhere near 35 I'm convinced my bike can't go any faster, It's not hugely important as I just like riding but it is a little challenge I set myself.
No matter where you are, that's where you've been
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Comments

  • desweller
    desweller Posts: 5,175
    Never mind 40mph, I think the pros are knocking on the door of 50mph in a flat sprint...

    The answer to the question is that they are just bloody strong!
    - - - - - - - - - -
    On Strava.{/url}
  • MountainMonster
    MountainMonster Posts: 7,423
    Lots of training, eating properly, and more training.
    My London Road
  • LeicesterLad
    LeicesterLad Posts: 3,908
    They are superhuman. thats why they ride the tour, and we watch it.
    http://www.twitter.com/InTheGC http://www.InTheGC.com http://www.facebook.com/intheGC
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Talent and training.
    _
  • jgsi
    jgsi Posts: 5,062
    What gearing are you trying in?
    You'll want a big ring 52 or 53.
    Join a race sometime and try an attack, you might be surprised at the speed you can screw out of yourself with the thought of 40 or so riders behind you wanting to chew your arse .. the xtra mph is probably down to adrenaline.
  • rake
    rake Posts: 3,204
    never mind 50, they can be toughing 60mph on the flat.
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    A big group provides a huge advantage as at those speeds, over 90% of energy is consumed overcoming air resistance and a group of riders is far more efficient than a single rider. The other factor is fitness and strength. Sprints exceed 70kph for pros and sometimes 80kph if there's a tailwind / slight downhill. As well as top speed you need to work on your average speed - you should aim to be able to roll-along the flat easily maintaining an average of 32kph for at least 20 minutes
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • RowCycle
    RowCycle Posts: 367
    I got 40mph, but was down a very steep hill - and still pedalling hard to over come air resistance.

    I reckon you could get a bit more speed from being in a group. If on your own you have to put in all the power to get from (say) 20mph to 40mph. If you were in a peloton you might be going along at 30mph for the same effort as 20mph on your own. So getting to that 40mph mark requires less effort overall (i.e. your not tired from getting up to 30mph first).
  • danowat
    danowat Posts: 2,877
    36,5mph is the most I've ever got solo, I was spinning as fast as I could in a 10 mile TT this weekend with a tailwind.

    You'd be suprised at just how much quicker you can go in a group though....
  • Thelittlesthobo
    Thelittlesthobo Posts: 184
    Got my top speed last week on a 34mls loop. Managed to get upto 41mph on a great descent about 2mls in. TBH it would have been a lot faster if i had been wearing a lid because i eased off very early and i am carrying a serious injury atm.

    Must admit its a seriously good downhill with a perfect run off at the bottom so quite safe
  • MountainMonster
    MountainMonster Posts: 7,423
    As mentioned a few times, drafting also really helps. I can hold 50kmh on the flats when riding with at least one other person, otherwise 40kmh is a huge strain for me. It takes years of practice and training to get to the speeds the pros ride at, which is why they are pros. They have had the time to devote their waking time to training, which for most of us earthlings is impossible due to job requirements and such!
    My London Road
  • Warwickshire Whizzer
    Warwickshire Whizzer Posts: 218
    It's all down to training. I can get myself up into the mid 30's for a while, but I can't sustain it for very long, simply because I don't have the strength to do so.

    The more you train, the faster you'll get.
  • ollyridesfirst
    ollyridesfirst Posts: 486
    Please don't get mp/h mixed up with km/h....

    The world record for a 200m flying sprint in a velodrome is 9.572 seconds which equates to 46.7mp/h (75km/h). Cavendish will probably hit 40mp/h (possibly up to 45 ish) over the last 150m-200m of a race, but this can only be sustained for that distance and then he's dead! A sprint of more than 200m (20ish pedal strokes) at full speed and the actual speed drops massively.

    The average speed for a flat stage in the TdF is between 25-33 mp/h in the peloton. And if you're in the middle of the pack, this is made so much easier due to almost zero wind resistance.

    Bear in mind that Cav probably rides a 53/11 largest gear (127.68 inches) - and at 120 rpm that would pull 45 mp/h on flat with no wind or resistance. This talk of 50-60 mp/h is absolute cack!
  • kettrinboy
    kettrinboy Posts: 613
    OllyRidesFirst wrote:
    Bear in mind that Cav probably rides a 53/11 largest gear (127.68 inches) - and at 120 rpm that would pull 45 mp/h on flat with no wind or resistance. This talk of 50-60 mp/h is absolute cack!
    Sounds about right, i remember Cav saying in an interview that he hits around 70 kph or about 43 mph at his best in a flat sprint, yesterday in the TDF the motorbike following the bunch along the valley floor on a slight downhill was indicating a steady 90 kph or 55 mph thats 10 mph faster than ive ever been, even from the helicopter shot you could tell they were shifting.
  • ollyridesfirst
    ollyridesfirst Posts: 486
    They were moving very fast yesterday when trying to catch the break away.....

    Fastest i've got up to was 48.2 mph - that was a very straight downhill in the Yorkshire Dales. Was desperate to hit 50, but my compact 50/11 wouldn't let me spin quick enough!
  • Speedmenace
    Speedmenace Posts: 97
    Skip to 1:14

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbdFQ5rwEZs
  • Peanutt
    Peanutt Posts: 229
    So I guess for a fat bloke like me with a 20 year old bike with a manky biopace chainring 32.4 is a pretty good top speed
    No matter where you are, that's where you've been
  • ollyridesfirst
    ollyridesfirst Posts: 486
    Speedmenace wrote:
    Skip to 1:14

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbdFQ5rwEZs

    Lovely bikes.....

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q77GMkXzOVE

    I see that 38 mph and raise you 126 mph
  • Slack
    Slack Posts: 326
    Someone was telling me a about a Cav interview, where Cav was explaining how Tony Martin helped lead him out once with a 54x11.
    Plymouthsteve for councillor!!
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Theo Boss doing his flying 200m record:
    http://youtu.be/RnOSKYezZ-Q

    Theo Boss doing a little motorpacing:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-Pl-H3U ... page#t=54s
    _
  • desweller
    desweller Posts: 5,175
    I seem to recall Chinny tweeting about exceeding 80kph at the Prologue of the Tour of Qatar...could be wrong...

    EDIT: Apologies, not the prologue http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/7361/Fabian-Cancellara-sets-personal-flat-road-record-speed-of-815-kmh-at-Qatar.aspx
    - - - - - - - - - -
    On Strava.{/url}
  • rodgers73
    rodgers73 Posts: 2,626
    I clocked 42mph on Saturday on a rather steep downhill section in the Pennines. It was fun! :D
  • sharky1029
    sharky1029 Posts: 188
    Closed smooth roads make it far easier to go fast and also cycling in a massive group also reduces air resistance making it easier.
    I maxed 37 on a recent trip to the TDF and my all time mex is 45 mph
    both down hill.

    I think the main reason though is the shear strength of them along with a superlight bike.
  • P_Tucker
    P_Tucker Posts: 1,878
    Jesus, what a load of poofs. I managed 100kph coming down the Cormet de Roseland AND Llangynidr (sp) mountain before I shat myself and slowed down, and I've managed 90kmh in a UK race (also shat self).
  • sub55
    sub55 Posts: 1,025
    sharky1029 wrote:
    Closed smooth roads make it far easier to go fast and also cycling in a massive group also reduces air resistance making it easier.
    I maxed 37 on a recent trip to the TDF and my all time mex is 45 mph
    both down hill.

    I think the main reason though is the shear strength of them along with a superlight bike.

    their not using bikes any lighter than ours, uci regs wont allow it and its not strength , its lactate threshold thats the limiting factor.

    No matter how quick you`ve ever been , theres always someone out that even quicker. some can proof it , most cant.
    constantly reavalueating the situation and altering the perceived parameters accordingly
  • oldwelshman
    oldwelshman Posts: 4,733
    OllyRidesFirst wrote:
    Please don't get mp/h mixed up with km/h....

    The world record for a 200m flying sprint in a velodrome is 9.572 seconds which equates to 46.7mp/h (75km/h). Cavendish will probably hit 40mp/h (possibly up to 45 ish) over the last 150m-200m of a race, but this can only be sustained for that distance and then he's dead! A sprint of more than 200m (20ish pedal strokes) at full speed and the actual speed drops massively.

    The average speed for a flat stage in the TdF is between 25-33 mp/h in the peloton. And if you're in the middle of the pack, this is made so much easier due to almost zero wind resistance.

    Bear in mind that Cav probably rides a 53/11 largest gear (127.68 inches) - and at 120 rpm that would pull 45 mp/h on flat with no wind or resistance. This talk of 50-60 mp/h is absolute cack!
    Spot on.
    You only have to look at the lead out train, if they are balls out they cannot do 1km each, they could only o about 200m which is about limit for max power. The leadout guys do between 500m and 1k tnot quite sprint effort ,hen swing over knackerred. Cav finishes it off, accelerating a couple of MPH over the lead out speed but once he is into free air he can only do this roughlyfor 250m before slowing down as power drops off.
    The UK/Aussie team pursuit guys are doing 40mph on fixed for 16 laps and look at the state of them when they finish.
    http://s290.photobucket.com/albums/ll245/oldwelshman/
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK5Bfqj5fxY
  • MountainMonster
    MountainMonster Posts: 7,423
    P_Tucker wrote:
    Jesus, what a load of poofs. I managed 100kph coming down the Cormet de Roseland AND Llangynidr (sp) mountain before I shat myself and slowed down, and I've managed 90kmh in a UK race (also shat self).

    LOL, dude you are the most self-righteous, pessimistic person I have ever seen on this forum.
    My London Road
  • Dunkeldog
    Dunkeldog Posts: 138
    On the flat I can hold 27/28mph for a good while - take or add 5mph for head or tailwind!. Best downhill 49.5mph. Just couldn't crack the 50. Got back all excited - told wife - she went ballistic! You've got to love 'em!
  • sub55
    sub55 Posts: 1,025
    Dunkeldog wrote:
    On the flat I can hold 27/28mph for a good while - take or add 5mph for head or tailwind!. Best downhill 49.5mph. Just couldn't crack the 50. Got back all excited - told wife - she went ballistic! You've got to love 'em!

    good god that puts you at 53 min for a 25 and your PB is :?:
    constantly reavalueating the situation and altering the perceived parameters accordingly
  • coombsfh
    coombsfh Posts: 186
    Today I nailed 41.4 mph on my morning ride and 44.3mph on my evening ride.. I have only had 2 days of Wiltshire cycling so far and am testing for the best hills for cracking 50 which I think I will maybe do soon. I am still pretty new to biking so need to be a bit careful as going splat over 30mph will be bad...

    The speedo is just a basic cat-eye velo wireless. The best function is average speed as I hate to see it drop and it spurs you on...

    Here is proof incase I get called a liar...I am not happy till I get 50mph

    41_crop.jpg
    44_crop.jpg

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