Cycling speed

actusreus

I got into cycling a few months ago after playing professional football for about 20 years. Speeds of around 25 mph seem to be up there when it comes to amateur cycling on a flat surface. Watching professional cycling on TV, I hear speeds of 77 kph/47 mph stated on flat surfaces. I think it's absolutely ridiculous. Where do they get these figures from? I don't believe you can actually generate that speed on a bicycle.

FishFish

Well I think that it is absolutely ridiculous that the salaries on a professional football league game are as high as they are. Where do thy get these figures from?

imposter2.0

Everyone knows that humans cannot survive at speeds beyond 12mph...

sloppyschleckonds

actusreus wrote:

Where do they get these figures from? I don't believe you can actually generate that speed on a bicycle.

The internetz

fat daddy

well if the average newbie can sustain 2.5wkg to average 20mph ... then a pro cyclist, generating 6wkg on a performance bike that is perfectly maintained and being dragged along in a peloton added to the motivation that if they drop out the back of the peloton its going to be an even harder ride ....... then to be honest, I am surprised they don't cycle faster

OnTheRopes

actusreus wrote:

I got into cycling a few months ago after playing professional football for about 20 years. Speeds of around 25 mph seem to be up there when it comes to amateur cycling on a flat surface. Watching professional cycling on TV, I hear speeds of 77 kph/47 mph stated on flat surfaces. I think it's absolutely ridiculous. Where do they get these figures from? I don't believe you can actually generate that speed on a bicycle.

Don't believe it then! But if Alex Dowsett can average 34.6153mph to take the 10 mile TT record which is an average over 10 miles and performed alone then how much faster do you think 200+ top professionals can go in a bunch over a shorter distance and possibly a tail wind?. Personally I have experienced 40mph in the neutralised zone whilst racing in Belgium in the 90's so these speeds are not so difficult to achieve.

Grill

Who is doing 47mph on the flat?

rnath

If they're new to cycling, the OP may not be aware of the benefits of bunch riding?

bendertherobot

Grill wrote:

Who is doing 47mph on the flat?

75kmh. I think I'd like to know, the finishing speed of the track sprinters on the "flat" is what, 72kmh or so? Balls out.

markhewitt1978

actusreus wrote:

I got into cycling a few months ago after playing professional football for about 20 years. Speeds of around 25 mph seem to be up there when it comes to amateur cycling on a flat surface. Watching professional cycling on TV, I hear speeds of 77 kph/47 mph stated on flat surfaces. I think it's absolutely ridiculous. Where do they get these figures from? I don't believe you can actually generate that speed on a bicycle.

Where do they get them from? Well perhaps measuring the speed?

Alex99

actusreus wrote:

I got into cycling a few months ago after playing professional football for about 20 years. Speeds of around 25 mph seem to be up there when it comes to amateur cycling on a flat surface. Watching professional cycling on TV, I hear speeds of 77 kph/47 mph stated on flat surfaces. I think it's absolutely ridiculous. Where do they get these figures from? I don't believe you can actually generate that speed on a bicycle.

Maybe, absolutely top end sprint speed with slight tail wind. Most club riders will be able to average about 25 mph for 10 miles and probably sprint up to say, 35-38 mph (just my estimate). The pro's go about 60 kph on the flat in the closing few kilomteres of a race. Average speeds are more usually in the range 35-45 kph.

AK_jnr

20 year pro career. That would be very impressive. Who did you play for?

imposter2.0

I think the OP is American, so it probably isn't actual football...

sungod

for a sprint mark cavendish has been clocked doing 78kph

otherwise as above, average speeds will be lower

imho what's impressive about the professionals isn't the peak speed, it's that they'll still do a hilly stage at 40+

bikegangster

Grill wrote:

Who is doing 47mph on the flat?

Christopher Hoy?

actusreus wrote:

I don't believe you can actually generate that speed on a bicycle.

A few things that can get at least close enough:

tubular wheelset (they have less rolling resistance than clinchers imo), plus 30+mm deep rim profile.
time trial frame set
aero position/posture and use the drops
strong leg muscles
53/39 teeth chainring set

imposter2.0

FFS

FishFish

AK_jnr wrote:

20 year pro career. That would be very impressive. Who did you play for?

He might be Ryan Giggs. Maybe Franz (should that be Frank?) Bekenbaur. Maybe if we ask him if he has done his brothers wife then could tell which one he is.

sloppyschleckonds

FishFish wrote:

AK_jnr wrote:

20 year pro career. That would be very impressive. Who did you play for?

He might be Ryan Giggs. Maybe Franz (should that be Frank?) Bekenbaur. Maybe if we ask him if he has done his brothers wife then could tell which one he is.

Lee Dixon

Garry H

rnath wrote:

If they're new to cycling, the OP may not be aware of the benefits of bunch riding?

And if he's an ex professional football player it may very well be beyond his ken anyway.

PTestTeam

Professional football for 20 years? Must have been a goalkeeper

DeVlaeminck

47mph will probably be with a decent tail wind and slight downhill - for a flat sprint with no wind I doubt it.

actusreus

I mentioned professional football career not to brag, but to imply that I'm not a couch potato who decided to pick up cycling, and I know about physical performance and limitations. I should have said I played for 20 years, not all those years were at professional level. My apology for a sloppily constructed sentence.

Going back to cycling speed, I understand (not fully to be honest) burst of speeds in excess of 40 mph, but not a sustained effort for long periods of time. The 44 mph speed I heard was while watching the Volta, and it was supposedly the peloton speed. That would be superhuman. Well, maybe that is why doping is so widespread in professional cycling - to make them superhuman. You tell me.

I'm also still trying to understand how the cassette makes such a difference since I'm a relative novice. Going downhill at a 45 degree decline for example, my Pinarello Gan cannot generate more than 40 mph as it simply won't spin any faster, even in the highest gear. So I still scratch my head hearing about sprints of 48 mph.

I'm not trying to offend anyone or troll; I'm simply trying to understand certain things about cycling that are still eluding me. I thank you all for your input and feedback.

FishFish

But Sam Allardyce has been around for a very long time too - and he, along with Keith Vaz is one of the greatest Britons on earth. FACT!. Could be either of them.

sungod

actusreus wrote:

...I'm also still trying to understand how the cassette makes such a difference since I'm a relative novice. Going downhill at a 45 degree decline for example, my Pinarello Gan cannot generate more than 40 mph as it simply won't spin any faster, even in the highest gear. So I still scratch my head hearing about sprints of 48 mph.
...

45 degrees, would be 100% gradient, you'd be going a lot faster than that, did you mean 4.5 degrees?

the road i've gone faster on averages a few %, some short ramps of maybe 10%, on a clear day i've reached almost 90kph (over 55mph) down it, though after about 70kph i give up turning the pedals and just get low, on steeper/clearer roads people go a lot faster than that

for a pro in a sprint, their cadence might be 115-120, they have the power to push 53x11 (or higher) at that cadence, that's where the extreme speed comes from, it is something only a minute proportion of people can do, at top level there are just a few guys that contest most sprints

Grill

IIRC Hines Ward did an Ironman. I remember seeing some blurbs about his adaptation and how a lifetime of 6 second intervals were far from favourable.

Realistically the highest peloton speeds are going to be in the mid 50kph range. For a sustainable 44mph they simply don't have the gearing, and even if they did there's the issue that power loss from aerodynamic drag increases as the cube of velocity.

StillGoing

actusreus wrote:

That would be superhuman. Well, maybe that is why doping is so widespread in professional cycling - to make them superhuman. You tell me.

.

I suggest doping in professional football and other sports is more widespread than pro cycling. It is merely that cycling is trying to do something about it unlike other sports.

ugo.santalucia

actusreus wrote:

So I still scratch my head hearing about sprints of 48 mph. .

You need to spin your legs fast... most amateurs spin out at 120 rpm, but the GB team pursuit team need to spin at 130 rpm for 3 minutes and 50 seconds

130-140 is also give or take the cadence sprinters use... it is very hard to achieve effectively keeping a good line... they are also capable of putting 1500 Watt in the cranks after a 200 Km stage, which is not bad.

In track sprint they spin even faster and put more power in... someone like Jason Kenny can easily put over 2000 Watt in the cranks for a few seconds

Anonymous

A human being can run 100 meters in under 10 seconds ( Usain Bolt hit nearly 45kph in one race) unaided but for a human to hit 80kph+ on a mechanical device seems unfathomable?

marcusjb

DeVlaeminck wrote:

47mph will probably be with a decent tail wind and slight downhill - for a flat sprint with no wind I doubt it.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/07/ ... int_413832

Not sure of wind conditions, but some data from the final km of a TdF spring stage. Fast.

FishFish

Maglia Rosa wrote:

a mechanical device seems unfathomable?

That would be a submarine then.

Anonymous

FishFish wrote:

Maglia Rosa wrote:

a mechanical device seems unfathomable?

That would be a submarine then.

Yes, A yellow one.