I was talking with someone who reached 55 mph going downhill.

I think he said he was riding a racing bike.

His instructor rode along side and recommended going slower. :-)

Andy

What is your top speed?

AK <scientist77017@gmail.com> wrote:
> I was talking with someone who reached 55 mph going downhill.
>
> I think he said he was riding a racing bike.
>
> His instructor rode along side and recommended going slower. :-)
>
> Andy
>
> What is your top speed?
>
>

The highest I’ve ever seen on my Garmin was around 650 km/hr.

My best average speed for a ride was somewhere above 300 km/hr.

AK <scientist77017@gmail.com> wrote:
> I was talking with someone who reached 55 mph going downhill.
>
> I think he said he was riding a racing bike.
>
> His instructor rode along side and recommended going slower. :-)
>
> Andy
>
> What is your top speed?
>
>
Somewhere in the low 40’s probably I’d take very high top speeds with a
healthy degree of cynicism even PRO’s and fast ones such as Tom Pidcock
while the commentators might claim wild speeds much as they do for max
Grades for climbs, the speeds one can see via Strava and so on, are fast
yes, but much more human! Ie more 40/50mph than say 70mph!

Or in other words don’t believe everything said on the internet or down the
pub ie fisherman’s tails and so on!

Roger Merriman

On Monday, December 19, 2022 at 6:51:08 AM UTC+1, AK wrote:
> I was talking with someone who reached 55 mph going downhill.
>
> I think he said he was riding a racing bike.
>
> His instructor rode along side and recommended going slower. :-)
>
> Andy
>
> What is your top speed?

My top speed was 89 km/hr once and for me that was scary fast than and certainly now. .. For that you need to do your 'best' and need a long steep straight section. In my case a straight 12% grade with no disturbing traffic. At the current phase in my life 60-70 km/hr is fast enough.

Lou

Lou Holtman <lou.holtman@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Monday, December 19, 2022 at 6:51:08 AM UTC+1, AK wrote:
>> I was talking with someone who reached 55 mph going downhill.
>>
>> I think he said he was riding a racing bike.
>>
>> His instructor rode along side and recommended going slower. :-)
>>
>> Andy
>>
>> What is your top speed?
>
> My top speed was 89 km/hr once and for me that was scary fast than and
> certainly now. .. For that you need to do your 'best' and need a long
> steep straight section. In my case a straight 12% grade with no
> disturbing traffic. At the current phase in my life 60-70 km/hr is fast enough.
>
> Lou
>
Probably the only road I know of would be the Heads of the Valleys be that
it’s west or east ends when it drops down and as it’s a dual carriageway ie
bypass of the valley towns at the head of the valleys hence the name, has
good sight lines and gentle curves.

Though it did used to kill a few trucks most years, as they would run out
of brakes and you’d see them in the sand pit smoking or literally on fire
runaway, I haven’t seen this happening this century so perhaps lorry brakes
have become better over the years?

I’ve mildly wondered about rolling down but to be honest their is far more
interesting stuff to explore than how fast can I go!

Roger Merriman

Am 19.12.2022 um 15:10 schrieb Roger Merriman:
> Lou Holtman <lou.holtman@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Monday, December 19, 2022 at 6:51:08 AM UTC+1, AK wrote:
>>> I was talking with someone who reached 55 mph going downhill.
>>>
>>> I think he said he was riding a racing bike.
>>>
>>> His instructor rode along side and recommended going slower. :-)
>>>
>>> Andy
>>>
>>> What is your top speed?
>>
>> My top speed was 89 km/hr once and for me that was scary fast than and
>> certainly now. .. For that you need to do your 'best' and need a long
>> steep straight section. In my case a straight 12% grade with no
>> disturbing traffic. At the current phase in my life 60-70 km/hr is fast enough.
>>
> Probably the only road I know of would be the Heads of the Valleys be that
> it’s west or east ends when it drops down and as it’s a dual carriageway ie
> bypass of the valley towns at the head of the valleys hence the name, has
> good sight lines and gentle curves.

My fastest ride of of 52-53 mph was also in UK when I was young:
The A166 'Garrowby Hill' east of Stamford Bridge (York) drops in a
straight line, road signs say 1:6, the strava segment claims just under
10% average.
https://www.strava.com/segments/905277

Rolf

On Sunday, December 18, 2022 at 9:51:08 PM UTC-8, AK wrote:
> I was talking with someone who reached 55 mph going downhill.
>
> I think he said he was riding a racing bike.
>
> His instructor rode along side and recommended going slower. :-)
>
> Andy
>
> What is your top speed?

My top speeds today are in the low 40's but they used to be in the high 50's (mph) or higher. I don't know if it is my nerve today or the terrible condition of the roads around here now.

On Monday, December 19, 2022 at 6:10:29 AM UTC-8, Roger Merriman wrote:
> Lou Holtman <lou.h...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > On Monday, December 19, 2022 at 6:51:08 AM UTC+1, AK wrote:
> >> I was talking with someone who reached 55 mph going downhill.
> >>
> >> I think he said he was riding a racing bike.
> >>
> >> His instructor rode along side and recommended going slower. :-)
> >>
> >> Andy
> >>
> >> What is your top speed?
> >
> > My top speed was 89 km/hr once and for me that was scary fast than and
> > certainly now. .. For that you need to do your 'best' and need a long
> > steep straight section. In my case a straight 12% grade with no
> > disturbing traffic. At the current phase in my life 60-70 km/hr is fast enough.
> >
> > Lou
> >
> Probably the only road I know of would be the Heads of the Valleys be that
> it’s west or east ends when it drops down and as it’s a dual carriageway ie
> bypass of the valley towns at the head of the valleys hence the name, has
> good sight lines and gentle curves.
>
> Though it did used to kill a few trucks most years, as they would run out
> of brakes and you’d see them in the sand pit smoking or literally on fire
> runaway, I haven’t seen this happening this century so perhaps lorry brakes
> have become better over the years?
>
> I’ve mildly wondered about rolling down but to be honest their is far more
> interesting stuff to explore than how fast can I go!
>
> Roger Merriman
I used to regularly drop cars on long winding roads. But that is no more because the roads are so bad that I have to get out of the saddle every 10 seconds.

On 12/19/2022 12:51 AM, AK wrote:
> I was talking with someone who reached 55 mph going downhill.
>
> I think he said he was riding a racing bike.
>
> His instructor rode along side and recommended going slower. :-)
>
> Andy
>
> What is your top speed?
>

54 mph. I was hoping to break 55, but a car was in my way, and a bend in
the road prevented me seeing if it was safe to pass. This was in
southeast Ohio.

These days 35 - 40 mph feels plenty fast enough.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On 12/19/2022 2:35 AM, Roger Merriman wrote:
> AK <scientist77017@gmail.com> wrote:
>> I was talking with someone who reached 55 mph going downhill.
>>
>> I think he said he was riding a racing bike.
>>
>> His instructor rode along side and recommended going slower. :-)
>>
>> Andy
>>
>> What is your top speed?
>>
>>
> Somewhere in the low 40’s probably I’d take very high top speeds with a
> healthy degree of cynicism even PRO’s and fast ones such as Tom Pidcock
> while the commentators might claim wild speeds much as they do for max
> Grades for climbs, the speeds one can see via Strava and so on, are fast
> yes, but much more human! Ie more 40/50mph than say 70mph!

I've done 50 something MPH here <https://goo.gl/maps/fKLLsPjn9t4bRMgt8>.
Downhill, loaded touring bike, going to the Point Reyes Hostel. Newly
paved, very smooth road with no sharp turns.
>

On Monday, December 19, 2022 at 12:51:08 AM UTC-5, AK wrote:
> I was talking with someone who reached 55 mph going downhill.
>
> I think he said he was riding a racing bike.
>
> His instructor rode along side and recommended going slower. :-)
>
> Andy
>
> What is your top speed?

My fastest since I've been using Strava is 52 MPH, though I remember hitting 61 going down the north side of Smugglers Notch in the Pro123 Stowe Road Race in the early 1992. That was back in the days before downloadable data, just a cateye wired speedometer. The thing to remember is that yeah, I hit 61 - and was getting dropped.

Tom Kunich <cyclintom@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Monday, December 19, 2022 at 6:10:29 AM UTC-8, Roger Merriman wrote:
>> Lou Holtman <lou.h...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On Monday, December 19, 2022 at 6:51:08 AM UTC+1, AK wrote:
>>>> I was talking with someone who reached 55 mph going downhill.
>>>>
>>>> I think he said he was riding a racing bike.
>>>>
>>>> His instructor rode along side and recommended going slower. :-)
>>>>
>>>> Andy
>>>>
>>>> What is your top speed?
>>>
>>> My top speed was 89 km/hr once and for me that was scary fast than and
>>> certainly now. .. For that you need to do your 'best' and need a long
>>> steep straight section. In my case a straight 12% grade with no
>>> disturbing traffic. At the current phase in my life 60-70 km/hr is fast enough.
>>>
>>> Lou
>>>
>> Probably the only road I know of would be the Heads of the Valleys be that
>> it’s west or east ends when it drops down and as it’s a dual carriageway ie
>> bypass of the valley towns at the head of the valleys hence the name, has
>> good sight lines and gentle curves.
>>
>> Though it did used to kill a few trucks most years, as they would run out
>> of brakes and you’d see them in the sand pit smoking or literally on fire
>> runaway, I haven’t seen this happening this century so perhaps lorry brakes
>> have become better over the years?
>>
>> I’ve mildly wondered about rolling down but to be honest their is far more
>> interesting stuff to explore than how fast can I go!
>>
>> Roger Merriman
> I used to regularly drop cars on long winding roads. But that is no more
> because the roads are so bad that I have to get out of the saddle every 10 seconds.
>
It’s easy enough to loose cars off most of the Welsh hills but bikes are
generally quicker, plus I’m local and the cars are often tourists so not
used to such roads nor know it.

Ie I potentially could get a pint in the pub at the bottom by time the car
had arrived!

Roger Merriman

On Sun, 18 Dec 2022 21:51:06 -0800 (PST), AK
<scientist77017@gmail.com> wrote:

>What is your top speed?

30 mph, when I was about 17 years old:
<https://groups.google.com/g/rec.bicycles.tech/c/mMJcGSAb-Ek/m/EF3Z7EBIAQAJ>
See the section starting with "Drivel:"

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
PO Box 272 http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

AK <scientist77017@gmail.com> writes:

> What is your top speed?

92.8 km/h, Kuehtaisattel close to Innsbruck in the Austrian Alps, easily
the fastest of the hundreds of descents in the Alps I have
ridden. Second, but already considerably slower is the Fedaia pass in
the Dolomites. > 70 km/h is common, > 80 km/h already quite rare, even
though I am no lightweight.

Best regards

Axel

On 12/19/2022 4:44 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
> On Sun, 18 Dec 2022 21:51:06 -0800 (PST), AK
> <scientist77017@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> What is your top speed?
>
> 30 mph, when I was about 17 years old:
> <https://groups.google.com/g/rec.bicycles.tech/c/mMJcGSAb-Ek/m/EF3Z7EBIAQAJ>
> See the section starting with "Drivel:"

I have two friends who had bad experiences on fast downhills. The first
guy's happened long ago, before I knew him. As he described it, his bike
went into a violent shimmy on a steep half mile downhill. He said he
barely stayed up and ended up on the left shoulder with two flat tires
from skidding. He said if a car had been coming the opposite direction,
it would have killed him.

The other guy never really knew what happened. It was a longer downhill,
about a mile. He was a new cyclist, and suspects he hit a pothole. I
guess the crash was pretty violent.

Afterwards, both were the slowest downhillers imaginable. The first
never recovered from the scare, and was so slow and terrified on even
mild downhills that he gave up riding anywhere but flat bike trails. The
second guy recovered, but it took him a couple years and many thousands
of miles. Since then, he's done several 10,000+ mile years.

--
- Frank Krygowski