.

[docnjoj]

I'm not sure if he still holds the record, but Sam Whittingham did 75+ on a flat road in a fully enclosed recumbent 2 wheeler. This may have been surpassed recently. That's pretty Da*m fast!
otherDoc

 

[mikefish]

i had a lycra tell me i was cheating when he caught up to me at a stop light. all i could think of saying to him was something i read on this forum "is driving a car cheating" not so sure he got my point. oh well!

then just the other day i had a commuter (mountain biker) say "Whoa, LOL your cheating! LOL" he was very amused with it, i just looked back at him and gave a huge smile, and went on my way

not a road bike, but to pedal this fast is amazing:

82.3 mph
[youtube]jQwpGLCAMm4[/youtube]


ok, i know its not pedaling, but...

here is a guy that did 172 kph (down a mountain) and probably wont do it again

(don't watch if you don't want to see the inevitable)

[youtube]ZNwmpLPhoHw[/youtube]

 

[D-Man]

I paced a dumb small dog at 20mph yesterday that likes to chase me. I couldn't believe it could run that fast being so small. Maybe next time I'll wait for some cross traffic before passing by. Damn, wonder how fast the bigger attack type dogs can go.

 

[redorblack]

Sam actually went faster a couple of weeks ago. 82.82mph

Pro level rider with a super low drag machine. A French woman broke 75mph this time at Battle Mountain setting the Women's record and the fastest European.

Both records on the flat with 5 miles to get up to speed and a 200 meter speed trap, no drafting, no tailwind, no downhill.

Aerodynamics rock...

I have a real hard time with the claim of 60kph on a road bike. I expect someone making that claim is a CAT1 racer in a pack, or ignoring that they were going downhill or with a nice big tailwind. Last year I put in 4666 miles and found that working near my threshold I could keep about 19mph average over a relatively flat 15 mile route. But it still had sharp switchbacks and stop signs and lights. I can run it up to around 24mph for a while, but can't maintain it for more than a couple of minutes.

 

[D-Man]

Those streamliners have basically nothing to do with normal cycling. You'll never see one on the road in daily traffic or with any traffic for that matter. I read that going 35mph in one of those is the same effort as 12 mph on an upright bike. Wouldn't that be nice!

 

[redorblack]

You won't see the full on top speed ones like that for the same reasons you won't see a Top Fuel dragster. Not practical for the street. Those streamliners require being taped in by a crew that launches and catches you. On the other hand there are practical ones in two and three wheel versions. Referred to as Velomobiles, used in Europe mostly as replacements for cars. The Quest can be cruised at around 30mph on the flats, has room for gear, lights, horns etc... I think we had 14 Velomobiles at this year's Human Power Competition at Portland International Raceway that attended as part of the West Coast Velomobile Meet.

I run something in between... front fairing, rear tailbox with large storage capacity and sometimes a full bodysock. Can cruise 22-24mph in that mode on the straights, toss in pedestrian traffic, stop signs and switchbacks and my average speed is about the same as my road bike. Long open stretches and the recumbent with aero aids wins.

My goal is to add a mid-drive to one of my recumbent trikes and build a full bodyshell for winter commuting.

 

[JennyB]

I paced a dumb small dog at 20mph yesterday that likes to chase me. I couldn't believe it could run that fast being so small. Maybe next time I'll wait for some cross traffic before passing by. Damn, wonder how fast the bigger attack type dogs can go.

Back when I used to cycle with a club, a Border collie once paced us for about five miles over undulating roads. We would get away from him on the downhills but he always came back on the climbs, just running along for the fun of it. In those days I could hit 30 mph in a sprint, and cycle 20 miles solo in an hour. We were working hard together to outrun that dog, and only got away when we came to a descent that was just too long for him.

 

[WonderProfessor]

Many years ago, I could easily do 25 mph (40 kph) on the flat with my Gold Rush with the optional full windsock fairing. (I don't know if Easy Racers still offers this option. I can't find it anywhere on their site.) No way can I even get close to that now. The knees are gone, gone, gone.

My land speed record on my Gold Rush is 57 mph downhill (92 kph). The Gold Rush is the production model of the first bike to go over 65 mph (105 kph) on the flat. That was in 1986. Today, the land speed record for recumbents is over 80 mph (129 kph) on the flat without wind. (See the video above.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recumbent_bicycle

 

[redorblack]

A couple of weeks ago Sam upped that record listed on the Wiki site to 82.82mph during the Battle Mountain competition. Last year he won the Decimach competition by exceeding 1/10th the speed of sound with 82.333 mph. On the flat, no wind, no drafting. The gap in the bodyshell where the tires stick through account for over 90% of the drag on the bike.

 

[317537]

The world record for human powered bicycle speed is 72.28 mph, 116.32kph.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=[youtube]heFMd4qMjag[/youtube]


ZOMG look at him go.

World's fastest bicycles at the WHPSC World Human Powered Speed Challenge held on Highway 305 south of Battle Mountain, Nevada in October 2005. Fred Markham an American athlete from California pedals his Varna vehicle, built by Georgi Georgiev of Canada to a speed of 72.28 mph. It is a two-wheeled vehicle with carbon fiber/kevlar fairing, front wheel drive, and components that you would typically find on a bicycle.

The rider sits and pedals in a recumbent or reclining seat position to make the frontal area of the vehicle smaller and hence more aerodynamic. This was not the fastest that Fred has ever gone on bicycle. He had reached 75.78 mph the same week at this event. Fred was a member of the 1976 and 1980 US Olympic teams and holds multiple world records for Top Speed as well as the One Hour event for streamlined recumbent bicycles set over a 27 year period. Fred's bests are 77.22 mph in and 53.43 miles in one hour, both set in 2006 when Fred was 48 to 49 years old.

This was in 2005 and I'm not sure if its been beaten yet. If you find something post it.

His speed was broken by a french person in drag. Racing I mean. But fast fred still has 77.22mph as his personal best. Maybe not recorded official.


Edit:

Ohh I,m going about -80mph, I'm a little slow today. It takes me time to review all the pages.


Sam wins at 82mph.

 

[D-Man]

There is this bike called a lightning f-40. I guess it goes pretty fast according to the website. They said like cruise speed is 28 mph compared to like 18mph upright bike. Problem is it looks like a bar of soap. I couldn't see myself going down the road in it. I'm sure people would laugh at me.

 

[amberwolf]

I don't care if people laugh, as long as I'm comfy and it's easy to ride, and carries the stuff I want it to as far as I need it to.

Oh, and as long as people can see me. :lol:

 

[ambroseliao]

Is this the one you're talking about? If so, it definitely looks like you're encased in a bar of soap!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnzkD3YZRgU

Ambrose

 

[D-Man]

Yeah that's it.

 

[urace4me2]

I have raced for almost twenty years very seriously. On a flat sprint with no wind and some one breaking the wind until the last few meters I have hit 40 mph (actually 39.9) one time. Hitting 38 mph is pretty routine in my masters (old farts) racing. On a 40 km time trial I have maintained a 27.9 mph average. That is on a time trial bike with disk wheel, aero helmet etc. Most good riders can ride a time trial at or above 25 mph. On a tandem bikes, sprint and steady speeds can be significantly higher. I've hit 60 mph on mountain roads without really trying hard during tandem races. Hope this helps.

 

[D-Man]

Interesting about the tandem bike speeds. I've only seen like 2 tandems with road type tires around. But don't see any blistering speeds. Maybe the guy in front was an "old fart" and with the rider in back so close to his ass....... :lol: Now, that brings us to the next question:

How fast have you seen an older road biker pedal???

Age:

40's
50's
60's
70's
80's
90's
100

 

[Russell]

Maybe the question should be; how fast were you going on your ebike when you were passed by a roadie?

Since I switched to 48V on my Kona/36V Bafang (23.5 mph max. on flats/no wind)) I've been passed twice, one time on a turn I was overtaken by a roadie pacing me when I sat up to signal (he stayed on the drops) and the second time was on a slight downgrade with a favourable wind when a roadie with aerobars passed me when I was giving it all I had at 29 mph, then he widened the gap when the road leveled and I maintained low 20's. There have been a few times even with the motor I've just barely kept a solo roadie at bay for a mile or two until one of us turned. I will add however that while I ride a lot I don't encounter many other cyclists on the open road. On the few miles of bike path I ride I pass countless recreational riders even though I keep my speed moderate (avg ~17mph) on the path. The roadies either must be in front of me or behind me because I rarely encounter them going in my direction though I see any number travelling in the opposite direction.

-R

 

[D-Man]

Well, we know how fast road bikers can go now. So now what happens when you get old? At what age does the speed taper of to the point where an ebike is now needed. Injurys obviously play a role but just curious on what people have experienced.

 

[Russell]

Well, we know how fast road bikers can go now. So now what happens when you get old? At what age does the speed taper of to the point where an ebike is now needed. Injurys obviously play a role but just curious on what people have experienced.

The primary limitation for older cyclists is that as one ages the maximum heart rate steadily decreases and since cycling is primarily an aerobic activity that lower cardiovascular output directly translates to lower power output. Personally at 50 years of age I cycle more than I ever did in my 20’s and 30’s and my legs are probably stronger than they were then however my maximum heart rate at around 170 BPM is much lower so I can’t ride as fast. Back then with a little work I would peak at around an average speed of 20 mph over a 22 mile course. In the summer of 2008 I hit it real hard but I peaked at an average speed of 17.9 mph over a 21 mile course. I was also 20 pounds heavier in 2008 than 25 years earlier. There is simply no way around it, you get older, you slow down, that’s why most professional cyclists hang it up before they are 40.

-R

 

[D-Man]

.

 

[madact]

If you're running out of gears on the flat at less than 150 gear inches... you're going too slow.

OTOH, if you have to run less than 150 gear inches on the flat and your cadence hasn't hit 180 yet... you're probably riding a road bike. Goodness knows I can't keep up a "top gear" on-the-flat sprint for long on an upright :lol:

I'm about 30, and I can't keep up with traffic in 60kph areas on a roadie (apart from the effect of traffic lights evening the score), but can keep up in 50kph areas with a bit of effort, and of course it always helps to draft a bus :wink: - no speedo though (seems a bit pointless to put a speedo on an upright unless you're riding for fitness), so I can't quote exact numbers. Plus my 'racer' is kinda short some front wheel trueness, so there's a rubbing brake pad slowing me down almost as much as the wind resistance, which does no favours to sustained top speed.

The lycra gangs around here seem to keep it under 45kph whenever I've been in a car passing a group, but of course, all bets are off when theres a steep hill involved

My mum's in her mid-to-late 60's, and she'd be easily doing 30ish on the flat (not on a road bike, mind you - just got her a nice sit-up bike), once again no exact figures (yet), but I'm planning to do a GPS log with her on a longer ride soon, will post the speed & elevation results here for some 'older cyclist' comparison.

 

[D-Man]

I don't like going more then 120rpm, my butt starts hopping on the seat. Top gear is 52x14. I don't know much about gear inches. I don't even wear cycling clothes or shoes. I use custom hemmed golf shorts and hemmed sleeveless shirt. Bmx pedals is what I run. :lol:

 

[recumpence]

I do not understand gear-inches either.

I find it hard to believe some of the quotes I hear from some guys in our area. However, there are a number of competitive racers that have slips to prove their speeds and times. One of those competitive guys here mentioned hitting 60mph on a tandem. That is insane! Beyond that, there are a couple Velokraft No-Com riders in our area that sustain some incredible numbers. One of them regularly sustains 35mph for a few miles on the flats. That is just nutty fast!

My electric recumbent runs 38mph on a full charge. I love passing the roadies on that thing.

Oh, also, one thing I love about light weight electric bikes with freewheeling drive systems is you can use the motor to accellerate and pedal to sustain speed. If I use the motor to accellerate and shut it off to pedal, it is not hard to sustain 25mph on the flat. Heck, I can sustain 30mph for a few miles if there is no wind, I use the motor for accelleration only, and am well warmed up. Recumbents are very efficient, indeed.

Lastly, trikes are a runny business. My Catrike 700 is very fast, even though it has 3 wheels, two of which are little 16 inchers. However, other trikes I have ridden are slow as a fat chick signing up for weight watchers.

Matt

 

[madact]

I do not understand gear-inches either.

FYI 150 gear-inches is about 66x12 on a 700C tyre (if you're into custom chain-rings, I'm currently looking at the 2-stage drive approach myself)

Gear-inches is the equivalent wheel diameter with no gearing. The O.D. of a 700C tyre is 27", near enough as makes little difference. So for a 700C tyre, the gear inches is 27 x chainring teeth / sprocket teeth - 52x14 is about 100 gear-inches on a road bike with a tyre O.D. of 27", or 96 gear-inches on an MTB with tyre O.D. of 26", for example.

Gear-inches basically exist so you can compare gearing between bikes with different wheel sizes.

there are a couple Velokraft No-Com riders in our area that sustain some incredible numbers.

Maybe not quite the right word there - very large, yes, incredible, no. The No-Com looks like one very slick machine, lack of fairing or no...

Lastly, trikes are a runny business. My Catrike 700 is very fast, even though it has 3 wheels, two of which are little 16 inchers. However, other trikes I have ridden are slow as a fat chick signing up for weight watchers.

No kidding - I've had enough test drives with the 'competition' at events to know that even a fully faired velo can have ***-backwards aerodynamics. There's another factor you get with trikes that bikes just don't have, too (take note, if you're building one) and that's steering geometry / wheel scrub - you point the left and right wheels in just slightly the wrong direction (be it due to excessive toe-in / toe-out, too much camber, suspension movement, frame flex, incorrect Ackerman geometry), and you're instantly in rubber-rubbing purgatory, and no amount of aero or lightening or better tyres or bearing replacement work (or anything you would do to a regular bike) is going to make a smidge of difference until you get those wheels pointing in exactly the same direction (well, you want about a degree of toe-in for high speed stability, but hit 1.5 and you've had it in my experience). Trust me on this one :wink:

 

[docnjoj]

Unfortunately, madact that is true about toe in. I use a trammel and try to keep 1mm but I can see excessive tire wear ( and probably speed scrub off) if the front wheels are a bit out. Trikes can corner like sidecar bikes and have extra rubber on the road so they will win a lot of races (as they do in Europe) against 2 wheelers. This is tadpole recumbents but even well made delta trikes (like Kettweisel) are formidable in races against tadpoles.
otherDoc