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Who is the fastest cyclist?

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Who is the fastest cyclist?

Old 07-09-19, 07:33 AM
  #26  
wphamilton
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accelerate from 0 to 40 in just 18 seconds

So his velocity over 18 seconds is just 20 mph, if his acceleration is constant. It makes him the best at something, but not the "fastest" cyclist IMO. Although he may well be the fastest cyclist.

You need to go a certain speed (relative to the surface you're biking on) for a given time or distance.
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Old 07-09-19, 07:59 AM
  #27  
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According to the criteria, it would be the cyclist behind the draft car at 183 mph. Until someone can invent a velodrome in a vacuum.
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Old 07-09-19, 09:24 AM
  #28  
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The UCI Hour Record on a bicycle has recently been set at 55.089 km by Victor Campenaerts, a Belgian

Bettering Brit Bradley Wiggins' distance in an hour, by 563 M.
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Old 07-09-19, 09:39 AM
  #29  
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How long is a piece of string?
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Old 07-09-19, 04:35 PM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by Dean V
So you are asking who is the fastest "road cyclist" using the parameters in which their are no events, competitors, or measurements?
Seems like a valid thread topic to me. Right there with the many on threads on fastest bike, fastest wheels, etcetera etcetera.
Shoot - we went hundreds of posts on what is a road bike.
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Old 07-09-19, 04:39 PM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by wphamilton
accelerate from 0 to 40 in just 18 seconds

So his velocity over 18 seconds is just 20 mph, if his acceleration is constant. It makes him the best at something, but not the "fastest" cyclist IMO. Although he may well be the fastest cyclist.

You need to go a certain speed (relative to the surface you're biking on) for a given time or distance.
Wouldn't you think someone on a 13# bike, nice light wheels with Di2 setup could beat that?
At least at the start, those track bike seem a lot slower than the roadies starting.

I mean, if a fixed gear is faster - why do all the crit guys start out shifting?
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Old 07-09-19, 05:24 PM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by Doge
Wouldn't you think someone on a 13# bike, nice light wheels with Di2 setup could beat that?
At least at the start, those track bike seem a lot slower than the roadies starting.

I mean, if a fixed gear is faster - why do all the crit guys start out shifting?
I think they need lower gears so that they're kind of moving while they get their clipless clicked in. At least that's what it looks like - I'm not as shifty as most of you guys so I can't say for sure.
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Old 07-09-19, 06:22 PM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by wphamilton
I think they need lower gears so that they're kind of moving while they get their clipless clicked in. At least that's what it looks like - I'm not as shifty as most of you guys so I can't say for sure.
The TT starts are always shifting and they are held. You can hear it in the TdF starts too.
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Old 07-09-19, 07:24 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by Doge
The TT starts are always shifting and they are held. You can hear it in the TdF starts too.
and are any of them as short as a track event?

I must say that as an orange, this apple is a total failure.
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Old 07-09-19, 08:09 PM
  #35  
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Originally Posted by Doge
Wouldn't you think someone on a 13# bike, nice light wheels with Di2 setup could beat that?
At least at the start, those track bike seem a lot slower than the roadies starting.

I mean, if a fixed gear is faster - why do all the crit guys start out shifting?
I wonder if a road chain could take the standing start load generated by a track sprinter?
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Old 07-09-19, 10:37 PM
  #36  
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Originally Posted by Doge
Wouldn't you think someone on a 13# bike, nice light wheels with Di2 setup could beat that?
At least at the start, those track bike seem a lot slower than the roadies starting.

I mean, if a fixed gear is faster - why do all the crit guys start out shifting?
Because it's easier to accelerate a smaller gear than a bigger one.
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Old 07-09-19, 11:01 PM
  #37  
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Originally Posted by Dean V
I wonder if a road chain could take the standing start load generated by a track sprinter?
Sure. It will take two on a tandem, four on a quad. Does anyone break a chain? They come off when the pins are not set, but the rollers and side plates don't break by what a cyclist can do.
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Old 07-09-19, 11:03 PM
  #38  
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Originally Posted by seau grateau
Because it's easier to accelerate a smaller gear than a bigger one.
I agree, so I think the 0-40 in 20 sec is likely not what somebody with a geared bike can do.
Maybe that same rider would be as fast using gears, just maybe not.
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Old 07-09-19, 11:36 PM
  #39  
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Originally Posted by Dean V
I wonder if a road chain could take the standing start load generated by a track sprinter?
People track stand at red lights, and then start from a stand.

But I don't know if that's a real answer. Track cyclists lift weights to compensate for their lack of gears, specifically for starting in the wrong gear.
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Old 07-10-19, 05:14 PM
  #40  
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I'm always the fastest cyclist on whatever bike I happen to be riding.
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Old 07-10-19, 05:47 PM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest
... Track cyclists lift weights to compensate for their lack of gears, specifically for starting in the wrong gear.
Are they Road Cyclists - when on the track?
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Old 07-10-19, 06:49 PM
  #42  
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Originally Posted by Dean V
I wonder if a road chain could take the standing start load generated by a track sprinter?
From what I read on the velodrome forum, many track teams are using road chains because that is where the technology currently is in terms of coatings to reduce friction.
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Old 07-10-19, 06:58 PM
  #43  
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Originally Posted by Seattle Forrest
People track stand at red lights, and then start from a stand.

But I don't know if that's a real answer. Track cyclists lift weights to compensate for their lack of gears, specifically for starting in the wrong gear.
Kinda. Only only team and individual pursuit, kilo and the team sprint start from a standstill. Everything else is from a rolling start.
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Old 07-11-19, 03:43 AM
  #44  
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Isn't the fastest cyclist a woman?


Yes, here we are ...

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...es-183mph.html
https://www.outsideonline.com/234621...astest-cyclist


And this one ... different woman, different "fastest" record ...

https://bikepacking.com/plog/jenny-g...-world-record/

Last edited by Machka; 07-11-19 at 03:47 AM.
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Old 07-11-19, 05:00 PM
  #45  
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Originally Posted by Machka
Isn't the fastest cyclist a woman?


Yes, here we are ...

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...es-183mph.html
https://www.outsideonline.com/234621...astest-cyclist


And this one ... different woman, different "fastest" record ...

https://bikepacking.com/plog/jenny-g...-world-record/
Obviously

But I was trying to keep race, gender and age out of this. Howard was lots faster after he retired.
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Old 07-11-19, 05:04 PM
  #46  
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I think it is Peter Sagan.
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Old 07-12-19, 07:58 AM
  #47  
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Could be argued that an individual time trial is the best measure of how "fast" a rider is, but there are so many "it depends" things. The fastest rider in a 200m sprint is not the fastest rider over 1km is not the fastest rider over 4km is not the fastest rider over 10km is not the fastest rider over 40km, etc. Cycling is so specialized into distinct disciplines that the idea of one fastest rider doesn't really carry.
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Old 07-13-19, 05:06 AM
  #48  
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Hmm... if we're going by the points classification type of evaluation for fastest, yeah, Sagan is probably the current fastest.

But that also boosts Erik Zabel way up on the all time fastest scale. He dominated or was in the top three for, what, 12 years? Pretty phenomenal.

Good grief, I predict a couple of hours on YouTube in my near future, just reviewing the recent past races...
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