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How fast do you descend?

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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

How fast do you descend?

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Old 04-12-21, 04:57 PM
  #101  
Eric F 
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Originally Posted by Carbon1876
35 roughly
I bet you could go even faster if you go smoothly.
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Old 04-12-21, 06:16 PM
  #102  
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Originally Posted by sean.hwy
30's much past that I don't feel so safe with bicycle level safety gear. I wish someone would make football helmet for bicycle. Protect your face but still have fresh air and not heavy like a full face motorcycle helmet.
why not a downhill helmet? They’re usually vented and protect your face.
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Old 04-12-21, 08:31 PM
  #103  
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Ive been riding in the hills this past week and find myself sticking to about 30 on the decents and just aerotucking to save energy and be safer instead of peddling like a madman like I was before
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Old 04-12-21, 08:33 PM
  #104  
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Originally Posted by LarrySellerz
Hey guys, I test rode my brothers new bike yesterday and bombed down a hill. I was wearing a helmet so I felt confident to just take the bike to close to its maximum speed, I didn't record it on Strava but ive never gone that fast and was probably approaching 40 mph. It was low-key sketchy as ****, normally I max out at around 33 and even that seems sketchy. I crashed hard on a descent 5 years ago and I think im subconsciously afraid now. How fast do you descend before you start feeling unsafe? Are you more likely to go full send if youre wearing a helmet?
My bike is unstable over about 35 MPH and I don't feel comfortable trusting my tires at a speed that guarantees major skin issues or broken bones.
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Old 04-13-21, 07:13 AM
  #105  
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I need steeper hills than I have around here to get much past 35-38mph - I spin out past that or at least don't feel like cranking high cadence just to hit the brakes in a bit (we're talking 200 ft of descending max).

After coming across 10 deer crossing the road a couple weeks ago in the middle of a 35+ descent, I'm thinking I'll be a bit more circumspect before commencing bombing.
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Old 04-13-21, 09:19 AM
  #106  
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I usually go between 39-41mph during a straight downhill I am familiar with... fastest ever was 43... I want to hit 50+ one day but I am not there yet.
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Old 04-13-21, 10:28 AM
  #107  
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Originally Posted by urbanknight
why not a downhill helmet? They’re usually vented and protect your face.
down hill helmet





like that one ?

That does not seem very comfortable on road bike with your hands on drops. I could see how mountain bikers like because they ride more up right.
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Old 04-13-21, 10:52 AM
  #108  
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Originally Posted by sean.hwy
down hill helmet
like that one ?

That does not seem very comfortable on road bike with your hands on drops. I could see how mountain bikers like because they ride more up right.
Good point, so I googled images of the Redbull Road Rage events and it looks like they manage just fine, although many of them had removed the visor.
Of course, they don't climb at those events, and I would rather just slow down on the descents than wear a full face helmet and body armor here in the heat.

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Old 04-13-21, 02:55 PM
  #109  
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I hit 85 the other day, but then remembered I had switched my readout from imperial to metric the night before. I guess I’ll shoot for 100 now ...
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Old 04-13-21, 07:28 PM
  #110  
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Originally Posted by tomato coupe
switched my readout from imperial to metric
I ride a lot more centuries that way,
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Old 04-14-21, 11:44 AM
  #111  
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Haven't found a speed I feel uncomfortable at yet. I think 52 is my max. Most rides since I live on a hill I hit 40-45 just starting out.

Biggest risk IMO is deer. Couple years back my buddy and I were starting a gravel ride, going slowly up a mild incline on a dirt road that had been freshly graded, and two deer came through the roadside brush and t-boned us. The one that hit me actually hit my rear wheel, legs through the spokes. THe other hit my buddy right in the body. All four of us went down. The deer extracted themselves more quickly than we did and went on their way.

Would hate for that to happen on tarmac while descending.
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