Geeeyejo

Just wondered what top speed you have achieved on your folder. I checked my digital speedo when flying down a local hill on my Tokyo and was surprised to see that I had hit 27.1 mph. Speedo is calibrated for the 16" tires and appears rather accurate. This is actually quicker than I have done on a full sized bike. What is your top speed?

bendembroski

Something in the mid 30's on my Swift. 27 on the Brompton (so far; it will go faster).

fietsbob

kids..

.... will make it to 64th because 'need for speed' on the bike, has stopped .

Brommy is geared low to get up hills , not high for velocity..


AW3 + Mountain Drive, 2 speed , not the High Speed Drive ...

chagzuki

I don't think I've gone much higher than 27 mph. The best local hill for speed scares me as last year I had to emergency brake when a car decided to turn off right in front of me, I lost control and ended up on the floor. Since then I've been a lot more cautious on that stretch of road so I tend not to go faster than perhaps 24mph. Plus really I'm trying to ride in a more leisurely way these days.

bendembroski

I've been less inclined to go fast lately too. There are times when I'm descending down a lovely stretch of road, after climbing like a bu**er, and rather feel like experiencing some reckless abandon. Wheeeeeee!

Oh, and my bikes aren't geared very high either. As Jur has stated elsewhere, at certain point you're better off just tuckin' in and letting gravity do all the work.

BikeKraft

On my son's folding trike I hit about 18mph and gave myself quite a thrill, just a wee bit whippy (if that's a word)!!
On my Downtube 8H the early thirties is doable.
At 61 I just don't feel the need anymore.
Years ago I was going down a long stretch on my Fuji America, pedaling for all I was worth.
One foot slipped off the pedal, seemed I was dancing in the saddle for a good mile before I got it back in control.
It was funny afterwords.

Geeeyejo

I am generally not a "speed demon" either - the only time I usually press myself is during my commute - especially when I am trying to catch the Staten Island Ferry. The hill I hit 27mph is really not that steep - I just pushed myself on the highest gear and was really quite pleasantly surprised how fast and stabile this "low budget" folder was! The freewheel and high pressure tire mods definately helped (as well as gravity and my 225lbs of mass, lol)

JCFlack

The fastest that I know I've gone on the Tokyo's stock tires is only 17mph as measured by the speed sign near the local elementary school - I don't have a speedometer. There is a hill where I suspect I've gone faster, but it scares me. Besides, any hill I go down, I have to go up or around on the way back.

EM42

in the mid 80s a Moulton small wheel bike achieved around 80kph or 50mph with a rider on a standard riding position[not recumbent] albeit using a fairing around the bicycle to achieve efficiency to reach that speed.

google bicycle speed records and it will come up with a wikipedia page on records achieved by different types of bicylces and you will be amazed how fast we've gone

wahoonc

I know I go downhill faster than I used to when I was 20 years old and weighed a 145#, currently 30+ years older and 65# heavier

Aaron

srad

50km/hr (31 m/hr) on the tikit. Feels very stable, even with a single front pannier.
I would regularily get to 45-50km/hr. I believe it could go faster but as other posters have noted, the ability to stop if needed tends to take precedence over pure speed.

AEO

I think 60km/h down a hill.
It's still quite an effort to spin up to that even with 53x11 on 20x1.75 wheels.

dorkypants

90.1 kph (56 mph) on my Air Friday (20" aka 451 wheels), coasting(!) down Bonny Doon Rd near Santa Cruz, CA. My GPS and cycle computer agreed on the speed, so I'm confident it's accurate. It's faster than I've gone on my full-sized road bikes.

jur

That beats my 84km/h on my Swift, in the middle of a pack of roadies. I have had my Downtube Mini with 16" wheels at 73km/h.

bhkyte

How long before someone says 545MPH in a Boeing?

sudoshift

So are talking specifically downhills or any speed in general?

On flats, the fastest I've achieved is 22.2 MPH on the Dahon Curve SL


Top Speed 22.2 MPH by sudoshift, on Flickr

Downhills 24 MPH is the fastest on the Curve SL but I do not feel comfortable on it yet.

prathmann

You've got me beat. I hit 52 mph going down Vasco north of Livermore aided by both the downhill and a decent tailwind on my Pocket Rocket. Bonny Doon is steeper but not as straight/open and usually doesn't have the tailwind.

Fastest while in the suitcase was 709 mph in a 767 aided by a very favorable jetstream over the Atlantic (we arrived way ahead of schedule).

Geeeyejo

Both I guess - I have hit 21mph+ on the flats but could likely push 22 if I really pressed myself...

owenfinn

Maybe the 9 speed Capreo version is faster? Tonight I was able to hit 38.5 kph on a short stretch of flat road in 7th gear. I think 25 MPH is doable.

Clownbike

And there's always terminal velocity, tho the stop at the end would probably hurt(but just for a second).

Terminal indeed...

sudoshift

Finn man! It probably is. Doesn't the Capreo have a taller final gear? With the Nexus 8 IGH its at 85"

Theoretically the hub can probably do a little more but then aero starts coming into play. I have a flat part of my commute today after work, will try to "go for the gold."

Edit

---

Okay so I gunned it as hard as I could while wearing a backpack with the handle bars in a lower position. The road is not as smooth as I would like but I did manage to get up to 23.4 MPH. So far my personal best on flats.

mtalinm

35 mph on a Xootr Swift with a Capreo hub heading down hill at about 4-6%, no drafting

bhkyte

top speed on the cespro hubed mezzo matt52?

bjorke

Any bike can go fast off a cliff...

For flat rides, just figuring gear-inches on my old D6 gives just under 20mph at 90 cranks/minute (probably slightly less in the real world) -- not sure how much higher the gearing is on these other bikes?

owenfinn

The spread on the Capreo equipped Curve SL is 31" to 90". The Curve XL is 27" - 81".

Some other differences - The SL weighs 10.1kg and the XL 11.2kg. I'm also pretty sure the SL has a longer wheelbase(why the XL or Curve D3 is not as long, I don"t know) so the folded dimensions are different.

https://www.dahon.com/bikes/2009/curve-sl-0
https://www.dahon.com/bikes/2009/curve-xl