Tom Stormcrowe

If you want to see something scary, you should watch crazylady drop a hill at 40+ on a trike! (Delta, not a tadpole. ). I've seen her do it on her Sun EZ3.......with loaded panniers and trunk bag on the back

I can tell you from riding it down a hill myself that the steering gets real twitchy at anything over 20 MPH, and you have to keep a gentle grip and very slow steer motions.

pcmike

I hit 48 on a downhill on the Michigander this year on my Trek Madone 5.5 coming into Traverse City... I was watching the Edge 705 read out 41, 42 and then 43 but as speed kept building, I was too scared to take my eyes of the road after 43 and didn't see I hit 48.2 mph until I finished the ride and checked the stats. No wobble, though... but that was about as fast as I'm comfortable with at this stage of my cycling life.

Gonzlobo

When I go night riding on the MTB, it's about 10mph. The damn rabbits jump out with suicidal tendencies. They're out to get us!

-Devil-

i think there is a conspiracy with those rabbits and MTB's ... them and those darned squirrles that keep throwing pinecones at me ...

cyccommute 

55 mph on a tandem with my kid. My wife would never let me go past 45 mph (Screaming "We're going to die! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! We. Are. Going. To. Die!", once I got past 40 mph.

53 mph on US40 off the back of Lookout Mountain here in Colorado (pretty regular occurrence ) on any number of road bikes.

45 mph off-road on a mountain bike (rigid).

48 mph on 2 different loaded touring bikes (55 lb load). One developed a death wobble at 48...very scary with a loaded bike and the other ran out of downhill before I could go faster

Sassonian

My "Oh Crap" moment is usually on the uphill bits - around 10km/hr when all the others that I've been tracking alongside without a problem on the flats - all disappear ahead of me.

No limits on the downhill - It's my only advantage and time to peg back some time.

bautieri

So far my only oh crap moment has been at 0 mph when I remembered I was still clipped in.

Speed wise I have been up to 47 and wished the hill was longer

olafub

70+ on a bike!!! I get nervous going that fast in my car :-) I think your oh crap speed is related to your age. In my teens and twenties I'd go as fast as I possibly could. Now that I'm pushing 50 I think the mid 30's is fast enough. What's the hurry?

evblazer

On a straight or mostly straight downhill I've been a little over 60 and didn't have a problem. Throw in other riders or obstacles and 40 is pretty scary.

Tom Stormcrowe

I'm pushing 50 years old myself, but I love the speed......

There is nothing better to me than spinning out the crank and then tucking in all aero and letting gravity and aerodynamics do their thing.

Mr. Beanz

I've watched plenty of TDF and Tour De Espana videos. The mtns in the Spanish tour are so steep that several of the PRO/TDF riders use triples and/or compacts. The commentators state that the riders touch speeds of 60 mph tops. And that's the PRO's on some of the biggest mtns in the world. So those that claim to do 60 plus, you're definately TDF material!

On the big mtns rides that I've done, I've only been able to top 45 mph on a 40 mile long downhill on my single. 40 and below is comfy, 45 starts to get a bit scary. Not the handling, just thoughts of what could happen.

Once hit 56 mph on our tandem on a very steep hill. Bike was rock steady but helmets and glasses were going crazy. I still daydream of cosequences that could have occured during that ride. Silly and and uncalled for risk IMO. I wonder what might have happened if a dog or cat had got in our path. I daydream of my wife hitting the pavement at that speed and it just gives me the chills or spending the rest of my life in a wheelchair cause I wanted to break 50. I don't drink but feel like I need a beer after I have those thoughts!

I did an endo on the dirt at 25 mph (mtb). Broke the helmet from back to front. I'd hate to think of the results had I been on the pavement.

Mr. Beanz

This is descending Mt Baldy. A 5k climb most clydes won't, maybe can't do! I do pretty well on the downhill flying by riders on the 20 mile descent. I hit speeds of 40, maybe 45 if I'm lucky on the straight sections, 30 mph in the switchbacks. But you guys hit 60,70 mph, some in the dirt?

bigwies

I have hit about 35 mph on my hybrid and have been pretty comfortable, but I am pretty sure I am quickly approaching my comfort level. I hit 29.3 mph on my commute this morning and didn't really notice the speed. I would not relish a crash at that speed, but I would have to say that my current "Oh crap" limit would be somewhere in the low to mid 40 mph range.

Maybe my limit will go up when I get a road bike, but that is a bridge I will have to cross when I get to it.

Alathea

I live in the Midwest and 'I hit a deer' stories abound. There has got to be a good one for your post-my co-workers are now inquiring about the guy on the bike, how he is, what it did to him, his bike, the deer, "bikes can go that fast?", etc. I DO show them my speedometer from time to time where I have gotten up to 28 before and they joke and say I reprogrammed it or something.

txvintage

When I'm mashing it for all it's worth, turning myself inside out, burning up my legs, and tongue is wagging, and I look down and the Fredometer is reading 18 mph, I generally say, "Oh Crap".

I hate those days.

wibnrml

I regularly do 50+ mph on my morning commute going down Lake Tapps Blvd. in Auburn Wa. People tell me that I could get a speeding ticket for going that fast down that road (40 mph limit). I tell them if I get a ticket. I’ll frame it!

My OH CRAP! moment came during a Death Wobble on one of those descents. Then I I’ve since mounted a new Mavic wheelset. The ride is smoother now and I wouldn’t mind going faster.

old4x4

I hit 64 mph on a paved downhill one time on Yates Hill Rd (hadn't been on it before). I was scared sh1tless..especially when I saw the stop sign at the bottom. Don't think I want to hit a speed like that again. I was on my old GT Zaskar mt bike. Very scary....

neilfein

18mph on Little Red (Dahon folder) and 35mph on the road bike, more because of lack of experience at higher speeds; the bike is still plenty stable at that speed.

Black Shuck

43.39 MPH going downhill with full touring load this summer. I could have gone a bit faster if the road wasn't narrow and winding down the side of a small mountain.

andymac

It is all relative, I regularly hit 40 - 45 mph on the two downhills on my commute. In light or no traffic I don't even think about it, in traffic with some dim bulb drifting over toward me while yacking on their cell phone I am more than a little unnerved.

I think I have hit a max of about 50 mph during my commute according to my cycle computer, interestingly enough the guy that I always pass on the way to work claims 60 on the same hill... even as I pull away from him .... got to take the speed claims with a grain of salt... unless you are that nut that went 170 km/h down the volcano...

ChuckD6421 

Yup, that was during my Roaring 20's when we're all indestructible. Now on the cusp of 50 I, like other OF's here have posted, still get a kick out of The Speed, and regularly hit the mid 40's on my regular loop. But it's a controlled descent and I actually use the brakes somewhat [gasp].

Mazama

Anything over 25mph...I'm top heavy.

Mr. Beanz

Yeah, it's called senile! C'mon, the best pros in the world maybe hit 60 on the biggest mtns in the world when they breakaways from the peloton! Mtns they need compacts and triples to climb! 70+? 64 on an old mtb?

milehile

I hit ~35, then a car.

I was on an older Huffy MTB heading home with a new alternator in my backpack. I was heading down a fairly sized hill, with a building at the bottom of the hill and a driveway on the other side of the building. I didn't know it, but there was a car coming out of the driveway. I was going about 35-40ish, when I hit the front fender and flipped over my handlebar. I hurt my ankle pretty bad, but was able to walk it off. Taco'd the front rim, and messed up the car pretty good. Her fender, hood, and the windshield was smashed by my alternator.

So, yeah. It wasn't an "oh crap" moment, but more of an "OH HOLY HELL I'M GOING TO DIE!" moment.

townandcountry

My "oh crap" moment was when I touched wheels with the rider in front and did a face plant, going 13 mph. Well, the real words were something other than "oh crap". I have hit 41 or so coming off Crater Lake rim once and 43 or so coming down from Hurricane Ridge. Was that ever fun!