jimmuller 

That's still fast.

theblackbullet

I hit ~57mph on my 1987 Panasonic dx4000 a couple years ago. I've never been able to get over 54 on my modern bikes. lol I've been meaning to give the same hill another go with my Nishiki.

calamarichris

Chuck Norris?Pft... Chuck Norris doesn't have enough strength in his girlish forearms to carry my jock.

(Chuck Norris... pft....) Chuck Norris approached me once in a supermarket, and promptly fainted when he saw the outline of my circumcision scar through my black shorts.

Pffft... Charlie Norris...

rhm

I remember hitting 47.2 mph in 1983 and thinking, I can beat that tomorrow. I didn't.

I think I've beat that speed since then, but have no record of it. In the last few years I've been up to 46.5 mph trying... with a tailwind and a good downhill, too. I think the hill wasn't good enough.

gaucho777 

Going fast is largely a reflection of local geography. Having lived all of my life in coastal CA, steep hills have never been far away. I often hit +50mph, and hit +40mph without really trying. My preferred go-fast tuck position is hands on the tops, chest resting on the bars/knuckles, elbows in, butt low, knees squeezed against down tube. My all time max speed is 64mph, done when I was young on a Vitus, IIRC. I still like going fast, but with a wife and young daughter at home, I no longer feel the need to go as fast as I can.

mkeller234

Wow, you guys are daredevils. I've been near or barely above 40 just a few times and I am pretty sure I squeezed all of the blood out of my hands.

caloso

My Gazelle did the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs. (It also hit 55 mph down the Brockway Grade between Kings Beach and Truckee, CA)

calamarichris

Ftw.



...only... isn't a Parsec a unit of distance, rather than a unit of time?

rothenfield1

This has no purpose here; I’ve just been waiting for a place to stick it.

mkeller234

A question for all the 50+ mph folks: Can you remember if those speeds were on higher quality tires? Not to say that i've ever had a problem with my budget tires, but would you feel as comfortable? Does it matter?

calamarichris

Entirely appropriate. The plural of parsec is parsex.
Just saw that miserable episode last week, Marta the Slave Girl was the only thing watchable in it.

rat fink

I generally only run higher quality tires, as a rule. The quality of the tire doesn't make a difference to me in terms of top speed potential, but better tires sure do help in the twisties.

mazdaspeed

I've broken 40 many times but never 50.

calamarichris

Even when I was bagging groceries for $4.35/hr at Albertson's Market, I was still riding around on $30 tires.
Like the old Bell Helmet advert once said: "If you have a 5-dollar head, wear a 5-dollar helmet."
Even with the high-dollar tires, you still get some imbalance-induced speed wobble, and who needs to be more dramatic that even that when you have only about two dimes' worth of rubber touching the road?
I'd sooner skimp on birth-control.

rat fink

Nicely put, Chris.

calamarichris

Thanks RF.
Chuck Norris is to men as Huffy is to motorcycles.
Oscar Wilde used to go to Chuck Norris for fashion advice, but found his tastes a bit too pink.
Chuck Norris was originally cast as Ferris Beuller, but Mathew Broderick took his lunch money AND his role.
Even Matthew McConoughay calls him "Chuckles."

abarth

When I hit 52 mph on my cannondale, I was on some tires with cracks on the surface. They were light and I got them for free. I rode those tires for a season before I got rid of them. My fellow riders thought I was crazy.

mkeller234

Just curious. I did buy some fancier tires today, i'm looking forward to trying them out.

rat fink

Mostly, I find that nicer tires just ride smoother and flat less. The riding smoother part can help though, since the smooth ride can help to inspire confidence.

Alan Edwards

Balance the wheels off the bike, it makes a big difference in how the bike feels at hi speed. Off balance wheels shake the bike and can take a lot of confidence out of the rider.

calamarichris

One thing that helps prevent speed wobbles is using the shortest valve stem you can get away with (that your pump can still grab). And of course throwing away the threaded metal ring below the valve stem cap.

rat fink

WNG

Fun thread, fastest I recall was 50+ on several occasions descending the steepest and longest hill in my neighborhood and descending the north side service lane of the Queensborough Bridge.
Done during my days as a stupid youth, no helmets, sometime with traffic. Alone or with riding buddies, we'd bomb down 69th St. between Maspeth and Jackson Heights, Queens. There is one traffic light that if timed right is green as you blow pass. The long descent off the bridge was safer, you had your own bike lane, only had to worry about a few rare pedestrians and an oncoming biker. That's one thing I do miss now with no hills, the cheap thrills of fast descents.

Tires were 1" Specialized Ultralights on 27" Ambrosios.

Wino Ryder

The fastest I ever been in a car was 145 mph in my '70 Dodge Charger R/T in a race with a '69 Chevelle 396 between Augusta Ga, and Atlanta.

The fastest I ever been in a truck was 115 mph in a Peterbilt 379, fully loaded going down Cabbage Hill in eastern Oregon.

The fastest I ever been on a bike was 35 mph going down a hill here in town before I got 'scare't and hit the brakes.

hagen2456

I don't like going faster than c. 40 mph. If I go faster and hit something - a small stone, a pinecone, a small rift in the tarmac or a rabbit or... I'm basically ****** - and I don't trust myself to be able to see all such things in advance.

Edit: Actually, I can't be sure of my exact speed as I haven't got a bicycle computer, but I've timed a hill that I know the length of, and I hit c. 45 mph. Didn't feel nice.