indyfabz

Heh. During an overnight, out and back tour from/to Jim Thorpe, PA.

The crappy part was that I had to climb that fully loaded the day before when it was in the 90s and very humid.

RB1-luvr

59 down Brandons Gap in VT during the Killington Stage Race.
51 down Meriden Mountain (my home town)
52 drafting a tractor trailer

I wish I knew what the fastest I've ever gone on a flat road under my own power without drafting something was.

jadmt

160mph honda blackbird. over 150mph multiple times on other bikes but the topping out the XX was fast. The bike itself was reputed to go172 mph and at the time was the fastest production bike. I think the speedo was showing around 166 but there was some speedo error. (all on secret training grounds) I know some will say what does this have to do with bicycles...once you routinely go over 100 mph anything below 50mph on a bike feels pretty casual. I am 64yoa and almost every ride I hit 35-38mph (no matter which way I go I have a steep hill). my record is 62mph coming down McDonald pass near Helena MT. routinely would hit 50mph coming down Evaro hill near Missoula. I can't go that fast now tho as I am riding a different style bike. Those fast speeds where on a Ritchey road bike and Specialized road bike. My Handsome XOXO with 26" wheels and 1x11 and mustache bars I run out of spin and I can't get aero enough, still feels good tho. Several years ago their was a cyclist coming down the pass by Butte MT. when they found him they thought he was hit by a vehicle but they later determined there was no vehicle involved just high speed and guardrail.

Nachoman

High 40s. And now I stick to the high 30s.

rosefarts

58 during a descent in the Snowy Range of Wyoming during a collegiate race. More remarkable was the sustained 40+ on the flats due to the tailwind.

A few instances of 55 in Colorado but often the roads aren’t that good and there tend to be turns and switchbacks to keep the speed in check there.

I was always a decent climber and a timid descender. It pretty much never helped me in a race.

prj71

45 mph down a hill...But being older I don't feel comfortable with it. Especially since the areas I ride are more rural and wildlife such as deer are ubiquitous. Even a bunny or squirrel could throw a wrench in a fast downhill decent. I've seen someone hit a squirrel and crash.

Fahrenheit531 

48 down a long straight descent. Only one time though, I doubt I've been up past 40ish otherwise.

Calsun

I used to live in an area with excellent pavement and no traffic and I would go down the road at up to 55 mph (per my Cateye). In general I try to keep it below 40 mph as there are ground squirrels where I ride and they tend to play chicken and dart out at the last possible moment.

Friends used to race down State Street in Santa Barbara CA and when they got a speeding ticket with the city's speed trap they would make copies of the ticket to prove how fast they had gone. This was hazardous as people often open car doors without looking and that would make for a serious accident for the cyclist.

50 years ago I became a fan of "relaxed" geometry bikes with less head tube angle and more fork rake as they are far more stable at speed.

genejockey 

I hit 44 once, drafting a pickup with a camper top down a steepish but short descent, and I thought that would be my max ever, till the day I hit 45 on another steepish but short descent with a tailwind. In both cases, there's a rise right past the place where you hit max. speed, so I'm not even sure it's terminal velocity for the gradients. Most days on those two maximum speed is about 37 and 39-40 respectively.

runningDoc

50mph going down bear mountain NY. was fun/scary.

pdlamb

49.4 mph coming off a ridge on a new-ish 4 lane divided highway with nice pavement, little wind, and no traffic.

I was hoping I'd hit 50, but then some cars and trucks came by and the turbulence scared me into sitting up. By the time I got back down in the drops, the pavement had deteriorated, so I slowed down even more. Darn it.

indyfabz

I sustained 32.5 mph for several miles on a flat portion of what in Montana is known as the “High Line.” I was riding a bike with 4 panniers, tent, etc. Super strong tailwind. I finally spent too much time in the red zone and had to dial it back to 28 mph.

IcySwan1 

This is Chuck Yeager performance straight from the Right Stuff. I bet Beeman gum was chewed.

Mike

79pmooney

My fast runs were not documented. Smuggler's Notch, VT in a race (twice). Our pace car driver, a local cop, told us after the finish he had to get past 60 to stay ahead of us. But we did have the advantage, We didn't need or use our brakes.

My Mooney has done 49.5 on the speedo 15 miles from here when I was still in my 50s. (Most of a thousand feet and steep. Straight as an arrow but I've never had the guts to not touch the brakes.) Did the parallel descent that is not as steep on one of my first TiCycles rides with a huge tailwind. Un-recorded but faster.

And a bunch of "who knows?" on my 9 Cycle Oregons, almost all of which have had glorious descents.

curbtender

We have a local stretch called "pig farm" that is a lot more fun to go down than up. Speedo read 49.9 after the ride but it felt much faster. Road was not in the best condition.

Eric F 

Wow!

My fastest was 60mph on a long, wide open, 4-lane downhill in Death Valley. I was sitting on my top tube and tucked as tight as I could be, trying to catch the lead group during Stage 1 of the Death Valley - Mt. Whitney Road Race. I caught them at the bottom of the valley, and then got dropped again on the next big climb. I ended up finishing 9th that day.

squirtdad

48mph Miyata 1400 with maybe 20mm tires short smooth down hill

back in the day

DaveSSS 

57.5 mph coming out the North end of Horsetooth Lake. I go over 50 regularly, leaving Carter Lake, too.

CliffordK

I would have gone faster, but I had to respect the local signs.

Koyote

No gum was chewed.

My situation was similar. Fort Collins Road Race, 2007. Came over the top of the last climb, pedaled hard into the last descent until spinning out, then went into a deep tuck -- all to catch up to the next little group. My finish was not so impressive, though; I think I clawed my way up to 58th place (or something like that) out of about 125 riders.

I used to routinely hit >60 mph when I lived in CO, and have more recently hit 50+ out east, racing gravel in places like WV and Southern PA...But those speeds were on paved sections. Fastest draft was 49+ behind a grain truck during harvest in the midwest. (I dropped off a moment before my buddy, who made it to 50.)

RCMoeur 

About 40 years ago, on my Raleigh Pro Mk IV, on a long 8% descent coming back from the end of the pavement on AZ 88 back toward Tortilla Flat with a decent tailwind, I was in a full tuck riding with a teammate and hit a solid 60 mph.

And that's when the front sewup flatted.

It's amazing how motivated one can be to reduce speed when you can't really use the front brake. I sat up, bled off speed as best I could with the rear brake, and hoped the front tire wouldn't roll. Of course, the front tire sensed this and began to loosen and wobble despite the thorough glue job (how long ago did I glue it...?)

I got it down to less than 15 mph before the front tire let go, looping a few extra revs before halfheartedly trying to jam between the fork and rim. But by that time I was in full Flintstones deceleration mode, which neither my Detto shoes & metal cleats or ADOT's chip seal really appreciated.

Stopped just as the front tire jammed. My teammate is looking at me with shock, and could only mutter "Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

Replaced the tire and we made it back with no subsequent problems. But not at 60 mph.

Since then, I've hit 50 on my recumbent on AZ 87 on a steep grade on the way to Payson, but haven't seen 60 since. And now that I pay for my own insurance, I typically keep it below 40 on most current descents.

Koyote

That's where I hit 75.7 as described in my earlier post...Coming down off the last dam on the way toward LaPorte.

SpeedyBlueBiker

I once hit just over 90kph (56mph) coming down Doi Suthep in northern Thailand. I'm sure people have gone faster but it is a road with a lot of curves which makes for a bit of a nerve-wracking descent. You definitely need very good brakes coming down this mountain.
Doi Suthep (pjammcycling.com)

drlogik 

55 - 60 mph when drafting a big semi when I was young and very stupid, but the need for speed is something I still have. At 64 I regularly bomb down steep hills with abandon.

jlaw

58 mph - Cole Hill Road, Berne, NY - drafting in a group - started to catch the guy in front of me so I pulled out to pass and didn't look back.

The interesting part was on the nice long, flat run-out I heard that tell-tale hissing from the rear tire. I was thankful I got the flat as I was slowing down! 🙀🙀🙀