Jughed

Bike calculator for what its worth.

76 mph down -12% grade = 4030 watts power required.

GhostRider62

76 mph would take me negative 661 watts, my poor brakes.

CdA 0.153, Crr 0.005 and RhO of 1.22 kg/m3 250# bike and rider

Zero head or tail wind assumed

CrowSeph

92kmh during dowhill, 65kmh on flat and near 40kmh uphill. During race the most high average speed was 42 (for now)
With the correct team or with a truck acting as aerodynamic shield.

pdlamb

Oh, oh, you've got to go talk to the owner about that! They'll probably have to knock down at least part of that wall to rebuild it, so why not start where the coyote's ears would be?

And I bet it's in Arizona...

Kai Winters

65mph coming down the backside of Bear mtn during the Killington Stage Race back in the '90's. It was terrifying as I could feel the pull of the sweeping turns...didn't know how fast I went until the end of the race when looking at my computer...yikes...but it was fun ! ! !

VegasJen

All I have to say is some of y'all are effing nuts!

genejockey 

That happened to me on my Ritchey, the very first time I exceeded 40 mph on it. Scared the hell out of me! I got a bike fit a month or so later which moved my mass a bit farther forward, and after that I never had a hint of a wobble even at 45. I realize the wobble might have been unrelated to that, but overall the bike felt more stable on descents after.

Chandne

58 MPH in Colorado, down Fremont Pass coming from Copper mountain and going down towards Leadville. Not sure I enjoy anything over 50 anymore. Goal was to hit 60 on that pass next year but with a toddler at home, I figured it was not worth even going 50 anymore. Sad to give up a life goal! I'll just coast next time on these passes. I think that gets you to 40 easily.

Wildwood 

Ridden as a single, it is named "The Descender".

rsbob 

Not to psyche you out, but hitting the deck at anything above 30 MPH can lead to a less than desirable outcome. The key is to ride with the same mindset at 40 as 30 or 20. If you are sure in your bike handling skills, and incrementally bump up your top speed by a MPH or two at a time, it will become the norm and you won’t give it another thought. I bet you don’t think about getting killed in a motor vehicle every time you drive at highway speeds or even 50 MPH.

As you can see from the responses above, people can and do master fear. It is possible and is just shutting down defeating self-talk, and instead saying “I got this”.

I have to confess though, that any speed for me over 50 MPH does make me uneasy these days but I never tell myself crashing will be bad, instead it’s focus, read the curves, pick the best line and look way ahead.

Eric F 

20-ish years ago, sitting on my top tube, going 60mph in Death Valley, I was thinking “if something goes wrong, I could die”. Part of that was knowing that help was a long way away, and it might be a while before I was even seen. I put all my faith in my skills and my bike, and succumbed to my competitive drive.

These days, 40mph makes me uncomfortable. Knowing that my reflexes and vision aren’t as good as they used to be is a factor. Being off my bike for 15 years is also a factor. I’m totally okay with not pushing the limits of tire traction and my skills.

Steamer

Trike or road bike? My highest speed ever was on my Trice QNT, at 52 mph. It felt pretty safe, even though that's mostly an illusion. On two wheels my anxiety rapidly increases once I get past the low 40s.

Trsnrtr

This was on my old Catrike Speed that I've since sold and a similar speed on my tandem. This particular drop will yield ~53 on any of my uprights without pedaling.

bruce19

If we are including downhills.....53 mph. It was in Pomfret, CT on the last day of a 3-day, 300 mile trip from ME to CT.

ofajen

Interesting to check this stuff out. From Omnicalculator, I get 3,872W required in the drops at 76 mph down a 12% grade. Coasting down a 12% grade gets me about 53 mph. Coasting down a 24.2% grade gets me to 76 mph. Not sure how accurate that is, but I don’t doubt the numbers can get big easily, depending on weight, grade and speed.

Otto

wolfchild

I never felt a need to attain extreme speeds in order to enjoy a ride, maybe it's just my instinct for self preservation. I have a physically demanding job which requires me to be in top physical condition and already has enough risks and I just can't afford injuries from cycling and other hobbies. A small injury can make my job very difficult, a serious injury would prevent me from doing my job. Let's get real here, injuries have a serious affect on your overall quality of life. Racers who get paid to ride are a different breed, they do this for a living, they can afford getting injured, I can't...Anything over 30 MPH is just being foolish and tempting fate, I have no need to go any faster than 30 MPH and that only happens occasionally when going downhill. When I reach about 30 MPH I start tapping the brakes and limiting my speed to prevent from going any faster. I ride singlespeed and live in flat to rolling terrain with an occasional steep hill so it's pretty easy to control speed.

jadmt

ok my fastest this year.....so far lol. it was on a paved road that was badly broken up from the winter. It actually was a bit unsettling bouncing around and trying to tuck with mustache bars..still disappointed I did not hit 40 tho.

jadmt

I wish I was wired that way. I have been a risk taker since I was a little kid according to my folks and at 64yoa I still think I am 30 yoa according to my wife. when I was 10 years old I was building ramps and making the neighbor kids and my little brother lay on the ground so I could jump over them on my bike.I guess that was a result of growing up just own the road from evel knievel, when I was about 10 or 12 years old and on a dare I road my bike off a bridge into a creek below. not sure how I did not break any bones or drown. probably one reason I still do stupid stuff is I have never gotten hurt and at 64 yoa still don't have any aches or pains.

ofajen

Please remember that your braking and cornering forces always share the combined limit of available traction. As we’ve seen from these big numbers, holding speed down can require very large braking force. Often there is a curve to be managed at speed. Brake early and go easy on the brakes when cornering at speed!

One other thing I sometimes do is to stand up tall to maximize air resistance. That helps keep things manageable without heating up brakes.

Otto

wolfchild

Everything in life has a certain amount of risk. I know my abilities and I don't have a problem with taking risks...But when risk becomes stupid behavior, I just refuse to participate in it. There are some risks that are not worth taking and one of those is trying to attain extreme speeds on a bicycle.

canalligators

North of Springfield MO on the Trans Am, there is one hill that the leader's notes warned us about. It is really two descents in a row. 53 mph on a fully loaded recumbent. See miles 12-15 on the grade profile.

Hill at 12-15 miles

tFUnK

~45mph would be the max I've ever hit. I admit I am less comfortable with speed as I get older but I still enjoy a good descent. I feel pretty confident up to about 40mph.

Really anything above 35mph-ish and fate is no longer in your own hands (reacting to eg, a car pulling out, squirrel in the road, pothole in the shade, etc).

rsbob 

As a recreational rider, the fastest on flat pavement with no tailwind, 30MPH for a nano-second a few times In my 30s.

Haven’t even tried recently, but should give it a shot for a big slice of humble pie.

Eric F 

Back in the days when I was a young, lean, crit-bro, finishing sprints would often top out at 40-41mph on a flat course. Of course, this was assisted by launching out of a pack already moving at high speed.

cjenrick

60 mph on redwood gulch road in Saratoga CA.
single lane rough pavement 22 percent.On a Vitus Carbone with the aluminum forks dancing around like a skeleton on a hot tin rough.
toughest part was going up the darn thing.