[Rev Bubba]

Went for a ride Saturday. Nothing unusual about that. Ended the ride at the top parking lot at Ramapo State Forest in NJ so we hit the road for the return to the lower lot and the cars. Again, nothing unusual yet.

The road is steep. Those of you familiar with Skyline Drive know this. The weather was dry and the cars few. We seemed to be moving fast. The guy in front on his FS was even faster than me. I was glad to have a nice set of discs (Magura Louise).

It was not until I got home and looked at the fastest speed on the bike computer that I realized how fast we were going. I hit 37 mph. My partner was probably closer to 40 mph.

Interesting to note that the fastest I have ever gone on a bike was on a hardtail on the road, not on my road bike.

Yes, I realize there are people here who have gone much faster, yet I look back on it and can only say, "what was I thinking?"

 

[massmang]

Went for a ride Saturday. Nothing unusual about that. Ended the ride at the top parking lot at Ramapo State Forest in NJ so we hit the road for the return to the lower lot and the cars. Again, nothing unusual yet.

The road is steep. Those of you familiar with Skyline Drive know this. The weather was dry and the cars few. We seemed to be moving fast. The guy in front on his FS was even faster than me. I was glad to have a nice set of discs (Magura Louise).

It was not until I got home and looked at the fastest speed on the bike computer that I realized how fast we were going. I hit 37 mph. My partner was probably closer to 40 mph.

Interesting to note that the fastest I have ever gone on a bike was on a hardtail on the road, not on my road bike.

Yes, I realize there people here who have gone much faster, yet I look back on it and can only say, "what was I thinking?"

my best is 39.7... I can not crack the elusive 40mph barrier...lol

it is awesome going that fast on the mountainbke... it feels a lot safer than on a road bike to me...

thre is a long steep hill on my local trails.. all gravel, and you can crank down it.. I have hit 33 there... it is scary cause if you go down on that stuff, it is gonna leave a mark....lol

 

[donboyfisher]

i cant crack the 50mph barrier. althrough i just same down a hill yesterday where I think i would be able to do it if i tried. I didn't try yesterday as my pump was half hanging off during the descent and i was concentrating on it not falling off . . . i still managed 46 though.


What were you thinking?

I know you'll probably be thinking in the future " i've gotta break it next time" !!

 

[Rev Bubba]

I was really thinking a few things.

I was thinking the Python Air Lights I was running had really thin side wall.
I was thinking how glad I was to have disc brakes.
I was thinking what a mess Francis was when he crashed at 25 mph.
I was thinking I was not going to take my eyes off the road and look at my speedometer.

Now I'm thinking, boy was that a stupid thing to do.
:thumbsup:

 

[gtdrew]

49.5 mph is my max on the road bike. No computer on the single speed mtn bike but would guess max speed of 35 or so on some long gravel descents. 50 is kinda scary on the road bike. Not while you are doing it but when you think about it later.

I had a front flat at 40 mph the other night on the road bike. Hit a piece of gravel and the tire was flat in a half second. Managed to straighten up and just run it off the road. Didnt go down but it was SKETCHY.

 

[Nat]

My fastest clocked time was actually on a rigid mountain bike at 62mph. It was on a very steep, straight stretch of pavement. The scariest part was how long it took for the Deore cantilever brakes to slow me down.

My fastest clocked road bike speed was 58mph coming down from Mt. Bachelor. It's pretty noisy at that speed.

 

[Rivet]

49.5 mph is my max on the road bike. No computer on the single speed mtn bike but would guess max speed of 35 or so on some long gravel descents. 50 is kinda scary on the road bike. Not while you are doing it but when you think about it later.

I had a front flat at 40 mph the other night on the road bike. Hit a piece of gravel and the tire was flat in a half second. Managed to straighten up and just run it off the road. Didnt go down but it was SKETCHY.

62mph on the road bike. It's not till after that I kinda freak out thinking about what might happen.

 

[shiggy]

FAST! depends on the trail/road and the rider's comfort level. I ride trails where 20mph is absolutely flying and 22 scares the c##p out of me. Other places 35+ is comfortable and much higher possible.

In any case, pushing your limits is always a thrill!

 

[Nat]

Have you guys ever noticed how 30mph is the threshold for going fast? All the time I hear people say, "I was just flying down this hill. I was going like...30 when suddenly..."

 

[PaMtnBkr]

Not familiar w/the park but is there no singletrack back down? I'm not sure I would do a climb if the reward is riding a road back down? Again, I don't know the park? Maybe the road is a logging road or some double track??

 

[245044]

60 mph on a road bike. 650 wheels and real scary.
Mtn. bike max. was 42 mph.

 

[Nat]

It's not till after that I kinda freak out thinking about what might happen.

At high speed it's hard to keep one's mind from ruminating over the possible mishaps, isn't it? "What if my tire blows? What if my hand slips off the bar? What if a car pulls out? What if a chipmunk runs out? What if..."

What if I just slow down and start breathing again instead?

I wonder at what speed most pros start freaking out, or if they do at all? Probably pretty f-ing fast.

 

[Rivet]

At high speed it's hard to keep one's mind from ruminating over the possible mishaps, isn't it? "What if my tire blows? What if my hand slips off the bar? What if a car pulls out? What if a chipmunk runs out? What if..."

What if I just slow down and start breathing again instead?

I wonder at what speed most pros start freaking out, or if they do at all? Probably pretty f-ing fast.

I have the broken fork "what if". It doesnt' help that I'm running a 290gram Easton EC90 SLX.

 

[davis]

None of my bikes currently have computers on them, so I'm really at a loss to guess my speeds. However, this past weekend we were on the skinnies riding the Highland Scenic Highway. At the overlook just before the 5 mile descent off of Black Mountain which drops to the Williams River, we met another rider. He had a computer and I asked him if he would check our max speed on the descent. We dropped off and passed only two vehicles travelling up during our descent. I knew we were flying as we were pushng our biggest gear the whole way. He told us at the bottom that he showed 50.3 as a max. Instantly, I felt ill. Small debris on the road, a deer leaping over the guard rail, a million other things that could have gone very wrong. Shudder. They would have picked me up with a wet and dry shop vac. Still, its kinda cool knowing I topped 50! I'm not sure if I'm inclined to repeat such an activity though. I'll probably just go back to sitting up on that descent and enjoy the incredible views. Good to hear from ya Rev, hope all is well.

 

[Hardtails Are Better]

I no longer have any computers on my bikes, but I hadn't quite been able to crack 60mph. I'd hit 59.something but never 60. This is on my road bike.

 

[Nat]

I have the broken fork "what if". It doesnt' help that I'm running a 290gram Easton EC90 SLX.

Oh yeah, the broken fork one! It's also amazing how much a road bike fork appears to bounce back and forth at speed! Do you think it's really springing that much, or is it just an optical illusion?

 

[asuperstar103]

I have a cpu on my bike that shows how many calories burned, speed, distance of trip, mileage on bike, time, and max speed. My max speed was coming off a huge hill out in the country and I got 56 mph, and my husband was going a little bit faster so he may have reached 60. I was on my brakes just a little bit. It was an old country road with the blacktop and gravel mixed in, so kind of bumpy and scary. I have not been close to that speed since.

 

[Nat]

Here's one of my pics that I like. Obviously a malfunction, but I laughed when I saw looked down at my computer.

 

[smudge]

Yikes. I used to hit 58 on my road bike down a short stretch of 18% in Ellicott City, MD. I always wanted to go for 60, but there's a decreasing radius turn before the last 200 yards or so and I never had the cajones to carry enough speed to make it to 60. One of the scariest days of my life when I squirrel skittered right in front of my wheel down that last stretch.

I don't think I've ever broken 30 on single track. There are a few places at Avalon where I got close, but I don't recall ever breaking that barrier. Same thing out here in OR. There's a stretch at Brown's Camp where I hit 27 yesterday, but never 30. It's a magical, unattainable number for me.

 

[Ultra Magnus]

I've done 45mph on the mtn, bike, riding on the road, down a 14% grade. On the road bike I've done 47mph, down a longer, much shallower road, but the difference is that on the road bike I could pedal (although a very fast cadence) to add more speed.

On my road commute, I often get a stiff tailwind on the ride home. I've pedalled my mtb, on the flats, up to 36mph. That was awesome... I had wicked gusts, 25mph+. Normally with the regular tailwinds I cruise at 25-30mph...

On actual trails, some rather rought, I've only ever done about 31mph, for very short bursts. One decent in paticular has a nice wide left hander, and a jump on the very inside on the exit of the turn. The dirt is a little loose there, and I've I can't square it up I just bypass the jump but on this one fateful day I thought I could get 'er pulled in... I was leaned over, doing 30mph, aiming for that jump (it's a small jump, I'm no daredevil) and the back end slid way out. I hit the face totally crossed up, landed hard sideways and ate a tone of sh*t.... It hurt bad. I had some terrible road rash and saw stars. It was also my first ride on all new gear, shorts, jersey, and helmet.... The GPS data confirmed that I was doing 30mph when I crashed. Luckily it was soft sandy dirt and not clay-hardpack with imbedded rocks!

BM