Fastest Speed on the Flats--NO WIND



gntlmn said:
What's your fastest speed on the flats with no wind? This has to be on a regular bike, not a human powered vehicle or recumbent and not on a downhill. How fast can you pedal the bike any distance in a sprint? Be honest now!

To convert from kilometers per hour to miles per hour, divide by 1.609. In other words, 1.609 kph = 1 mph.
My top speed - flat, no wind - was about 32kmh or ~19,8 miles.
I don't sprint. It was a commute home in a good surfaced street straight (sort of) for 3 to 4 km. That day it was a good day and I just kept on pedaling...
 
My fastest? Around 25mph. I look more at my average though. In the past year I'm up from 14mph to 19mph average.
 
ryan_velo said:
is it possible to draft behing a semi at 70mph?
yes.

i drafted a suv(friend's) at 70mph, but it was down a 9% grade. i was doing 200 rpms in my 53x12.

remember, this topic is about top speed on a flat road with no wind. that means no drafting.
 
How about a subjective way of measuring speed..

What's the fastest you've gone over the posted speed limit?

In my case, 51MPH in a 30 zone going downhill..

On the flats, my top speed is 32.1, carrying a messenger bag. I'm sure without the bag I could get a few more. I can sustain 30 for about 1.5 miles. When dodging cars downtown, I maintain about a 26 mph pace in between traffic lights.. =)

On my mountain bike, I've maxed out at 42 going downhill, and 25 on the flats (on a flat gravel road)..
 
Last I checked in June I could get a little over 36mph. Hopefully faster now. My bro can break 40mph. Last week he drafted off a semi at 65mph :eek: . Don't think I'd trust myself....I will check what I can hit on my mountain bike...any guesses?
 
I'm back again.

Fair point from hippy, i was going downhill with train so this doesn't count.
So we will scrub the 70 odd kmh.

Got back from a weeks training in france last wednesday, raced a local crit race on the saturday and on a flat got 64kmh in the final sprint.

I am going to the track this winter to give it a go. If this thread is still running i will post.
As regards powertap, i am getting one on loan in the next few weeks, so i will give you some data.

As some have mentioned down a proper hill, i got 96kmh down the Col d'Ares on the french/spanish border.
Reckon its possible to get quicker down the Prades side of the Puymorens which is a 26mile descent.
 
My fastest speed in the flats with no winds was 32.9 mph. That's on a 2003 Cervelo Soloist Team with FSA Superlights, Dura Ace, and Ksyrium SSC SL's. That's also after 1391 miles of riding this year, and 1 year since I started biking to lose weight. I am 35 years old. When I started biking 45 lbs ago my max speed was only 26.2 mph. I never thought I'd ever break 32 mph this year. I also hit 32.7 mph in a criterium, and 30.7mph on my other bike, a 2002 Giant TCR Aero 2. I hit 27.4 mph on a 34lbs Pacific MTB with panniers.

But my avg speed per heart rate is low -- about 18 to 20 mph at 85% Max Heart Rate.

I would really be inspired to bike, train, and race if my avg speed per heart rate was high. And I would then get a pair of Zipp 404 tubulars for speed.
 
gntlmn said:
What's your fastest speed on the flats with no wind? This has to be on a regular bike, not a human powered vehicle or recumbent and not on a downhill. How fast can you pedal the bike any distance in a sprint? Be honest now!

To convert from kilometers per hour to miles per hour, divide by 1.609. In other words, 1.609 kph = 1 mph.
the second ride i ever did was yesterday and i got up to 31 mph
 
oznation said:
the second ride i ever did was yesterday and i got up to 31 mph

In sprints (leading out) I can get up to 65kph. Can't maintain that pace for very long though.

P
 
gntlmn said:
What's your fastest speed on the flats with no wind? This has to be on a regular bike, not a human powered vehicle or recumbent and not on a downhill. How fast can you pedal the bike any distance in a sprint? Be honest now!

To convert from kilometers per hour to miles per hour, divide by 1.609. In other words, 1.609 kph = 1 mph.
I can usually muster up about 36 mph, but I tend to overpower the bike at
that speed (200 lbs, most of it in my legs. It's genetic.). I would love to try out a real race-stock bike an an 11t gear...
:cool:
 
Weisse Luft said:
When I am warmed up and spinning along at 24 MPH, I have put an all-out effort and gotten the bike up to 42 MPH. I have held 35 MPH for a mile.

The key is proper training. I do plenty of TT training on my morning commutes and even though its never pure interval(too dangerous), there are periods where I get up to 40 in a motorpace, preferably behind large trucks that cannot see me and have a tough time slowing.

Training. That is what it is all about.
Cipo, are you posting again? Seriously, that's pretty fast.
 
PeterF said:
I can usually muster up about 36 mph, but I tend to overpower the bike at
that speed (200 lbs, most of it in my legs. It's genetic.). I would love to try out a real race-stock bike an an 11t gear...
:cool:

Yes, you can crank out the wattage all right. It would be interesting for you to do that, perhaps on a borrowed demo bike from a bike shop with a watt meter on it. I'd like to see the peak wattage you get. I bet you would too.
 
PeterF said:
I can usually muster up about 36 mph, but I tend to overpower the bike at
that speed (200 lbs, most of it in my legs. It's genetic.). I would love to try out a real race-stock bike an an 11t gear...
:cool:
You don't need an 11 or even a 12 tooth cog to get above 40mph in a flat sprint. That is assuming you are riding a normal 52/53 front chainring. Talk to any track sprinter, they have amazing leg speed during sprints.
 
velomanct said:
You don't need an 11 or even a 12 tooth cog to get above 40mph in a flat sprint. That is assuming you are riding a normal 52/53 front chainring. Talk to any track sprinter, they have amazing leg speed during sprints.

Yeah, I can spin close to 50 mph on a downhill with a 52/13. So I know it can be done on the flats if I had the legs.

I'd still like to know what the wattage is on that 200 pounder though. It's gotta be high. Robbie McKewan is a great sprinter, but he's not pushing nearly as much weight as this guy is.
 
gntlmn said:
I'd still like to know what the wattage is on that 200 pounder though. It's gotta be high. Robbie McKewan is a great sprinter, but he's not pushing nearly as much weight as this guy is.

elite match sprinters on the track can peak at 2200-2500 watts. Most of them weigh in the 200lb range. I bet Mcwen has a higher peak watts/kg then most anyone in cycling.
 
velomanct said:
elite match sprinters on the track can peak at 2200-2500 watts. Most of them weigh in the 200lb range. I bet Mcwen has a higher peak watts/kg then most anyone in cycling.


That's probably a pretty good guess because the heavier guys are usually taller, and thus tend to have better aerodynamics per kg than the shorter guy like McEwan due to the fact that their frontal surface area is not much more. I remember Frankie Andreu said Magnus Backstedt, another heavy sprinter (and I think Paris/Roubaix winner), was cranking out about 1800 watts in his sprints during the Tour de France this year.

The other thing you have to think about with McEwan though is that he gets in between those big guys, and he may get more out of the draft than they do. But I still think you're right about his watts/kg being the highest.
 
gntlmn said:
That's probably a pretty good guess because the heavier guys are usually taller, and thus tend to have better aerodynamics per kg than the shorter guy like McEwan due to the fact that their frontal surface area is not much more. I remember Frankie Andreu said Magnus Backstedt, another heavy sprinter (and I think Paris/Roubaix winner), was cranking out about 1800 watts in his sprints during the Tour de France this year.

The other thing you have to think about with McEwan though is that he gets in between those big guys, and he may get more out of the draft than they do. But I still think you're right about his watts/kg being the highest.
Actually, taller riders have significantly more aero drag than shorter riders. In the end, power is what matters the most during these flat sprints.(outside of positioning etc)

For Mcwen, being only 67kg, he only needs to put out 1600watts (5seconds) to be at the top(24w/kg) of the 5 second column on the watts/kg chart. for a 95kg track sprinter, that is 2280watts to reach 24w/kg. Mcwen would never be able to match an elite track sprinter in the initial jump, even though he weighs so much less. If they were to sprint up 20% grades from a low speed, it would be closer.
 
My max was 28.4 while trying my first TT training session. I wasn't able to reach that speed again that day. It took a lot out of me.

I'd like to try again this weekend but my baby's in the shop for some warranty work. :(