Your Speed Comfort Zone

[Mr. Beanz]

CobbDude got me thinking when he mentioned wearing baggy clothes to keep speed down on descents.

Living by the local mountains and having done plenty of climbing and descending I've grown quite comfortable at good speeds.

Pretty comfortable hitting 40 on rides. I once sat up no hands at 30 mph just to see if I could. But just once and won't make a habit of it. I did so after reading posts in a cycling forum where a few riders were frightened by hitting 30.

30 rolling down mountain roads and switchbacks around here is like doing 20 on a flat trail that comfortable.

Few times I descended 40 mile downhills on centuries with 10,000 ft of gain. 40 miles downhill at 30 tp 42 mph quite comfortable.

So 30 is easy. 40 takes some attention. 45 really gets my attention.


56 on our tandem. Too scary though bike is rock solid. Just too any what it's to think about. Once was enough.

 

[cobbwheels]

My situation is probably not applicable to most as I live in the Philippines! The roads are terrible and lots of cars, motorcycles, and SUVs everywhere including the mountains outside the city. Even if you take away the vehicles, the roads which are often in very poor state of neglect is enough to cause serious accident to any cyclist who isn't paying attention to the road.

Most of the time, I'm really just under 30 mph.

Many roadies here ride hardtail MTB's to deal with our poor quality roads. Road bikes are relatively unsafe to use in our roads if you're going to ride fast. Gravel bikes are your best bet, in >40mm wide tires.

There's a mountain just outside the city. There's only one road up and down accessible to cyclists who isn't residents of the gated neighborhood at the top. Some of the gradients are ~25% and there's plenty of sharp turns and hairpins. It's crazy steep and the poorly maintained roads are incredibly bumpy. On some of the very steep, sharply turning downhill sections, I get off the bike and walk down before the brakes upgrade. Even after having better brakes, I still descend those parts at almost walking speeds!

 

[ronny_roadie]

Hey there! It sounds like you're dealing with some challenging road conditions in the Philippines. Safety is key, so it's smart to adapt with hardtail MTBs. Let me know if you need any tips on suitable road bikes for your situation! Keep riding safe!