[RMR]

Well, the gearing part wasnt meant as a responce to what you osted..... 70 is not a normal speed for roadies either, thats pretty effin fast.

50's and 60's are obtainable, like I posted, if someone wants to go ride were it happens... you can come ride with me. Well Maybe the 60's will be a tough hit, Youll hit fifty if your willing to let it go and roll with it, 60's on the roadie are still pretty tough to obtain as well.

70 isn't a normal speed for me, either! That's why it's the fastest I've ever gone and probably the fastest I'll ever go. And I'm okay with that.

On a road bike, I can hit 50 on any ride, no problem: hit a short 8% hill at full sprint, then go into a tight tuck at you're there. 60 requires a killer hill or a moderate hill with a fierce tailwind. Usually, though, I sit up, stretch my neck, and enjoy the scenery on descents.

 

[DirtyMike]

70 isn't a normal speed for me, either! That's why it's the fastest I've ever gone and probably the fastest I'll ever go. And I'm okay with that.

On a road bike, I can hit 50 on any ride, no problem: hit a short 8% hill at full sprint, then go into a tight tuck at you're there. 60 requires a killer hill or a moderate hill with a fierce tailwind. Usually, though, I sit up, stretch my neck, and enjoy the scenery on descents.

Yeah thats the part that sucks about the tucking to hit those hi speeds, you damn chin is so close to the bars you can barely look up

 

[Steve M]

I used to run a Cateye bike computer just to see what my max speed was each run. Fastest I've (knowingly) hit on singletrack was about 55km/h (34mph) on Abom @ Buller, but clocked 65km/h (40mph) on the fireroad sections at both Thredbo and Buller, and 72km/h (44mph) on the fireroad down Mt Stanley (keep in mind this one is smooth and straight, just steep as). Fastest I've recorded was 84km/h but that was on a paved road near Warburton - got SUPER steep. I've found that over about 45km/h you can't really pedal anyway, every little bump you hit messes you up too much, it ends up being quicker just to coast. Not sure how fast you get on the fireroad (Una Moss) down from the Roundhouse in Whistler, but I've done that brakeless a couple of times and you end up going fast enough that even with goggles on, your eyes water enough to make you worried you're not going to see a rut or something. I very much doubt it's over 80km/h, probably more like 70-75km/h in my estimation but it would be interesting to put a bike computer on for that bit.

 

[S.K.C.]

I could be wrong about the race, BUT I'm pretty sure Sammy topped out at just a bit over 40 mph on the mid-section straightaway of the Worlds course from 08'... if someone can find the Freecaster footy of him, the traps should be easy to read.

 

[RMR]

Not sure how fast you get on the fireroad (Una Moss) down from the Roundhouse in Whistler, but I've done that brakeless a couple of times and you end up going fast enough that even with goggles on, your eyes water enough to make you worried you're not going to see a rut or something. I very much doubt it's over 80km/h, probably more like 70-75km/h in my estimation but it would be interesting to put a bike computer on for that bit.

The problem with bike computers is that the memory typically has a sampling rate of 10-20 seconds and often takes the average speed over that interval. You're not going to hold your top speed for that long, so you won't get an accurate reading.

I tend to chicken out on Una Moss and drag the brakes a little. I have no doubt a fully brakeless run can hit 80 km/h and I wouldn't be surprised if it's well higher.

 

[TheTruth]

Once rob warner yelled so loud that the sound of his voice traveled faster than the speed of light.

 

[-C-]

This year in the Alps a friend & myself were going for a top speed challenge on the bottom section of a run, couple of big, fast berms & some jumps then into a straight death grip to the finish.

I think the most we could get was 40/42mph. On a loose surface I can confirm it's f*cking scary.

 

[RMboy]

LOL i seemed to have started a i went fastest thread..

I don't really know who is speaking the truth or not..but will just average it out i guess :-D

Cheers Everyone

 

[jackalope]

Interesting question. Because I'm so slow, this anecdotal story loses some of it's "wow factor", but a few years ago me and some friends were getting ready to come down a wide open trail called Greens Lick here in Pisgah, NC. Then a dude with a smallish dog ended up dropping in ahead of us, so we decided to wait because we were sure they would hold us up. As I said, this trail is basically devoid of rocks, and is pretty smooth in most parts, so you are absolutely pinning it in most sections. After a few minutes, we drop in and start having fun. After a bit, I am starting to wonder where the dog and his owner are - we should be catching them by now...Finally, we catch them towards the bottom, and the dog is motoring like Tiger Woods leaving his driveway. We actually had to pedal like crazy to get around that pup! And the little guy had handling skills to make Sam Hill envious (and not even a M6 has a lower CoG). I'm not sure how fast we were going, but I bet it was between 30-35 mph, although I was more amazed at how long the dog was able to maintain that pace.

Anyway, the fastest I have ever recorded myself with a bike computer is 36 mph on another pretty wide open Pisgah trail. Although I think there are some open sections on local DH tracks that I am approaching or exceeding that mark.

 

[SylentK]

I was just watching the new freezcaster movie. In South Africa, Greg Minnaar hit 64kmh in his race run, which is what? 40mph?

 

[sethimus]

aren't there any snow races in the us?

allalin glacier downhill, saas fee switzerland, top speed >120km/h:

 

[jonKranked]

what's all this talk about cat eye's?

 

[Zark]

The top speed I've hit recorded was 36mph on singletrack on knapps. I'm pretty sure I've topped that speed at Mammoth and Downieville, but no computer to confirm it. Those kinda speeds are interesting, pedaling is useless and drag is the major limiting factor.

 

[FOXROX]

aren't there any snow races in the us?

allalin glacier downhill, saas fee switzerland, top speed >120km/h:

thats 74mph, thats a bit high. i dont see that being possible for the average joe. and on snow even isint that even more wind drag+jacket and snow pants?

 

[Total Heckler]

The top speed I've hit recorded was 36mph on singletrack on knapps. I'm pretty sure I've topped that speed at Mammoth and Downieville, but no computer to confirm it. Those kinda speeds are interesting, pedaling is useless and drag is the major limiting factor.

Agreed.

I think my buddies cycle computer got us at 40+mph at Downieville on 3rd divide.

 

[sanjuro]

My best was 52mph during a road race in Corning, New York.

I remember almost blowing it on a turn and hitting a hay bale.

 

[demo 9]

I ride fakie at 100mph

 

[FOXROX]

I ride fakie at 100mph

im sorry justin, but that made you sound like joey.

 

[Steve M]

The problem with bike computers is that the memory typically has a sampling rate of 10-20 seconds and often takes the average speed over that interval. You're not going to hold your top speed for that long, so you won't get an accurate reading.

I tend to chicken out on Una Moss and drag the brakes a little. I have no doubt a fully brakeless run can hit 80 km/h and I wouldn't be surprised if it's well higher.

Yeah I can't manage a full brakeless run every time - only done it legitimately two or three times. When you get to the point that hopping off that crest about 1/3 the way down means you jump about 30 feet it gets pretty scary. If you don't happen to pick whatever the best line is before that big rut at the end of the first steep bit then you have to brake, freaks me out how it can shake the bike so violently if either wheel gets caught.

As for the bike computers - they update slowly but they're definitely not averaging samples for 10-20 seconds, more like 1-2 seconds if that. I was actually under the impression that they just took the shortest interval in the past X amount of time (in my estimation, maybe every 1.5-2 seconds). The faster you go, the more accurate they get since they're getting more inputs per unit time.

thats 74mph, thats a bit high. i dont see that being possible for the average joe. and on snow even isint that even more wind drag+jacket and snow pants?

I think it's possible - it's steep as hell (for a bike run), super wide open, and you know that if you crash you're just going to slide for a hundred metres or so with no injuries, not even gravel rash. For a given gradient, bikes will typically roll faster than skis slide (green ski run = barely move on skis but feels steep as hell on a bike), I can't vouch for the authenticity of that claim but I would believe it's possible. That stuff is done in the summer too AFAIK, people aren't wearing full winter kit.

 

[jekyll991]

Interesting question. Because I'm so slow, this anecdotal story loses some of it's "wow factor", but a few years ago me and some friends were getting ready to come down a wide open trail called Greens Lick here in Pisgah, NC. Then a dude with a smallish dog ended up dropping in ahead of us, so we decided to wait because we were sure they would hold us up. As I said, this trail is basically devoid of rocks, and is pretty smooth in most parts, so you are absolutely pinning it in most sections. After a few minutes, we drop in and start having fun. After a bit, I am starting to wonder where the dog and his owner are - we should be catching them by now...Finally, we catch them towards the bottom, and the dog is motoring like Tiger Woods leaving his driveway. We actually had to pedal like crazy to get around that pup! And the little guy had handling skills to make Sam Hill envious (and not even a M6 has a lower CoG). I'm not sure how fast we were going, but I bet it was between 30-35 mph, although I was more amazed at how long the dog was able to maintain that pace.

Anyway, the fastest I have ever recorded myself with a bike computer is 36 mph on another pretty wide open Pisgah trail. Although I think there are some open sections on local DH tracks that I am approaching or exceeding that mark.

I loved green's lick, they slowed it down a lot though now with the berms and what not. I actually helped build them with a huge group of people from SORBA or whatever and I still don't like them. I probably just lack the ability to hit them right.

 

[DirtyMike]

Yeah I can't manage a full brakeless run every time - only done it legitimately two or three times. When you get to the point that hopping off that crest about 1/3 the way down means you jump about 30 feet it gets pretty scary. If you don't happen to pick whatever the best line is before that big rut at the end of the first steep bit then you have to brake, freaks me out how it can shake the bike so violently if either wheel gets caught.

As for the bike computers - they update slowly but they're definitely not averaging samples for 10-20 seconds, more like 1-2 seconds if that. I was actually under the impression that they just took the shortest interval in the past X amount of time (in my estimation, maybe every 1.5-2 seconds). The faster you go, the more accurate they get since they're getting more inputs per unit time.



I think it's possible - it's steep as hell (for a bike run), super wide open, and you know that if you crash you're just going to slide for a hundred metres or so with no injuries, not even gravel rash. For a given gradient, bikes will typically roll faster than skis slide (green ski run = barely move on skis but feels steep as hell on a bike), I can't vouch for the authenticity of that claim but I would believe it's possible. That stuff is done in the summer too AFAIK, people aren't wearing full winter kit.

Full Brakless is effing scary, thats just all there is to it. Noone will argue that.

The note about teh bike comouters...Thats why I like garmins.

ABout the 74MPH being posible in teh snow....I do belive that is why teh world record for fastest speed<set on the an intense m6ss> was done in teh snow as well.

 

[Trekrules]

Yes it was on a 65 degree slope in Chili in the Andes,i beleave he hit 260km/h

 

[FOXROX]

Full Brakless is effing scary, thats just all there is to it. Noone will argue that.

The note about teh bike comouters...Thats why I like garmins.

ABout the 74MPH being posible in teh snow....I do belive that is why teh world record for fastest speed<set on the an intense m6ss> was done in teh snow as well.

im pretty sure Eric Barone has the speed record, could be wrong. but that was down the side of a volcano, wearing aerodynamic everything, and he wrecked at 107mph. im not saying it is impossible to reach the speed of 74mph. but in the snow with joe extreme dh rider i highly doubt that they can do it. wouldn't the wheels be extremely off balance at those speeds? oh and no steering stabilizer, good luck!!

 

[Trekrules]

Eric Barone hit 128,49mph on snow

Markus Stockl hit 130,7mph on snow(record holder)

 

[freakrock]

Yes it was on a 65 degree slope in Chili in the Andes,i beleave he hit 260km/h

Chile

 

[DirtyMike]

im pretty sure Eric Barone has the speed record, could be wrong. but that was down the side of a volcano, wearing aerodynamic everything, and he wrecked at 107mph. im not saying it is impossible to reach the speed of 74mph. but in the snow with joe extreme dh rider i highly doubt that they can do it. wouldn't the wheels be extremely off balance at those speeds? oh and no steering stabilizer, good luck!!

Eric Barone hit 128,49mph on snow

Markus Stockl hit 130,7mph on snow(record holder)

What he said.

HE didnt just wreck, he exploded. But thats what happens when you go too light for the application..... Here is the video, notice on the second run he swapped out bikes for a liteweight CF bike...... It didnt work


Barone

Old technology, in the dirt. Specially like tha part were dude is catching his teeth for him.

Stockl
New technology in the snow

 

[Pegboy]

In trying to compare apples to apples; Simon Origone holds the record (from sources online) on skis @ 251.4 Km/ hr or 156mph in Les Arcs France 2006.

Eric Barone holds it (or held it) @ 222 Km/ hr or 138mph in Les Arcs France 2000.

Same course so the degree of the slope is the same. Obviously weather conditions could have been different but they usually wait for ideal conditions when attempting world records and those windows are somewhat rare.

I don't think a bike could touch ski's for speed...aerodynamics play too big a part and you are far more upright on a bike, catching more air, than on skis. A well preped ski will take off on a 1/4*slope and I don't think the same would happen on a bike.

Either way, there are a lot of claims on here that I find extremely unlikely. Having ridden a road bike down some long STEEP roads in full lycra, racing DH events in skiing in a speed suit, I find it hard to believe that people are hitting the speeds that they think they are on a mountain bike in MTB apparel.

 

[EVIL JN]

I have to agree, i would suspect that most downhillers have a hard time even reaching the speed skiers do in gs these days. All i know is that when the wind starts to catch my visor i am going way faster than normal trail speeds which usally only happens on wide open fire roads at ski resorts. But for speed records a wheel will have way less drag than skies but the air drag will be higher, if the bike hasnt got any mods to reduce it.

 

[norbar]

I have no idea how you can hit over 70-80kph on a dh bike on a regular tire setup/regular track. I went a bit over 90kph on a xc/am bike on concrete but the slope was loooong and my tire pressure was rather high. Tried to do the same on my dh bike some years later and couldn't even get close to that speed. Snow seems to be the only reasonable way to go.

 

[freeridefool]

The chdh races in livermore they had a radar gun out and were clocking people. I did 33 with a broken chain so I couldnt pedal at the top. The top guys were doing mid 40's. Its all on the ridesfo.com website.

 

[frango]

Wasn't Kamikaze race one of the fastest tracks/races? As fas as I remember they were doing +55mph, there. And bikes were not todays DH bikes

My fastest run was in fact 55mph on that road
http://picasaweb.google.pl/buddhi1980/KrajobrazyDrogi#5080758946185076882
It's built from rocks an it's not flat. I managed to ride that fast on my Giant XcX only beacuse I had 44x11 drivetrain. The bike bike was 120/140mm travel with Judy at the front end Weird is, that I have never reached that speed on my next bikes - SC S8 and Giant Faith (2005), even though I was able to steer much better/easier.

 

[Eastern States Cup]

Weird is, that I have never reached that speed on my next bikes - SC S8 and Giant Faith (2005), even though I was able to steer much better/easier.

The brakes work better on the newer bikes

 

[SuspectDevice]

I am posting here so I can continue to laugh my ass off.

Little kids in the early 90's were riding in the high 40's on rigid bikes. Modern DH fashion is certainly slowing people down significantly over about 35mph on an open slope. Pedaling has nothing to do with top speed. Pedaling causes aerodynamic drag. For a gravity powered bicycle that is already at speed on rough ground (even a fire road) pedaling above ~25-30 mph is pretty much useless.

Aerodynamics is a simple science- but in DH racing these days it is pretty superfluous. 21mph- the magic number doesn't happen all that much- and when you get there, you have much bigger worries than tucking!

 

[davetrump]

I am posting here so I can continue to laugh my ass off.

Little kids in the early 90's were riding in the high 40's on rigid bikes. Modern DH fashion is certainly slowing people down significantly over about 35mph on an open slope. Pedaling has nothing to do with top speed. Pedaling causes aerodynamic drag. For a gravity powered bicycle that is already at speed on rough ground (even a fire road) pedaling above ~25-30 mph is pretty much useless.

Aerodynamics is a simple science- but in DH racing these days it is pretty superfluous. 21mph- the magic number doesn't happen all that much- and when you get there, you have much bigger worries than tucking!

bla bla blabaddy. bla bla... the broken record skips again



in the 90's DH racing was down wide open fire roads... go look at the footage floating around youtube from MSA, Kaprun, Mammoth, etc

and if everyone os wearing the same thing there is no advantage/disadvantage

most of the races this year were decided by large margins... 2 or more seconds between each place. and if you look at the speed trap times the winner of the race more often than not was not even the fastest, and at times a few k behind (that few k of speed you are arguing they would have made up wearing something else)... there goes that theory

the few races were time were super tight (labresse, Bromont, Andorra) aero-dynamics would not make a difference.

when the average speeds are only in the mid to low 20's (most wc's) than pedaling power will gain you more than wearing one outfit over another.

nothing to see mickey... move on

 

[stringbean]

103km on a road goin down mt tamborine in QLD if any one knows it, confirmed by a police officer going the other way up the hill on his radar thingo. lucky to not get a ticket, as i was 23km over the speed limit.

 

[Muttely]

So, if he was going up the hill at say, 40kph, then how can that possibly be an accurate reading.

 

[Steve M]

So, if he was going up the hill at say, 40kph, then how can that possibly be an accurate reading.

Aussie cop cars have radars mounted on them that are designed to work when mobile. I'm not sure what they calibrate them from, be it the wheels or a second radar pointed at the ground or something, but they're accurate enough to be considered legally binding evidence in court. It's not a guy sitting in the drivers seat holding a radar gun out the window.

 

[RMR]

This is all getting rather silly.

norbar (and all the other skeptics),

It doesn't matter if you don't understand it, it still happens. My understanding of particle physics is pretty limited, but that doesn't mean the universe isn't made of bizzare little things.

Join me at almost any ski hill in western Canada that's open to downhilling and we'll hit 70 km/h. Take a tuck run down Una Moss at Whistler and I suspect you could hit 100 km/h - I call dibs on holding the radar gun, because I'm not going to touch 100 km/h on dirt. Even 70 km/h is sketchy, but it's not exceptional on service roads. I'll agree it's safer to be on pavement or snow, for a given speed.

I'd guess roughly 50 km/h to be a typical max. for an average rider on average singletrack, though I know plenty of trails where anyone would struggle to break 30 km/h. Ironically, I often go faster on cross-country singletrack than DH trails, since XC trails often have long, straight, and non-technical sections.

EVIL JN,

It's true that a wheel can have less rolling resistance than the frictional losses in a moving ski, but this applies to road wheels on a hard surface. From my own experience in winter bikercross, a bike is more efficient only on very hard snow. More important, however, is the issue of aerodynamics.

Aerodynamic power loss is cubic, with respect to airspeed. Thus, double the speed and you're looking at eight times the power dissipation. Rolling resistance and ski friction are essentially linear (double the speed, double the power dissipation). Thus, rolling resistance and ski friction are significant at low speed, but aerodynamics dominate at high speed.

Wheels, themselves, cause a remarkable amount of air drag. This is because the top of the wheel is moving forward with an airspeed that's double that of non-rotating components (such as the rider). Given the cubic relationship mentioned above, you can see how the top of the wheel is causing about eight times the drag it would cause if it wasn't rotating, which outweighs the benefit of the zero airspeed at the bottom of the wheel. A wide tire that's studded or heavily-lugged should be a real concern to anyone looking to break a speed record on a bike - even the spokes cause significant drag.

Barone's speed was only 11.8% less than that of Simone Origone. Like Pegboy, I used to be a downhill ski racer and I, too, am surprised the record on a bike is as close as it is to the record on skis.

 

[Pelle]

Is that speedtrap on the pole there not working when the WC visits Schladming?
It is not a superfast place but i suspect those guys are hitting 65+km/h
I did 53 and then we had to jump between a narrow gate up where the WC guys are hitting the same jump flat out.
And just over 50 does not feel very fast at all, I think most have hit 60-70 at some point without even trying.

 

[norbar]

This is all getting rather silly.

norbar (and all the other skeptics),

It doesn't matter if you don't understand it, it still happens. My understanding of particle physics is pretty limited, but that doesn't mean the universe isn't made of bizzare little things.

Join me at almost any ski hill in western Canada that's open to downhilling and we'll hit 70 km/h. Take a tuck run down Una Moss at Whistler and I suspect you could hit 100 km/h - I call dibs on holding the radar gun, because I'm not going to touch 100 km/h on dirt. Even 70 km/h is sketchy, but it's not exceptional on service roads. I'll agree it's safer to be on pavement or snow, for a given speed.

I'd guess roughly 50 km/h to be a typical max. for an average rider on average singletrack, though I know plenty of trails where anyone would struggle to break 30 km/h. Ironically, I often go faster on cross-country singletrack than DH trails, since XC trails often have long, straight, and non-technical sections.

.

I said that it'd be hard on regular tracks not enywhere. 6-7 years ago we had a dh cup even at one place that mid track had a ~1km long fireroad and people were going 90+. I just suggested that unless you ride on a pretty unusual track it is highly unlikely because of the rolling resistance etc. Also you may run much higher pressure than most people. It helps greatly.

BTW. crazy high speeds seemed much less sketch on old my old brick that weighted a ton and had a wheelbase of a truck. On my newer bike I'd be probably much more scared.