Motorbikes and pushbikes

[Finn]

What A shame, this thread went for 41 interesting posts then some plonker had to spoil it.( ie #42) ...I do both, have raced(road and later mtb for 20 years)

Nice one Fagie, I have a name you know.

[jrandom]

I was hitting 55kmh on the flat when I was cycling seriously and I was a better sprinter then most.

Ditto.

Every so often I hear guys talk big about how they can sprint over 60, but I've never seen someone actually do it on the road.

Imagine being in a bunch, spinning along, heads down, at 40 - I've never ridden with anyone who could fair dinkum come through and drop a group like that with an additional 20kph of speed. That's Robbie McEwen territory.

[Edit: OK, maybe with 100m left to the line, a couple of guys I know (as distant acquaintances) could do that, but they were selected for the last Commonwealth Games. I tend not to believe Joe Average Cyclist's claims until I've met him and seen him ride.]

[MisterD]

Ditto.

Every so often I hear guys talk big about how they can sprint over 60, but I've never seen someone actually do it on the road.

Imagine being in a bunch, spinning along, heads down, at 40 - I've never ridden with anyone who could fair dinkum come through and drop a group like that with an additional 20kph of speed. That's Robbie McEwen territory.

The bunch I ride with has a "hot spot" sprint on our regular Saturday morning rides...we (fast) cruise down the bays in a pace line at 50 or so and wind up for a sprint at the Parnell baths overbridge. I usually see 60-65 on my speedo after that and I've never been within coo-ee of the winners...

IMO the difference between average and top class is not so much the speed attained, but how quickly you get there and how long you can hold it...after all none of the top sprinters would be any good without their lead-out guy. Our own Julian Dean being a good example of a top man in that deaprtment.

[jrandom]

The bunch I ride with has a "hot spot" sprint on our regular Saturday morning rides...we (fast) cruise down the bays in a pace line at 50 or so and wind up for a sprint at the Parnell baths overbridge. I usually see 60-65 on my speedo after that and I've never been within coo-ee of the winners...

True true. I was thinking of a lone rider coming past and making a break at 60 and holding it long enough to form a gap, rather than whether one can make one's speedo touch 60 or not.

Do you have an 11t on your cassette?

Our own Julian Dean being a good example of a top man in that deaprtment.

And a deserving national roadracing champion, if only because he's a much nicer gentleman in person than Gordon McCauley.

[MisterD]

True true. I was thinking of a lone rider coming past and making a break at 60 and holding it long enough to form a gap, rather than whether one can make one's speedo touch 60 or not.

Well the established technique is to accelerate in the slipstream, then dodge to the far side of the road so nobody can grab your wheel

Do you have an 11t on your cassette?

Nope, 12-25 and I generally don't get into the 12...I can get my cadence up to 130 though

[Finn]

So, when you guys shave your legs, how far do you go up?

[jrandom]

So, when you guys shave your legs, how far do you go up?

Most of the way up, if your massage therapist needs to work on your quads and adductors, etc.

That's the main reason the cyclists and triathletes I know who shave do it. Their therapists simply refuse to burn their hands on hairy legs.

Personally, I've never shaved my legs.

[quickbuck]

I'm going to go compact, 50-34 plus 11-23...gives a slightly wider spread and better spacing between the ratios and it's lighter. Big rings back on for the crits..

Yep, that's the story.
As I said, 50 x 11 gives you over 122 inches of travel per rev. (122.5 to be exact).
Now, at 100 RPM, that is A lot! ie faster (taller) than 53 x 12.

[madbikeboy]

I'm calling BS on that one. Only the best sprinters in the world could do that and only on a velodrome. 103kmh drafting a suv downhill is quite realistic though.

Depends on the finish, with a decent lead out and a fast bunch and favourable wind... It's harder on the track, you've got a fixed gear, it's hard to push a tall gear and spin out. On the road you can shelter behind other riders, and the elites (A graders) will do the last lap of a crit at 60+, you only need to jump in the last 20 metres or so and it's the kick that gives you that top speed, you're not holding it. Wish I had the postioning of Zabel or the kick of Robbie McEwen... My Polar HRM measured top speed for that ride, and that was done at a crit. I didn't win btw.

Now I just coach instead. 7 percent body fat is now 17%.. I've lost inches off my legs. I used to laugh at all the old guys riding Pinarellos and Colnagos on Tamaki when I had my Cannondale Caad3, no legs and expensive bikes. The last laugh is on me, no legs and a bike room full of bikes.

103 was a giggle, that was down the back of Hatepe - an SUV passed, and I just jumped on. I had a holden commodore sitting in beside calling the speeds off. ZXRider also used to ride road bikes, we regularly saw 90 drafting each other down the back of scenic drive.

Hows this - SuperMario got clocked by the Italian police in 2002 behind a team car doing 112 on a training ride - I was riding a 55/11, wonder what he was on...

[Blair-SV]

So, when you guys shave your legs, how far do you go up?

All the way

[90s]

Not many cyclists can hit 60kmh on the flat. I was hitting 55kmh on the flat when I was cycling seriously and I was a better sprinter then most. I did the round Taupo ride in 4h 16m. Those records you post are not for bicycles as we know them they are for human powered vehicles. That is the fully faired pedal powerered machines that you lie down on with your arse 2 inches off the ground and fully enclosed in a big aerodynamic bubble. All bets are off when your drafting a large vehicle after about 70kmh you don't really need to put any effort in but only need to keep spinning the pedals fast enough.

None of the records I posted are for 'human powered vehicles' or even recumbants. They are all for standard triangle framed bikes, with or without drafting as explained, and with or without modified rings etc as outlined. Indurain drafting behind a train on a standard bike nearly hit 100mph - he was
just shy and started from a standing start.
People being towed drafting on standard bike with huge rings hit the crazy speeds.

For sprinting it depends the distance you are measuring. I am talking about peak speed maintained over 10m, not 100m.

Having said that at the moment on a gentle down gradient on scenic drive (outside Arataki) am spinning out and not exceeding 61kph . Pretty sad eh?