Outright Speed

[Tiberius]

Up to what speed are you comfortable on your bike?

Leave aside the question of powering it for a moment; assume perhaps you are going downhill or there is a huge tailwind. At what speed are you comfortable with the handling and feel of it?

On flecc's website, he reports some very large downhill speed with his radically modified Torq. Myself on a more standard Torq, I'm reaching for the brakes at less than 30 mph. There are contributory factors here - I am more used to drop handlebars and the roads are not very well surfaced round here. (For some reason they make the downhill side the worst.) I get vibration on the handlebars which unnerves me. I haven't found a way of covering the brake levers without feeling my grip on the bars is less secure.

In my youth, with a lightweight frame and drop handlebars, I don't ever remember hitting a top speed, but now I am. How much is due to the different position, how much to getting more sensible with age*, how much to the handling qualities of the bike, I don't know.

To put the question the other way round - What type of bike are you happy to ride at more than 30 mph?

(There is a thread running on what electric conversion kit is best. Look upon this as a parallel debate on what is the best bike to fit that kit to.)

Nick

*my kids say this can be discounted

 

[keithhazel]

on a folder going down a hill at anywhere near 20 is more then enough, i cant wait for the flat

 

[nigel]

I am a young 50yrs old and with a nice smooth road surface maybe wind behind i enjoyed 25mph on my torq and didnt feel in any danger so i wouldnt have a problem doing 30mph might need a pair of goggles though nigel

 

[flecc]

On the Torq I reached 41 mph downhill and felt happy with that, but still haven't peaked with the T bike, having only hit 42 so far, though it will be good for more when the opportunity arises.

On the Lafree Twist, I once topped 37 at the same point as the 41 mph on the Torq, but felt unsafe at that speed. It's comfortable limit was at most 30 mph.

I was always unhappy on the folding Quando at faster than about 22 mph due to it's narrow handlebars and slack in the handlebar stem hinge. Since converting it to the Q bike with wider handlebars, no steering slack, better tyres and improved riding position, it's been ok above 30 mph and I've also reached 30 mph downhill on it with my large trailer on tow.

With most decent bikes my limits tend to be set by the road conditions more than the bike.

The world record on the flat unassisted is held by Canadian Sam Whittingham on a streamlined Varna recumbent at just over 83 mph.

Scariest experience must have been the world record attempt on another streamlined recumbent where the rider was laying down backwards and enclosed and only seeing the way ahead on a small CCTV screen. I believe he reached about 65 mph.
.

 

[giguana]

on a straight flat slope with no potholes, 35 is maximum, with a fast bike with a stable front wheel and stable back, 45, it's not comfortable but it's fun! I wouldn't do it with carbon forks though -face plant!

 

[Ian]

I sometimes take my Torq up to about 35 mph on a certain long downhill stretch, the limiting factor being instability induced by the frantic pedalling required because of my low gearing, I'd be quite happy to go faster with higher gearing but not so happy going back up the hill. Decent tyres help a lot, the bike feeling a lot more stable on Shwalbes than the original Kendas. My Sprint is also deceptively stable in a straight line, on occasions I've been surprised to find myself doing 30 downhill but unlike the Torq I wouldn't like to corner at high speed with it's sus' forks and more flexible frame.

I wouldn't like to have to brake hard at high speeds so I don't normally indulge in built up areas.

 

[rsscott]

Living in E.Anglia the only hills we have around here are molehills . However for the slight declines in my area I have hit just under 35mph on a Torq with furious pedaling. On a good summer's day with no wind I can often cruise at 24-25mph on the flat without too much effort from me.

 

[Tiberius]

Thanks guys,

These are all impressive speeds. I was wondering if my speedo was wrong, but I've got two and they agree. What I'm finding on the downhills round here is that as it gets towards 30 mph I can't read either speedo properly because of the vibration from the poor road surface.

Nick

 

[carpetbagger]

I've done 38mph on a powabyke,i think the deciding factors must be how smooth the road is,how straight and how busy....don't go faster than you feel safe to do,its no good achieving a magic figure on the speedo only to end up in hospital moments later...
good luck

 

[keithhazel]

ive nearly put 2 shop windows in and lost bike over 6 foot drop...was wheeling the bike and had ignition still on and as manuvered with bike left hand slightly twisted grip and throttle and off it went, only my firm grip prevented anything other then my embarressment..

 

[HarryB]

As a kid in the 70's I had a bicycle with a mechanical speedo that ran up to 30mph - I felt it was my duty to get the needle to bend against the end stop - perhaps 35 mph. Nowadays 30mph seems pretty fast on London's roads and a Torq. The limiting factors are the traffic and I agree it is a pretty bumpy ride if you don't have suspension forks.