CRAFT

Hi all, one of our drivers where I work said he was pulled over the other morning by plod saying he was doing 43mph on a crappy halfords mountain bike. Pretty damn sure it's not, but could it be true, bearing in mind the guy's a blimp of around 18stone, and 6ft 3" and also would plod pull you for going too fast on a push iron, it was around 4am when he was coming into work. Just thought I'd put it out there to all you sensible folks to comment on or even take the p!ss.

CRAFT

g7prs

iTrader: (5)

He would need to be going down a pretty serious hill to get to that speed I would have thought! I have managed almost 30 on mine going down a hill.

scoobywrxwagon

iTrader: (2)

Well for one it is possible to go that quick I do alot of biking an have been in excess of 43mph loads of times. Re been pulled I couldnt answer that one if he was going faster than the speed limit for that section of road then it is possible but weather or not it actually happened is your call.

Kieran_Burns

iTrader: (1)

I've clocked 40+ on my CX bike more than once, and the first time I went out on my road bike (Carbon jobbie) I clocked 46mph without trying.

It IS possible to get up to some stupid speeds on a bike and it doesn't take much of a hill to get me over 30mph (which can be a REAL problem when drivers don't expect that kind of speed)

43 on a MTB? Possible I suppose but I think there may be an element of "it was THIS big" going on there

Tidgy

only 43?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbT8N42QJik

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Im 16 stone and a bit over 6ft and managed 48 mph on my road (Spec Allez Elite) bike on the hill into Kirby Stephen earlier this year, would possibly have topped 50 but I ran out of gears as strangely bikes arent geared for 50 mph plus. Thats was a buzz but the consequences of falling off at that velocity dont bear thinking about on a push bike clad only in Lycra and a platic hat.

So I would say he was stonking on, not sure about over 40 but I would say its possible, scepticism would creep in if it was a cheap full susser as it would be very very wayward at that speed.

dpb

Youd need a bit of nerve to do that in a built up area - which is the only reason the coppers would pull you over

so i smell a rat

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

My eldest has had a pull for exceeding the speed limit on his brother's mtb. He just laughed at them and allegedly rode off, they haven't caught him yet

Puff The Magic Wagon!

iTrader: (2)

You can not be done for exceeding the speed limit on a bicycle but you can be done for "furious riding"...

andythejock01wrx

Yup, I go at 45mph going down Beech Avenue which connects my village to the local hills on my mtb, albeit not a Halfords iron donkey!

Defo possible on an mtb on a steep hill.

markjmd

iTrader: (11)

The basic maths of it says it's very unlikely, unless the OP's mate lives close to a very steep and very long hill. The standard large chain-ring on an MTB is usually only 48 teeth compared with 52 for a road-bike, there's a similar difference again between the two for the high-gear on the rear cassette, and the rolling-diameter with tyres of a standard 26" MTB wheel is easily 10% less than a road-bike's 700cm wheel, so you're looking at an overall gearing disadvantage of somewhere around 25%. So, you'd have to pedal 25% harder to get to the same speed on an MTB as on a road-bike, which would mean hitting 43mph on an MTB is near enough equivalent to 55mph on a road-bike, unless gravity's doing all the work.

Myth well and truly busted, IMO.

scoobywrxwagon

iTrader: (2)

I want one of these

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8176C...eature=related

wayne9t9

Is this him? http://www.canosoarus.com/08LSRbicycle/LSR%20Bike01.htm

dunx

iTrader: (3)

How is he supposed to kow that he's doing 43 mph, cop is a plank...

Now for my input,

50:11 gearing on mine, maximum velocity off road 51 mph. Ingleby Incline on the North Yorks. Moors. 1.5 miles of sheer bliss.

20 years ago I used to go out and "bait" roadies for a laugh... they would look bemused as a thirty year old bloke on an MTB caught them up...

dunx

P.S. Cos I'm sad I chased "her indoors" at 40 mph to check it, and it was +/- 1 mph.

davyboy

I've only been this fast once on an MTB and that was down a road in the Alps.

BS

In fact I've only been this fast on a road bike a few times. Most compacts wouldn't let you go this fast unless you had an incredible cadance!

what would scooby do

Was he heading towards a McDonald's perchance?

jasey

I'm a similar build & weight and have a local very steep hill that I go flat out down on my mtb.

30 mph is just about possible before you would $hit yourself

JonMc

iTrader: (51)

I've done a GPS proven 38mph on my crappy halfords bike, but it was down quite a good hill, my previous best was 35, but I regularly do 33mph down said hill

Norman D. Landings

I've had my specialized Stumpy full suss with knobblies to 38 on a steep but not very long road so I'd say it's definately possible.

Got to remember that gearing is one thing but after 30 or so, fat bloke + gravity beats wind resistance.

Spoon

Absolutely possible depending on the size of the hill. I know blokes who have done (according to handlebar speedo), similar speeds in wheelchairs fitted with a Power Trike. This make a wheelchair a 3 wheeler and can power it up to 15MPH before free wheeling!

davyboy

Must have been a steep hill!

I do a time trial that is at the top of a long gentle hill, and I only get about 46.5 down that.....on a TT bike! And about 13mph slower against the wind!

Bradley Wiggins has done a 17.57 10 mile TT at ave speed of 33.4mph

Clarebabes

I've got the same bike as you J4CKO

^OPM^

When i was a tad fitter then i am now and in my mid 20's i could for short bursts on flat roads hit 30mph and that is with knobblies and on that same bike down a steep hill i once hit 46 mph but that was with a tail wind if my memory serves me right and i was pedalling as fast as i could and with right gearing could of gone faster but i couldn't turn peddles any faster then i was.
But i can regularly still hit over 30mph off road on cannock chase if anyone here knows it on the right trails and that would still be a bumpy downhill trail just not with too many tight corners on it.

pslewis

I'm elderly, 20 stone, and can get up to 60 MPH on my pushike .....

http://www.warringtonroadclub.com/darrell%20holding.jpg

gpssti4

iTrader: (6)

Cracking time. My best was 22.10 (S18 course from memory in Cornwall) - back in the good old days before aero aids.

Oh, and to the OP, that's quiet a good speed on a MTB - I've done 55mph on a TT bike with a 53*11 gearing - flat out down hill passing cars in a hilly time trial. I've probably done around 40mph on MTB in the past but it was hard work at the tyres cause so much drag.

davyboy

...anyone who can do 30mph on a MTB on the flat should take up TTs.

davyboy

That would give you a 20 mins 10 mile TT if you could keep it up. And on a nice carbon bike in a nice tuck with aero aids.....should be easy.

tarmac terror

iTrader: (2)

Did 32mph only once (according to my handlebar speedo) in a lets see how fast I can get this to go moment, down a reasonably steep hill with decent surface. Even in top gear couldn't pedal quickly enough to add any further speed. I didn't feel particularly in control of my bike at that speed.

^OPM^

I couldn't keep it up for miles tho-when i used to ride other year to work a few times i could do the 9 miles in 30 minutes and thats on a mtb with front suspension and knobbly tyres and with my work bag on my back on undulating roads.
So over a longer distance i could average 18 mph.