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Speed kills/thrills?

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  • May 6, 2011 at 12:47 pm #13379
    OldRidgeback

    I see that a lad on in-line skates was clocked at 50mph in Sussex in an area where the limit is, I believe, 30mph. Sussex Safety Partnerships has said it is aware of the incident but will not be taking action as the speed limits are for motor vehicles. So where does this leave cyclists? Does it mean that unless a speed limit is specifically set for cyclists as well as motor vehicles, cyclists can ride as fast as they like? If that’s the case, then I reckon some cyclists who have already been stopped might like to challenge any charges.

    Years ago a friend and myself were stopped for speeding in a 40mph limit in Scotland on our bicycles, different laws there though. We were told not to do it again, rather than being fined.

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  • May 6, 2011 at 10:09 pm #643253
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    pward

    I regularly touch 80kph
    I regularly touch 80kph dropping into Wantage (ending up by the cemetary http://road.cc/sites/all/modules/smileys/packs/Yahoo!/sad.gif) on my commute home, still doesn’t deter many drivers with their “must get past” attitude but it feels the right thing to do given the struggle I have to endure climbing up it earlier in the day ! http://road.cc/sites/all/modules/smileys/packs/Yahoo!/whew.gif

    May 6, 2011 at 9:34 pm #643251
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    hairyairey

    Dave – I’ll have to video a
    Dave – I’ll have to video a descent of Ditchling Beacon again then. I think this time I’ll recruit help as I went into the 150 degree right hander on the wrong side of the road using the stupid logic of youth that it’s early in the morning and one car has already come up the other side. I think the first road traffic accident was a bit like this.

    May 6, 2011 at 8:39 pm #643249
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    MichaelJones1

    Clocked over 80kph on my
    Clocked over 80kph on my mountain bike many times descending from Allport Heights towards Belper. I was getting close to that on my road bike here in Shropshire recently until the wind got under my Garmin etrex and whipped it off the handlebars and broke an internal connection. Garmin kindly replaced it with a new one for £68. I may be a demon descender, but I only wish I could get up the hills as well.

    👿

    May 6, 2011 at 8:35 pm #643247
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    kej123

    Hi the fastest ive clocked is
    😀 Hi the fastest ive clocked is going down hill into Barton under needwood and i topped 46.2mph then i started to think im gonna be a heap of snot ifi come off.But hey ho the thrill was fantastic 😀

    May 6, 2011 at 8:15 pm #643245
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    OldRidgeback

    You’d have to be very light
    You’d have to be very light indeed for the effects of wind resistance to make much of a difference, or at least be wearing some kind of parachute of rain protection. Topping 60mph or 100km/h on a bicycle is quick and scary.

    May 6, 2011 at 8:06 pm #643243
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    TheOldCog

    49.8mph on the Dragon ride –
    49.8mph on the Dragon ride – the wind resistance difference between 40-45 then 45-50 is quite marked! 😀

    May 6, 2011 at 7:57 pm #643241
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    dave atkinson

    hairyairey wrote:Here’s the
    [quote=hairyairey]Here’s the link – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOvwwO-l4ps%5B/quote%5D

    I thought that was going to be a vid of you descending ditchling beacon, i was kind of disappointed 🙂

    May 6, 2011 at 7:55 pm #643239
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    Dibbs

    I commute across the Quantock
    I commute across the Quantock Hills in Somerset and my return journey usually takes me down Cothlestone Hill where my speed peaks between 45 and 50 mph. If I take the alternate route down Crowcombe Hill I’ve clocked 63 mph more than once (double checked by GPS and cycle computer).
    You just need to have confidence in your brakes though, because I don’t think the “Escape Road” at the bottom would be much use. 😕

    May 6, 2011 at 7:06 pm #643237
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    JJ the Flying Dutchman

    dave_atkinson wrote:
    In terms

    dave_atkinson wrote:

    In terms of cornering, does the increased tyre contact and friction outweigh the extra momentum?

    Heavier riders usually ride with higher tyre pressures, so the tyre contact area will be about the same.

    My personal record: 90 kph behind a car with the boot open on a flat road, ran out of gears 😀

    May 6, 2011 at 6:27 pm #643235
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    hairyairey

    Here’s the link –
    Here’s the link – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOvwwO-l4ps

    May 6, 2011 at 6:20 pm #643233
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    hairyairey

    Exactly abudhadiChris, which
    Exactly abudhadiChris, which is why this fact could only have been tested on the moon (that video alone shows that we must have been there).

    60mph, Elm Grove Brighton is my record although that might have been a faulty cycle computer. I regularly took the left hander at the bottom above 40mph and was able to pull up at the next lights (by the corner of the level) in time.

    1:25 is my record for descending Ditchling Beacon, an average over 40mph. If only I could climb as well!

    May 6, 2011 at 5:30 pm #643231
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    KirinChris

    OldRidgeback

    OldRidgeback wrote:
    Gravitational effect of being large? Err, gravity affects all bodies the same way and heavier ones don’t fall faster.

    Then why do tandems go so fast downhill ? Why does brick dust fall more slowly than a brick ?

    Objects of different weight fall at the same speed in a vacuum but mass has an effect in overcoming air resistance, which is the major impediment to cycle speed.

    The heavier rider (or a tandem) has a much higher proportion of mass in the same or slightly larger area exposed to the wind. That’s why a feather falls slower than a cannonball, in air.

    May 6, 2011 at 4:49 pm #643229
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    Napalmhaze

    I hit 52.4mph descending
    I hit 52.4mph descending Dundry once. Hell of a rush.

    May 6, 2011 at 4:17 pm #643227
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    dave atkinson

    Is being heavier an advantage
    Is being heavier an advantage when it comes to descending? I don’t know, I’m asking. In terms of all-out speed I’d guess that the increase in momentum would outweigh the increased air resistance from being slightly bigger. But air resistance is tricky stuff, and I don’t know if the sums would back me up.

    In terms of cornering, does the increased tyre contact and friction outweigh the extra momentum?

    May 6, 2011 at 4:11 pm #643225
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    OldRidgeback

    Gravitational effect of being
    Gravitational effect of being large? Err, gravity affects all bodies the same way and heavier ones don’t fall faster.

    Like I said, me and a mate were stopped for topping 40mph. We had gone faster earlier in the day on the downhill into Dalmeny just close to the Forth Road bridge. On a very long downhill in Spain’s Picos me and a mate were cruising at around 50mph, I know that was the speed because I could see the speedos on several cars as they came past, they weren’t going a good deal quicker. Being Spanish drivers of course, they treated cyclists with respect and gave us enough room!

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