# What's the fastest you've been on a fix?



## HLaB (23 Feb 2013)

I've not broke the 30mph barrier yet, Garmin TC has me at 29.7mph (138rpm); I need to find a bigger hill and have the courage to push harder  . How fast have you been on fixed ?


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## Ian H (23 Feb 2013)

43mph here.


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## palinurus (23 Feb 2013)

Not very fast. My legs won't go faster than 150 rpm and I don't have the guts to do the leg lifting trick.


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## User19783 (23 Feb 2013)

36mph, at 170rpm,thats fast enough for me,
I came off last year at 35 mph, downhill, when the chain wrapped itself around the wheel,not much fun, now I start pulling on the brakes at 150rpm.
43mph wow Ian


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## Dave Davenport (23 Feb 2013)

37mph on a 77" gear, about 163 rpm but I'm not confident or comfortable above about 33mph unless it's a nice smooth, straight bit of road.
I think age comes into it quite a bit, one guy I ride with who's mid twenties manages the same speeds downhill on a 70" gear without a problem.


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## Ian H (23 Feb 2013)

User19783 said:


> 36mph, at 170rpm,thats fast enough for me,
> 
> 43mph wow Ian


I know. It frightened me and it hurt. Also it was more than a few years ago. Not sure I could reach that cadence now (I was on 43x17). Still, I can boast about it.


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## GrasB (23 Feb 2013)

My summer riding gear is normally 49:15 on a 25c rear tyre that's 87" or so. Down hill I get into the low to mid 40s, that's around 170rpm. However, on the flat I've hit & held 38mph @ 147 rpm for 5 or 6 seconds.


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## Rohloff_Brompton_Rider (23 Feb 2013)

Is more of a "what's the fastest spinning you've done?" As gearing is the thing that changes....mines 176 rpm when out on a ride with pennine_paul.


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## GrasB (23 Feb 2013)

bromptonfb said:


> Is more of a "what's the fastest spinning you've done?" As gearing is the thing that changes....mines 176 rpm when out on a ride with pennine_paul.


Somewhere a few rpm north of 210rpm, power at that point was basically only just over coming the rolling resistance of the tyre. Only to be tried on rollers with the resistance magnets disengaged.


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## Star Strider (24 Feb 2013)

36-37 mph on a 43x15 which is around 75".


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## Norry1 (25 Feb 2013)

34.8mph - don't know the cadence as I didn't have a cadence sensor on, and I haven't calculated it from gear ratio.

I once did a charity challenge on a gym exercise bike to do the most distance in half an hour. The mile counter made no allowance for gearing, so you had to get in the easiest gear and spin like a loony. I got to just over 180rpm but nearly exploded by the end.


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## fossyant (25 Feb 2013)

140-150 rpm or 33-34 on 77". Thats main roads though, so much faster is a bit dicey with road surfaces. Faster than that I need a fire extinguisher.


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## 4F (25 Feb 2013)

35 (48 x 16) is my top before my knees felt like they were going to explode  . Now I will hit 31 - 32 on my daily commute and that is fast enough thanks.


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## edindave (3 Mar 2013)

HLaB said:


> I've not broke the 30mph barrier yet, Garmin TC has me at 29.7mph (138rpm); I need to find a bigger hill and have the courage to push harder  . How fast have you been on fixed ?


 
I'm sure you can beat that easily. Just unclip


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## ufkacbln (4 Mar 2013)

I thought this was a thread about doping and chemical enhancement of performance


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## Cycleops (4 Mar 2013)

Thinking about all those legs going round in a blur makes me smile. Is the speed thing some sort of badge of honour for fixed enthusiasts?


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## Old Plodder (4 Mar 2013)

Cycleops said:


> Thinking about all those legs going round in a blur makes me smile. Is the speed thing some sort of badge of honour for fixed enthusiasts?


Oh yes! & struggling up hills instead of walking.............


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## Boris Bajic (5 Mar 2013)

Just over 35mph running 69".

Now running just over 65" and lacking the suppleness required to exceed 165rpm... I struggle to get over 32mph.

However, the speed itself is not the issue. A fast descent on fixed is an excellent comedy of terror on a dry day and slightly worse in the wet.

The giggle value of fixed (and the bizarre but intoxicating pleasure) has little to do with figures and statistics.

98.7% of fixed-gear riders agree with that statement.

One might equally ask how slow one has gone on fixed. My record is 0mph. I do not include trackstanding, as I can't do it and it is therefore for girls and show-offs.


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## Dave Davenport (5 Mar 2013)

Boris Bajic said:


> My record is 0mph. I do not include trackstanding, as I can't do it and it is therefore for girls and show-offs.


 
Mine is about -2mph (for about 2 yards), if we're counting going backwards as a negative value. It was a while ago with flat pedals, I'm not intending to attempt to improve my PB.


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## Boris Bajic (5 Mar 2013)

Dave Davenport said:


> Mine is about -2mph (for about 2 yards), if we're counting going backwards as a negative value. It was a while ago with flat pedals, I'm not intending to attempt to improve my PB.


 
This is contemptible nonsense.

Velocity attained in reverse gear (or through rearward rotation of any forward gear) has a positive value.

Had you travelled at -2mph, you would have arrived before you set off. I saw a documentary on this topic involving trogladite cannibals and victorian inventors, so I can be quite confident of my facts. It cannot be otherwise.

I fear that you are trying to bring dissent and disagreement into this otherwise cheerful and positive thread.

I hope you can sleep at night. Actually, I'm not sure I do...

Yours etc,

Boris B


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## Dave Davenport (5 Mar 2013)

Boris Bajic said:


> This is contemptible nonsense.
> 
> Velocity attained in reverse gear (or through rearward rotation of any forward gear) has a positive value.
> 
> ...


 
It did hurt when I fell off if that makes you feel any better and in mitigation, I was very, very drunk.


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## mickle (5 Mar 2013)

I dont know how fast but i nearly soiled my chamois once (on a time trial funny bike which was geared too high for my liking) when i came over the brow of a hill to find i was going way too fast - really steep - and whilst trying to bring it under control on the front brake the back wheel was coming off the ground .... Neeearghhhhh!

.... When a wagon came past me too close and sucked me along even faster in its draught. That i am alive today to relate the tale is testament to the amazing power of swearing.


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## Ian H (5 Mar 2013)

Nightmare memories of roads that get steeper, then rougher, then steeper again, then suddenly veer off sideways out of vision, tyres scarcely touching the ground enough to maintain any control. You may add verge-side trees, sheer drops, on-coming traffic, to suit.


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## Paulwho100 (15 Mar 2013)

40mph with 46t crank and a 16t gear


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## derrick (15 Mar 2013)

Paulwho100 said:


> 40mph with 46t crank and a 16t gear


and your cadence was?


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## Paulwho100 (15 Mar 2013)

derrick said:


> and your cadence was?


have no clue but my legs felt like they were going to fall off


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## HLaB (15 Mar 2013)

Paulwho100 said:


> have no clue but my legs felt like they were going to fall off


178rpm chapeau


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## Old Plodder (15 Mar 2013)

Too fast down hill, & too slow up them.


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## Paulwho100 (16 Mar 2013)

fatmac said:


> Too fast down hill, & too slow up them.


Not really I can get up all the hills that my friends get up on there road bikes


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## User19783 (16 Mar 2013)

My goal is to climb up streatly hill,
Between Wallingford and Reading road.
it's a good 16/ incline, I've only manage half way so far, (48x19)


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## Boris Bajic (17 Mar 2013)

I've just done quite an interesting calculation using a very complex set of figures and algebra-type stuff that none of you would really understand....

But the outcome was fascinating and I feel the need to share it:

It turns out that I have ridden on the road at precisely 0.8mph faster than the person who thinks they've just posted the fastet speed.

Bizarrely, as the fastest posted speed creeps up, my maximum stays exactly 0.8mph ahead of the fasted speed posted.

I could prove it with maths stuff, but none of you would really get it.

I wonder whether you're all more jealous of my extraordinary mathematical ability or my courage and my staggering riding ability.

Carry on.


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## rugbyluke (19 Mar 2013)

Dont know but last time I tried I ended up in 1985


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## Roadrunner78 (26 Mar 2013)

34.4mph. 67.72" gear and 171rpm. Just a test and never done it since.


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## Norry1 (11 Aug 2013)

37.0 mph last week. I have 42 16 gearing.


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## GrumpyGregry (11 Aug 2013)

somewhere in the vicinity of 35mph on the current bike with its 70" gearing. Can't find straight and smooth enough tarmac around my usual haunts to try to go faster. Though there is a local downhill dual carriageway which, in the wee small hours, could have potential.


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## dellzeqq (11 Aug 2013)

I've seen the infamous Steve A descend Reigate Hill at 39mph - his cadence went up to 199.

Likewise I've seen the even more infamous @GregCollins descend a hill. That was before they took his shorts down. Once was enough...........


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## GrumpyGregry (11 Aug 2013)

That was a Buckinghamshire cheese grater masquerading as a hill. The scars are almost healed now.


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## dellzeqq (11 Aug 2013)

GregCollins said:


> That was a Buckinghamshire cheese grater masquerading as a hill. The scars are almost healed now.


 
the mental scars will never heal........


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## GrumpyGregry (11 Aug 2013)

dellzeqq said:


> the mental scars will never heal........


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## benborp (11 Aug 2013)

Arallsop followed me down Reigate Hill in excess of 40mph once. We're not allowed to do that any more. Same as I'm not allowed to chase lorries on the A206...


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## Pennine-Paul (11 Aug 2013)

Touched 180 rpm for about 10 seconds whilst out with bromptonfb last year,
That works out at 44.9 mph


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## edindave (11 Aug 2013)

If I do a hop, skip and jump, I can be on my fixed in 0.237 secs.
The fosbury flop is slightly slower due to the prevailing headwind.


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## BarryBonkers (13 Aug 2013)

Boris Bajic said:


> Had you travelled at -2mph, you would have arrived before you set off. I saw a documentary on this topic involving trogladite cannibals and victorian inventors, so I can be quite confident of my facts. It cannot be otherwise.


 
Which reminds me of a joke;

The barman says: “We don’t serve faster-than-light particles here.” A tachyon enters a bar.

To answer the OP, about 40mph/180rpm/46x16 down the only steep hill on the A303, cycling London to Dorset. I was a bit too distracted to watch the Cateye. The rest of the journey was quite zen after that.


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## MrGrumpy (14 Sep 2013)

Hit 36mph recently on a 48 x17 to be honest could go quicker but not found a quiet and more importantly smooth bit of tarmac to test. Unshipping a chain at those rpm's is nervy!


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## apb (22 Sep 2013)

I hit 33.3 down queens drive on Friday. I can't say I felt in complete control. 

48 * 16. (I don't/can't/haven't learnt to skid).


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## Vikeonabike (10 Oct 2013)

HLaB said:


> I've not broke the 30mph barrier yet, Garmin TC has me at 29.7mph (138rpm); I need to find a bigger hill and have the courage to push harder  . How fast have you been on fixed ?


 Adrian, King Street towards Helpston 33mph.. The last steep drop before it levels off!


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## adds21 (11 Oct 2013)

I have trouble going over 25mph on a 67" gear, which is only about 125rpm. I think I need to work on my cadence!


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## Boris Bajic (11 Oct 2013)

adds21 said:


> I have trouble going over 25mph on a 67" gear, which is only about 125rpm. I think I need to work on my cadence!


 
That is a fine place to start.

A fixed-gear bicycle does wonders for your ability to sustain higher cadences and lets you experiment with much higher ones on big descents.

As long as you're comfortable on the bike and have faith in it, then you can just start letting your leg speed creep up on descents.

It won't seem like work. It's a hoot.


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## gavroche (11 Oct 2013)

37 mph last week end and that is fast enough for me on two flimsy wheels.


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## 4F (11 Oct 2013)

Improved my top speed last weekend to 37.2 , I have no intention of trying to beat that


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## HLaB (11 Oct 2013)

I think I'll have to find a very long flat with a tail wind to beat 30mph; my fix has now been to circa 29.9mph a few times but I wouldn't trust it to go much faster


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## MrGrumpy (11 Oct 2013)

Had mine upto 37mph on 48x 17 spinning like a loon . Not checked to see what cadence that is.


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## just jim (12 Oct 2013)

MrGrumpy said:


> Had mine upto 37mph on 48x 17 spinning like a loon . Not checked to see what cadence that is.


 Your legs must have looked all blurry.


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## andrew_s (13 Oct 2013)

37 on 46x19, which works out at about 195rpm
That was sprinting into a dip where the subsequent upwards gradient would take off the speed if things got out of hand.


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## Fixedwheelnut (30 Oct 2013)

about four years ago in the dip of a steep hill I briefly hit 41mph on a 67.5" gear that equated to 205rpm 
I have had a few dodgy moments since then and usually hit the brakes once things get skippy at 180+


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