Bicycle Speed ​​Records

What is the record for speed on a bicycle - it would seem such a simple question. However, the answer to it is often difficult. This is because this issue is ambiguous. The maximum speed depends on many indicators: on the direction and speed of the wind, on the type of road surface, on weather conditions, on the model of the bike, on the inclination of the road, and also on the availability of assistance.

All of the above factors should be considered to give an accurate answer. In addition, under different conditions, different records were set. Consider the maximum speeds on a bicycle in more detail.

To understand what maximum speed a bike can reach, you need to consider its average speed for people with average training without outside help and special equipment.

If the cyclist has some training and is engaged in this sport at least two hours a day, then he has the opportunity to accelerate and maintain a speed of 30 km / h for some time. Switching speeds, tuklipsy (a special device that allows you to pick up speed when lifting the pedals up) and good brakes will allow you to pick up even greater speeds - from 30 to 40 km / h.

The same pace can be gained without problems on a lightweight road bike, which has no front and rear fenders.

Today, there are many world records associated with maximum speed on a bicycle. And this is understandable, because You cannot compare an athlete moving on a flat road and on a slope. In addition, many achieved incredible results with outside help and with special equipment. Consider all kinds of records under various conditions.

It is very difficult to find a perfectly flat road in an ordinary city without descents and ascents. Therefore, to establish world records, athletes prefer to use the famous track in the US state of Utah. This road has a very smooth surface without natural obstacles, its name is Bonneville Plain.

It was in this place that the Dutchman set his record in 1995 Fred Rompelberg. At the age of 50, he accelerated up to 268.8 km / h with the help of a racing car - dragster. The champion moved behind the machine, which created an environment with reduced pressure, protecting it from the headwind. This record held for a long time until September 16, 2018.

This year Denis Muller-Korenek set a new bike record on the same track. The speed she achieved while driving a race car is 295.6 km / h

Another record holder who was able to accelerate to a speed of 133.78 km / h, but without any outside help - Sebastian Bower. On a specially equipped bicycle, the Dutchman accelerated to such speed on a 200-meter long track. He used a model of a “recumbent bicycle”, in which the pedals were in front, he was placed in a special streamlined cocoon.

Completely different speed records are set when driving from a mountain.

In 2000, Eric Baron, descending from the Alps on a mountain bike, reached a speed of 223.3 km / h. At the same time, he was in special aerodynamic equipment, which at the same time protected him and helped overcome air resistance. However, even a descent on a snowy slope is dangerous: increasing vibration makes it almost impossible to control the bike.

The same athlete in 2002 in Sierra Negra drove 400 meters on a gravel slope, almost dying. The maximum speed that he managed to develop in this section is 210, 4 km / h.

Without any outside help and without special equipment In 1994, sprinter Peter Rosenthal accelerated on a 100-meter track to 29.7 km / h in just 12 seconds.

Another absolute speed record for a bike set Francois Jissy. Using a jet engine, he was able to accelerate to 333 km / h and overtake a Ferrari sports car. However, muscle strength was not used. Even earlier, with the participation of the same extreme, the Swiss company conducted an experiment with a bicycle equipped with a jet engine that worked on hydrogen. However, then the cyclist was able to accelerate only 263 km / h.

In 1984, Francesco Moser was able to cover the distance at a 51.151 km long velodrome using an on-road bike. However, he used blood doping, which was not prohibited at that time.

Accelerating to a certain speed is one thing, but keeping it is another. So, in Moscow on a highway track in 2005, the Czech Ondrej Sosenka maintained a speed of 49.7 km / h for an hour, thereby setting a new world record. Perhaps he was aiming for 50 km / h, but the bicycle equipment prevented him - only one speed, a high saddle and the presence of a fixed gear.

As we saw, there is no single answer to the question of maximum speed for a bicycle. But this is good, because there is still room for new records and inventions.

See the most incredible cycling speed records in the video below.