How fast is it possible to go on a bicycle

For professionals, the maximum speed raises to about 45 MPH. You also need to understand that there are a lot of subcategories within the biking industry.

Unpaced biking is for raw, natural biking powder. On the other hand, motor biking assists the user in their speed making them go at a higher speed than normal. This means that the cyclist is facing the wind without any added motor paced support. The first person to break the record is Sam Wittingham. His record winning speed was at However, there are a few people who have broken this average. He was an Olympic cyclist and a triathlete who had enough power, speed, and precision to reach such a high speed.

Since then, cyclists have planned on trying to break his record. I will call this distance s. Over this distance, I can pretend like the cyclist is pushing the bike with a force. I will call this force F c. This force will do work on the bike-system of an amount:. Recall that the work done on in the case of the force pushing in the same direction as the displacement would just be the force times the displacement.

But I don't really want work either. I want power. Power is defined as:. Now to remove time from this expression. How long will it take to move over this distance of s?

If the bike is moving at a constant speed, then:. If I use this expression for the change in time with the expression for power, I get:. Now I have an expression for power that doesn't depend on time, just on the velocity. Next, I can put the magnitude of the air resistance in for the force of the cyclist.

Maybe now you can see the problem. What if I want to go twice as fast? I can't increase the power, because I already said I am giving it all I have.

The only option is to decrease this other stuff. Of course, decreasing the density of the air isn't really an option. Well, I could go to a higher altitude. That just leaves me with the cross-sectional area and the drag coefficient. How much do I have to decrease the AC product? Let me write the power for maximum velocity normal bike as:. Now, if I double the speed, what would the new product of AC need to be with the same power? This says the product of AC would have to be reduced by a factor of 8 just to go twice the speed.

Here you can see some logic behind Obree's crazy-looking bike design. His design does two things. However, the National Cycle Training Standards has actually recommended trying it in the past, so that you become aware of the need to check over your shoulder at frequent intervals — something that is reduced when riders think they can hear cars.

There are also several headphone brands out there which promise to let outside sound in, too. Safety aside, there is plenty of research that shows listening to fast-paced, uplifting music reduces your perceived effort levels. It can reduce our perception of effort by as much as 10 per cent.

Using music that has a beat similar to an optimal cycling cadence will help you to pedal faster if you can match your cadence to the rhythm. If you don't want to plug in when on the road, you can do so when cycling indoors - and reap the benefits with a few structured training sessions. You might consider this cheating but riding with other people will increase your average speed in several ways.

Firstly if you take it in turns to ride in front and share the work of cutting through the wind you will travel faster as a group than on your own. Riding with others will also encourage you to lift your effort level, trying to keep up with someone a bit faster than you will help increase your average not just on that ride but help build your fitness for future rides. Enter a sportive with our sister company, UK Cycling Events. Way-marking, feed stations, mechanical support and the motivation of others around you.

See the events here. Correctly inflated tyres will roll faster. You should check your tyre pressure before every ride as changes in temperature and slight seeping of air can mean that they go soft without necessarily being punctured. Check the side-wall of your tyre for the recommended pressure. Invest in a track pump so that you can easily get the pressure you need, a mini-pump is best kept only for emergencies out on the road. Try braking less. Braking slows you down and requires you to pedal harder to accelerate back up to speed.

Unnecessary braking is a waste of energy and momentum. So how do you improve? This occurs when you are rolling along a fast road or downhill and you start to go a little bit quicker than you are used to. Braking to get your speed down to a level you feel comfortable with is fine but take a good look around first, if the road surface is good, clear of obstructions and relatively straight there is no reason to slow down so let the bike roll and enjoy some free speed.

The next place to improve confidence is during cornering. Braking later will help you hold your speed for longer. Remember to always brake in a straight line so you are at a comfortable cornering speed before you start to turn.

If you are riding a drop-handled bar sports bike how often do you use the drops? Chances are not that much but getting down lower improves your bike handling, reduces your aerodynamic drag and will help you corner and descend with confidence.

Riding on the drops lowers wind resistance by 20 per cent compared with riding on the tops. Two main things stop people riding in the drops — not being able to reach the brakes and not feeling comfortable. Both of these things can be addressed with bike set-up. If your bike fits you properly you should be able to ride in the drop position for large parts of your ride. You may also need to do some stretching as tight hamstrings and an inflexible lower back makes it harder.

You may have spotted other commuters and bike couriers balancing, seemingly effortlessly, at traffic lights and thought that they were just showing off their superhuman bike skills. Track standing does require practice and this is not best done in front of a van driver during the Monday morning rush hour. When you stop for food or are hanging around waiting for your mates, start playing around with the technique.

To learn this find a slight incline, the gradient helps find your balance point. If you normally ride clipped in switch to trainers for confidence. Start by riding really slowly in tight circles. This will help you get a sense of how to balance your weight. Go as slow and tight as you can and try to use smooth movements. When you are comfortable, come to a slow stop with your wheel pointing uphill. Keep your head up rather than looking at the front hub.

Pick a spot and focus your eyes on that spot.