Cycling & Mountain Biking

GPS is my Samsung S5 no idea about the Bike computer. I just find it funny how only one item is drastically off. I know I hit some high speeds on these hills since I keep up with cars in some 60 zones. Today it appears I almost hit 80km/h, is that crazy like everyone is saying?

I find it funny my fastest was mid 80's I think and I was scared at that point.

 

You can hit 60-70+ kph tucking on a good long stretch of 12-15% downhill, especially if you can draft behind fast cars. But no amount of pedaling alone will get you 80 kph. Even a monster 56x11 ratio spun at 110 rpm will only get you approx. 72 kph. A good gauge of speed is to spin as fast as you can on your biggest gear and see if you get any traction from the cassette. You should have an idea of the maximum cadence you can hit and it should also be recorded by the bike computer. Such a test will help verify the accuracy of the speeds recorded.

Anyway, a good test for your GPS vs. bike computer is to run them from your car. Drive on a stretch of road where you can maintain a steady speed. Do it several times at different speeds and see how the 2 fare against your car's speedometer.

BTW, you do know the brand or model name of your bike computer, don't you?

 

And zero setback saddle/bb, it might be uci legal.

 

Here's mine. National team issue.
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^ I'm a sucker for that kind of headset/headtube

 

Very nice. LOOK bikes always feature new ideas. I presume those are your training wheels?

 

They are. I always train on clunker wheels.

 

Appropriate but not too shabby clunkers.

 

I was on a steep decline, not sure of grade, hitting these speeds. No traction from the Cassette at these speeds of course. I don't know the exact speed it gives out but around the 55km/h mark It is safe to say I feel almost a perfect balance in the highest gear.

Bike computer is an Schwinn I bought 3-5 years ago.

 

Here is how we do the super tuck or the death tuck as my teammate calls it.
We hit over 60 mph at the Tour of Utah this year.
http://s27.postimg.org/3w7icyt0z/photo_1.png

 

Ah yes, the "death tuck" as you pointed out. It must have been scary but thrilling, at 60 mph. I've never approach 60 mph on my bike. The fastest I came to it was in a road race in Canandaigua NY over 30 years ago. We did not have bike computers then but I spun my 54 x 13 gear between 125-140 rpm on some of the downhill sections and got no traction at all.

I have yet to lower my butt onto the top tube. I prefer to keep it on the saddle and just pull my hands together against the stem, chin on the stem, feet level, knees angled in "gripping" the top tube, i.e. a form of the "old style". I find it much easier to steer with my butt in this position. I've compared the frontal aerodynamic profile of the 2 positions and can't see any benefits from the "death tuck", for my body proportions.

I think it boils down to the amount of weight distribution vs maneuverability. My "old style" tuck already shifts a lot of weight to the front and more readily achieves 50/50 weight distribution making the bike more maneuverable. I might also argue that extreme weight bias on the front tire might add an undesirable extra amount of contact patch surface area, resulting in greater friction and heat build-up in the tire tread.

 

My vintage 1996 Trek V7000. Bought it new, just got her running again.
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