207MPH on a BICYCLE?

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

Blackjack200

Lifer
May 28, 2007
15,995
1,686
126
When I was about 15 some friends and I got onto a brand new but yet unopened interstate. We pedaled our bikes as hard as we could going downhill for about a mile and reached 65 mph. I was so scared at those speeds I still vividly remember that more than four decades later. Our safety equipment consisted of t-shirts, jean shorts and the hair on our heads-bike helmets didn't exist back then.

200+ mph on a bike is completely unimaginable to me.

I did this once on a long hill early in the morning. Got going to 56 MPH and that scared the crap out of me. I can't even imagine 65, forget 200.
 

BUTCH1

Lifer
Jul 15, 2000
20,433
1,769
126
When I was about 15 some friends and I got onto a brand new but yet unopened interstate. We pedaled our bikes as hard as we could going downhill for about a mile and reached 65 mph. I was so scared at those speeds I still vividly remember that more than four decades later. Our safety equipment consisted of t-shirts, jean shorts and the hair on our heads-bike helmets didn't exist back then.

200+ mph on a bike is completely unimaginable to me.


One would have imagine that this bike was heavily modded, I can't see a normal bike's bearings, wheels, tires taking that kind of acceleration without severe failure before 100 MPH. Jesus, he made a Ferrari look like a Yugo..
 

BUTCH1

Lifer
Jul 15, 2000
20,433
1,769
126
Sustained Gs, sure. This crazy bastard survived 46g on a rocket sled, the trick is to do it for less than a second.

Just read the Wiki on Stapp, it confirmed he survived 46G but it did not mention the length of time he endured it. Here is the run on YT, he de-cellerated from over 600 MPH to zero in 1.5 seconds, wow, link..
 

deanx0r

Senior member
Oct 1, 2002
890
20
76
Even though he's wearing proper armour, I don't think it'll do much in a crash at those speeds :p

I wonder what kind of speed you'd get if you strapped one of those RC jet engines on a bike? :hmm:

Some guy crashed his bike at 100+mph while attempting a world record a while back. He survived with a few bruises and broken bones. But yeah, it still requires gigantic cajones to do it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjAbcot3gqk
 

BUTCH1

Lifer
Jul 15, 2000
20,433
1,769
126
Some guy crashed his bike at 100+mph while attempting a world record a while back. He survived with a few bruises and broken bones. But yeah, it still requires gigantic cajones to do it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjAbcot3gqk

Damm, it looked like his back wheel or frame just caved in and then his helmet fly's off, he's lucky to be alive. I don't know what would make anyone think an ordinary bike or bike tire can hold up at those speeds.
 

destrekor

Lifer
Nov 18, 2005
28,799
359
126
Damm, it looked like his back wheel or frame just caved in and then his helmet fly's off, he's lucky to be alive. I don't know what would make anyone think an ordinary bike or bike tire can hold up at those speeds.

I can't believe they did it on the surface they did. Not only was it not perfectly smooth in texture, it was not perfectly smooth in slope either.

The bike could probably handle the constant downhill speed gains, but once he got going so fast and hit a portion that basically caused the bike to bottom out, it just shattered the frame, unable to distribute nor withstand the stress.

If that was on a smooth perfectly sloped asphalt track, I doubt it would have just randomly collapsed. He hit a deviation in the slope and coming out of that deviation caused severe compression.