PEDAL POWER POLICE CHASE 60mph

[BATFINK]

http://gizmodo.com/5898694/police-car-pursuing-a-bicycle-at-60mph-must-be-the-most-absurd-chase-in-history

police chasing a guy on a pedal powered bicycle at speeds of 60MPH while he is drafting large vehicles, unbelievable, i would never have thought those speeds were possible, says a lot about aerodynamics

 

[John in CR]

LOl! Imagine what he could do with a steeply geared ebike and his drafting skills.

 

[liveforphysics]

I suspect the video is fake, but it does seem possible to achieve.

If it was real, there is no way that guy was caught IMHO. A good rider can take a road-bike through the woods no problem, even thick nasty muddy woods, they call it cyclocross, and a good guy in it can jump huge logs and mud and rocks hardly missing a beat.

 

[Ypedal]

An od of Meth might help..

 

[MadRhino]

This story made me learn something about drafting.

On 3 October 1995 Fred Rompelberg cycled behind a motor dragster on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, with a speed of 268.831 kilometers an hour (167.044 mph). He was the oldest professional cyclist in the world at the time.This is still a world record, which is also stated in the Guinness Book of Records.

 

[SamTexas]

Both the video and the story are fake and/or greatly exaggerated. But that should not be surprising coming from GIZMODO.

 

[veloman]

yeah, that is definitely fake.

Drafting is huge.

I got up to 70 miles per hour behind my friends little suv 10 years ago when I was a teenager. It was a huge straight downhill too, about 9-10% grade. Not too hard for a racing cyclist to pedal 200rpm in top gear 53x12 when you are going down a massive hill in the wake of a vehicle.


You guys need to learn how badly your non-aero-ness is killing your speed. Don't make fun of the lycras - those clothes add 2-4mph at 30mph over normal clothes.

 

[Ypedal]

I'd rather add 1000w.

 

[sk8norcal]

The pacer stands or sits upright to offer a maximum windbreak, and the handlebars are extended to facilitate the stance, in a standarized leather suit that allows for the same slipstream effect for any rider. Speeds of 100 km/h (62 mph) can be reached;[22] the average is between 60–70 km/h.[13]

[youtube]sdLj2Nvv3k0[/youtube]

 

[SamTexas]

Drafting is huge.

I got up to 70 miles per hour behind my friends little suv 10 years ago when I was a teenager. It was a huge straight downhill too, about 9-10% grade. Not too hard for a racing cyclist to pedal 200rpm in top gear 53x12 when you are going down a massive hill in the wake of a vehicle.

Why bother with dangerous drafting and useless/showing-off 200rpm pedaling? Anyone with guts can achieve 70mph on a 17% grade downhill, a 17mph tailwind, and a 60 rpm BACKWARD cadence. The speed achieved is meaningless either way because is not 100% cyclist power.

 

[veloman]

Drafting is huge.

I got up to 70 miles per hour behind my friends little suv 10 years ago when I was a teenager. It was a huge straight downhill too, about 9-10% grade. Not too hard for a racing cyclist to pedal 200rpm in top gear 53x12 when you are going down a massive hill in the wake of a vehicle.

Why bother with dangerous drafting and useless/showing-off 200rpm pedaling? Anyone with guts can achieve 70mph on a 17% grade downhill, a 17mph tailwind, and a 60 rpm BACKWARD cadence. The speed achieved is meaningless either way because is not 100% cyclist power.

I was 17.
It was the most fun I ever had in my life.

Do you know how long (and straight) of a downhill at 17% you would need to get up to 70mph with no windbreak? There are very few such paved roads.

I can assure you the speed was not meaningless. Your definition of meaningful doesn't factor in the pure fun of going that fast on an 18lb bike. Have you been a road cyclist? Do you know the feeling of hitting an awesome downhill and going way faster than you should? Every day on the bike is a fight against that invisible wall holding you back from the holy grail, the essence of road cycling = going fast without a motor. When you get the opportunity to "cheat the wind" and go like you always wanted to go - it is undescribable how much fun it is. It sounds like you don't know road cycling. It's NOT all about UCI world records or winning races, or strict personal bests "on flat roads with no wind" blah blah.

No where in my posts here am I suggesting that it was a good idea. As I said, I was 17. What do 17 yr olds typically do? Dumb stuff. But fun stuff usually.

With your logic, Sam Wittingham's 82mph in a streamliner is meaningless since it wasn't on a traditional bike, or something you could use as transportation. You're actually more likely to find a fast boxy vehicle to draft behind at highway speeds than to ride a streamliner, and it would be safer to do it my way.