What's your top speed?

Fekkin ell thats around 202rpm on the flat you spin meister

Probably wasn't on the flat then! Maybe heading down to embankment station from houses of parliament, or going downhill under blackfriars before the tunnel.

That Dave Le Grys video is great. Win Percy driving the Rover SD1 touring car. I've got one of those Rovers. A plan is forming :-)

Probably wasn't on the flat then! Maybe heading down to embankment station from houses of parliament, or going downhill under blackfriars before the tunnel.

If you're hitting 72kph on Embankment you should be racing for, at the very least, a sponsored British team.

I only managed a max of 127kph on this mornings commute but since my gearing was 77x11 and I was doing standing starts I was happy with a 1sec power of 8750W. Tonight the high cadence work should produce somewhere around 330kph at 8000rpm.

It's quite surprising how many people on here apparently have the physiology that would have enabled them to have a career as pro cyclists. Very sensible of you all to choose the safety and security of an office job and save your talents for commuting.

Thanks. I hit 4 four squirrels per partridge today, do you think I could get a pro deal?

I only managed a max of 127kph on this mornings commute but since my gearing was 77x11 and I was doing standing starts I was happy with a 1sec power of 8750W. Tonight the high cadence work should produce somewhere around 330kph at 8000rpm.

Isn't it about time you learnt the difference between your bicycle and you motobike?

That is on my bicycle. It's a BT Stealth Commuter with continuously-variable fixed transmission. Top equivalent gearing is 100x5 which I use along flat Uxbridge Road to hit the speed of light in order to pass bendy buses without interfering with traffic flow. One time I actually travelled fast enough to pass through a black hole, travelled into the future, ate a piece of chocolate flamble cake and then came back again. I arrived in time for yesterday's dinner. Mal was best pleased.

Hmmm. Most of these speeds sound a lot more plausible as kph rather than mph. Which is the default setting on most speedos sold in Europe, including the UK.

Not knocking the genuinely quick, mind.

That is on my bicycle. It's a** BT Stealth Commuter with continuously-variable fixed transmission. Top equivalent gearing is 100x5** which I use along flat Uxbridge Road to hit the speed of light in order to pass bendy buses without interfering with traffic flow. One time I actually travelled fast enough to pass through a black hole, travelled into the future, ate a piece of chocolate flamble cake and then came back again. I arrived in time for yesterday's dinner. Mal was best pleased.

Ahhh I see. You should've said in the first place.

But I still know you're making it up. The flaw in your post above is claiming to have passed a bendy bus. Everyone knows this to be physically impossible no matter what speed you acheive, especially the speed of light. You see due to the cretinous numptys that drive these laughable leviathans, the indescribable chaos they cause daily by blocking the road causes carnage in not just the normal 3 dimensions, and the 4th dimension of time as well, but actually curves space time thus ensuring the maximum amount of road tarmac turmoil possible within the confines of the laws of physics...albeit stretched to their absoolute limit.

It's all a ploy by the Germans. Where was Einstein from eh? And where do bendy buses come from eh? I rest my case. Just ask Oliver about urban planning and watch him foam at the mouth....it's a conspiracy I tell you, a massive conspriracy to bring down our once great Empire....BRING BACK VICTORIA!

Sorry, I forgot to take my meds this morning

Can I have your un-taken meds?

65mph down the side of Mt. Tiede in Tenerife in 52 x 13
41.5mph at preston park on 47 x 14
43 mph at Manchester on 49 x 14
51 mph doing motor car chases on a flat road but slow surface on 46 x 14

all accurate on my calibrated srms

anyone hitting 40mph plus on a flat road really should be racing!!!

51 mph doing motor car chases on a flat road but slow surface on 46 x 14

That sounds like fun :D

Can I have your un-taken meds?

If you want to risk it!

This morning I hit 73.32mph on the Uxbridge Road. My bag strap accidentally got caught in a police van door.

39x26

But I still know you're making it up. The flaw in your post above is claiming to have passed a bendy bus. Everyone knows this to be physically impossible no matter what speed you acheive, especially the speed of light. You see due to the cretinous numptys that drive these laughable leviathans, the indescribable chaos they cause daily by blocking the road causes carnage

It's all a ploy by the Germans. Where was Einstein from eh? And where do bendy buses come from eh? I rest my case. Just ask Oliver about urban planning and watch him foam at the mouth

(I've stripped all the fun bits out from your post so that we can focus on the serious and important bits.) :)

Actually, while of course I understand the emotional case against articulated buses in London (I used to like the Routemaster design like most other people), from the point of view of bus operations and transportational utility, articulated buses are hard to beat. Be careful with whom you align yourself in your dislike of them, as the main case against them is actually brought by motorists, who believe them to cause congestion. It's a little complex to explain why that effect is negligible.

Essentially, articulated buses are the most efficient overground urban people-movers after trams. The roadspace they take up contains far more people (and more often than not, on the main bus routes they ply, they tend to be full) than cars would, and indeed double-deckers (which actually have a far smaller capacity, even if they have more seating). It helps the flow of traffic to have a few larger units rather than many small units, as each unit has to accelerate separately, creating a ripple delay at every junction. If in a queue, position yourself behind the articulated bus in the inside lane and marvel at how quickly the queue clears compared to the outside lane where the little cars sit.

There are a few myths about that articulated buses cause a safety problem for cyclists, but that has simply not been shown. TfL shot themselves in the foot a while ago when they produced silly incomplete stats in an answer at Mayor's Question Time, and those stats have become an urban myth. No proper before-and-after comparison has ever been undertaken on those routes where articulated buses replaced double-decker buses, and a number of other omissions, too, so we basically don't know.

Articulated buses cause other problems for cyclists than double-deckers. The latter often cut in quickly ahead of a cyclist, which articulated buses can't do owing to their length. The things that frighten people about them is that they are quite silent when coming up from behind (engine at the back), and can gradually pinch cyclists in when overtaking and moving back towards the kerb. They are also slightly wider than double deckers and it takes longer for a cyclist to squeeze past them in a queue--where the best advice is usually to wait further back in the queue--, which often leads to situations in which inexperienced riders find themselves in a tight space when the queues start moving.

Another important thing to realise is that many cyclists have never liked buses. We used to have just as many complaints about double deckers before the introduction of articulated buses as about the latter. Bus driver behaviour sometimes leaves a lot to be desired, although I find that the standard of driving has certainly improved over the years, and many drivers of articulated buses in particular are very good (it's a special status for them to be driving those). I've only once had an unpleasant encounter with the driver of an articulated bus.

Anyway, as ever, it's a complex subject that silly politics distorts and misrepresents. The bus people at TfL are probably tearing their hair out over the policy by the current Mayor of London to phase out articulated bus operation. I have to say I find that all of the designs from that competition look pretty shit.

@Oliver:

I agree with most of what you've said (I used to work for a company that did transport data applications and worked quite closely with TfL so I know the arguments in favour quite well). However, the design of bendy bus used in London was really intended for continental (particularly German) cities with large ring roads with a dedicated uninterrupted bike (EDIT: "bus", not bike sorry) lane. Anyone who has ever watched one trying and failing to make the turn out of Gower St, for instance, and blocking the traffic for several phases of the lights knows that TfL have been over-ambitious in the routes they've given the bendy buses. Problem is that with the Tube PPP having been such a failure, buses are the only area of public transport that has been able to expand its passenger capacity significantly in the past decade, so we're probably stuck with an ever-increasing number of them.

and also it is a well known fact that:

a) bendy buses all burst into flames every 5 minutes, and
b) no-one has EVER payed to go on one, so while they may be more efficient, they are not very cost effective.

... the design of bendy bus used in London was really intended for continental (particularly German) cities with large ring roads with a dedicated uninterrupted bike lane. Anyone who has ever watched one trying and failing to make the turn out of Gower St, for instance, and blocking the traffic for several phases of the lights knows that TfL have been over-ambitious in the routes they've given the bendy buses.

I think this is point.

I was riding home from a party along a clear road at about 2am when a mate came up behind me in his car and told me I was doing 22mph. I was totally surprised - didn't realise I could go that fast and wasn't even at top speed so I put the hammer down and he told me I had hit 30. I was quite shocked, especially as a few minutes ago I had been riding the fastest I have ever been on a bike (geared or not) down Barnet Hill. I was partly terrified because I was spinning so fast, but because the road was empty I thought I'd push it as hard as I could manage - my guess would be close to 40mph on 42/16.

So what you are saying is that you are able to spin at 190rpm?

Why don't they have cycle racks like buses I've seen in other contries?

Oh sorry that would require joined up planning about transport whereas we all know that cyclists are just cyclists, car drivers just drive and public transport users never get off and walk let alone cycle...

Or just a big handle on the rear so you can skitch, like fire engines.

Or just a big handle on the rear so you can skitch, like fire engines.

They used to, they were called routemasters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFLpwRMS00g

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py94okBKDU0

this is my top speed. dont pay attention to the john howard thing

@Oliver:

I agree with most of what you've said (I used to work for a company that did transport data applications and worked quite closely with TfL so I know the arguments in favour quite well).

There is no question that articulated buses have some drawbacks, just like other kinds of buses have other drawbacks. The key is to put them into perspective against those benefits.

However, the design of bendy bus used in London was really intended for continental (particularly German) cities with large ring roads with a dedicated uninterrupted bike (EDIT: "bus", not bike sorry) lane.[/qupte]

Actually, you'll find that one of the main reasons why this impression arises is that in most German cities the centre with narrow streets is pedestrianised. It's one of London's peculiarities that there is a bizarre expectation that motor vehicles should be permitted to be driven along streets that would be pedestrianised on the Continent. (NB this is not all good, as pedestrianised centres are typically surrounded by a plethora of multi-storey car parks that create the illusion of car-freeness.) This means that bus operation is heavily constrained by other motor vehicle use in areas like the junction you cite below:

[quote]Anyone who has ever watched one trying and failing to make the turn out of Gower St, for instance, and blocking the traffic for several phases of the lights knows that TfL have been over-ambitious in the routes they've given the bendy buses.

Take away the excessive numbers of taxis and private cars in this area and articulated bus operation is absolutely not a problem, as these streets' dimensions are not actually all that constrained (but appear that way because there's always so much going on in a typical London street). You need to measure it (and the comparison with post-WW2 streets and ring roads) against vehicle capacity. Unlike most Continental cities, London has always been extremely congested--there are reports to that effect going back to Roman times! Just because Continental streets and roads are vastly over-dimensioned for the capacity required, they are not inherently more suited to articulated bus operation. All traffic flows faster and more freely there quite generally than in London. So, the test you need to apply is how you want London's limited capacity used--by public service/carriage vehicles or by private traffic. (NB obviously I think that there is a much bigger role to play for cycling to be part of the modal mix rather than public transport or private cars--the current Mayor of London has committed to a cycling target in excess of 5%, and there are hopes to go as high as 10% as in Berlin, for instance.)

Problem is that with the Tube PPP having been such a failure, buses are the only area of public transport that has been able to expand its passenger capacity significantly in the past decade, so we're probably stuck with an ever-increasing number of them.

Well, yes and no, as this is only the case with a combination of central London continuing to possess the lion's share of trip-generating potential, and a potential failure of Crossrail (if it doesn't fail, bus expansion will probably decline--I know that that's potentially a long time hence). However, it is widely recognised that Outer London centres need to be better developed, and although that message is always a bit difficult to get through to politicians, if we manage to further reduce the need to travel, again the kind of trip assistance with 'remote destination fulfilment', for want of a better word, that public transport delivers, may be reduced in importance, and walking and cycling come more to the fore. Hard to predict where it's all heading in the recession! There may well be a break in the continuity that we've come to expect over the last ten years.