Hmmmm. Interesting. If that’s correct (and the Miyatas had an actual wheel diameter of less than 23.5"), I have doubts about Christian pedaling faster than that, downhill or not.
My top sprint speed on a 24" was reached after years of training to beat the Guinness record. The limiting factor in this is getting your legs to spin fast enough. Develop a faster spin and you can reach a higher speed. Granted, my top speed has surely been surpassed in the years since, but not by large amounts. That would mean Christian would have been pedaling his 36" wheel faster than the highest speed I could ever reach on a 24". I know Christian Hoverath was a gifted rider, but that number seems a little fishy. Especially in relation to all the riders who have since been unable to match it…
I’ve always thought Christian’s number sounded fishy, no offense intended. Top speeds as recorded by cycle computers have numerous potential sources of error.
With all due respect to all the amazing riders here who have posted times…bear in mind that these are just ‘for interest’ personal bests.
None of them would stand up to scrutiny as a world record speed. Measurements by a cycle computer (or…car odometer) are just not accurate enough!
For my Hour Record…most of the effort was spent in getting witnesses and surveying the track (I paid a qualified surveyor to measure out the track to the closest centimeter!). We had two stopwatches and two independent timekeepers, as well has having to submit photo and video evidence to Guinness.
Tom et al, take this thread for what it is…a bit of fun. Unless someone went to the trouble of actually setting up an official record attempt, these are just numbers and claims that would be hard to substantiate. Some would be more accurate than others.
Sure; I just think when that speed is at the top of the chart, over 2MPH faster than the second-fastest claimed speed, and supposedly done on an ungeared Coker with 125mm cranks, it’s worth noting that it’s probably not accurate.
Actually, this only makes me believe Christian’s claim even more. It’s far easier for me to achieve high cadence on a Coker than on a 24" uni due to … well, I’m not sure. Is it flywheel effect? Anyway, there is NO WAY that I could have reached 200 rpm on a smaller wheel, but on a Coker, I routinely did this while riding down a particular hill on my way home.
Other factors: Like John Foss, Christian is an extremely fine unicyclist (level 10, I think) who could focus almost all of his energy into pumping his legs. He was also reportedly riding down a fairly lengthy hill. And he’d been riding for some time, so his legs were adequately charged with blood, etc. Even if it was only for a sec, I’d believe he reached that godawful speed for real.
There are plenty of extremely fine unicyclists who have failed to reach anything close to that speed on an ungeared Coker. In fact, Ken Looi, formerly the 24-hour record holder and now the hour record holder, and clearly the fastest ungeared rider in Ride The Lobster, couldn’t keep up with Jan Logemann’s geared unicycle at top speed–yet Jan’s peak is still more than 2MPH slower than Christian’s claimed speed. It’s just not plausible.
I’ve seen Christian ride. He was other-worldly when he was pushing for speed…focussed and in control spinning at blinding rpm’s. I’m a believer, myself.
today i had half an hour of free time (not a lot ), so i put on some safty gears (gloves, knee pads, safty jacket), took turtle’s V out of the garage and went for a speed run on the road in front of our house (nice downhill, see the pic below). i did three runs, the third one was the fastest: 45.6 km/h; 28.3mph
i think with a little practise, i could go faster, but i’ll wait for turtle’s big V (it should be here in one month) for a real speed record!
the setup was as usual: turtle’s V, schlumpf hub, 125 cranks, and the offroad tyre (but not the stout)
Wow, that’s amazing…I’m glad the V-frame stood up to such an incredible speed! Did it feel more or less stable than a regular frame? I guess it’s vindication for the more bike-like unicycle set-up.
it feels alot more stable, because i hold on the handlebar (which is attached to the second frame), so there is no wobbling (?) with the 125 cranks. even when i ride with the 150’s there is almost no wobbling
While we all know you have a great deal of talent turtle, I wouldn’t rely 100% on the fastest speed recorded by a GPS device. I have that same device (and a newer model) and I can recall many times when my fastest speed recorded was in excess of 40mph!!! I calibrated bicycle computer would be a better measurement device; either with actual speed or cadence… Still I wouldn’t doubt that you were flying down that hill!
@muni sano: i know that, but i did a couple of runs with that gps now, also on sunday at a race in switzerland with a motorbike in front of me. so i’m pretty sure it is right. i did also a couple times 42 km/h…
It’s not that fast a speed for a bike, I’ll regularly touch 50mph on the way to work if there aren’t too many sheep about, and have done around 65mph on a straight downhill when I was younger and sillier and going for top speeds. But on a unicycle it’s amazing. I feel very unsafe at anything over 15mph on my coker, so almost twice that speed sounds utterly insane to me!
@turtle: I’m not doubting you, I’m just saying I wouldn’t rely on a GPS device for a serious max speed attempt. While it may seem to behave accurately one day it may not the next (my experience). Now if you could just make a run along side a motor bike you might have something!
Having had my highest speed UPD ever this week, at what MUST have been, at least… 12-15mph (judged by my inability to run out of the fall after Uni and I parted company), ALL of these speeds sound scary
Have now ordered some arm protection for next time.
At 50mph+ on a bike I think I’ll stick with helmet & leathers (and engine;)).
I would agree with this statement. I have recorded at least 28/29mph with my Garmin device multiple times on my geared 36, but I do not believe the speed. GPS is definitely not a good measure of max speed. This is the reason I haven’t posted my name in the list yet. I would think that a cycle computer would be more accurate (and even those have faults). You should hook up a cycle computer to the geared 29er and compare it with the max speed it reads vs the gps (this is what I plan on doing soon).
GPS devices are great for average speeds and for plotting your route, but current speed and max speed really shouldn’t be taken into account on them.
), so i put on some safty gears (gloves, knee pads, safty jacket), took turtle’s V out of the garage and went for a speed run on the road in front of our house (nice downhill, see the pic below). i did three runs, the third one was the fastest: 45.6 km/h; 28.3mph
I calibrated bicycle computer would be a better measurement device; either with actual speed or cadence… Still I wouldn’t doubt that you were flying down that hill! 
