How do people go so fast down Greenhill Road?
I've been watching some videos on YouTube and overheard a guy talking on his phone at Mt Lofty, it turns out that people are hitting max speeds of over 80kmph down Greenhill Rd.
I am 6ft 5 so I'm not the most aerodynamic but I don't even get to 70.
Does anyone get to speeds this high? If so how/where do you do it???
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Pete (repeats ?) Roberts on -
I do not promote fast descents, as they can be very dangerous, however the decent into Snake Gully on the One Tree Hill road is very fast, and I often achieve 85km/h. You have to pay for it though, as there is a super little climb back out of the gully.
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Permalink Reply by Daryl Whitwell on
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Agree not a straight bit of road so you have to be very very attentive, wouldn't suggest riding along that road during sunrise as cars would struggle to see you on some corners as you climb back out, but the climb is deceiving though. The speed down is awesome, I've had some young lads give me the thumbs up as they pass just over the narrow bridge
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Permalink Reply by Matt Sandercock on -
I have hit about 78kmh without tying too hard. The key is maintaining speed, you need to pedal obviously and there are really only a few corners where you need to brake much more than a light squeeze. Hard to describe where the fast bits are, but there is a sharpish left hander maybe a third of the way down, this is one corner that needs brakes, after that the road is pretty straight before it bends around to the right, this is probably one of the fast sections especially when the gully winds give you a bit of assistance! The bottom bit before the roundabout is also pretty quick. It helps to ride behind a fast group/rider to see how they do it and to get some confidence and to see how fast you can actually go around a corner. Take care though, it's not a race but gees it's fun!!
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Permalink Reply by Monty Wolf on -
I guess knowledge of the road is a big key. I live up in Mt Barker so I don't get to ride on the road that often.
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Permalink Reply by heather on -
Watch out for vehicles on Greenhill Road! I would set my records on quieter roads.
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Permalink Reply by David Southern on -
52:12 gearing (albeit on 26 x 1 3/8 wheels), pedalling, leaning the bike right over in the corners much as a motorcyclist does. (Easier with toe-clips and straps than with cleats, I suspect). And this on an "upright" bike. (Not recently, though.) Dry road.
The best part for high speed is the section between Summit Rd and Yarrabee Rd. On this section, you have the face of the cutting to your left, rather than the edge of the world, and some of the bends have been eased.
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Permalink Reply by Frank on
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Green hill rd is out of bounds for me, lived on yarrabee for a while and seen it all!
That road is too dangerous IMHO!
Having said that, I have hit 78 coming down just past turn off to yarrabee rd but would not try that again! Not in this life time anyhow!
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Permalink Reply by Brett dracup on
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My top speed is 88.1kmh in Williams road coming down blacktop road. Knowledge of the road helps heaps.
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Permalink Reply by Sam Young on -
Some of it's about getting really aero, some is knowing when not to hit the breaks, and some is picking the right line - you can lose a lot of speed around the corners without even breaking if you take them wrong.
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Permalink Reply by Don (Who's lost?) Nairn on -
I have seen a lot of people fight the bike on descents this can slow you down a lot.
If you are using a non GPS computer they can be calibrated poorly and read wrong.
Of course people would never exaggerate.
Knowing the road would help.
Of course you don't really know that you are going too fast until you have strife.
How many crashes are you prepared to have to find out how fast is too fast?
A head on with a car has the capacity to ruin your ride.
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Permalink Reply by Sam Young on
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Yep, don't base your descent speeds on your riding buddies descent speeds. They might know the road better than you, or just be more aero than you, and trying to keep up can hurt a lot when you try to make the bike go in directions it doesn't want to go.
Ride the road a couple of times, try to learn the good lines, then start pushing it, if you're comfortable. The fastest part on Greenhill is after the S bend.
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Permalink Reply by Ricky on -
My quickest down there was 79km/h and I did that between Hallet Rd and the roundabout. Dead straight. I take it easy on the rest of way down getting to about 60km/h max. Knowing the road definitely helps. Take Fox Creek for example. There is a left hander after the hairpin. Ive gotten to 85km/hr by going easy into it and then acellerating hard out of it. I learned this by going too fast into this cnr and having to brake and losing all my momentum. The only times Ive gone as quick or quicker are 89.9 on new Willunga Hill being buffeted by the wind, 87.3 back in the old days pre tunnels coming down the old freeway between Devils Elbow and the Mt Osmond bridge and 85 on Flagstaff Hill Rd just before 2 lanes become 1. As you can proberly tell by the above I do my max speeds on straightish roads. Another thing that helps to go fast is good wheel bearings.
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