Sam Whittingham, World's fastest cyclist

[blobliblo35]

Btw, this is about acheving the highest SPEED, not being the best cyclist. This is about pushing human speed limits, that's the point. Saying this means nothing is like saying cyclists are crap because they can go faster than a runner more fit than them, so they should be ignored.

[blobliblo35]

definition of a bike:

A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other.

(wikipedia)

[tubeornottubeuseful]

Wow, talk about arguing for nothing. According to some here, I will be the next "fastest" cyclist. Put on my cape and am just about to climb on my kid's bike with stabiliser wheels and choose a nice downhill road out of town as a force 5 hurricane blows in the right direction, am expecting a top speed somewhere around 250km/h for at least 200m, that would break beat any freefall cyclists jumping over cliffs with parachutes.

[blobliblo35]

@tubeornottubeuseful lol, it's about it being powered by muscle power alone.

[belima]

i would love to see cancellara in one of those bikes. that would be epic.

[Annelise938]

THATS MY FRIENDS DAD!!!! : )

he's actually really slow when ever im over there...lol

[jesternes]

omg its so fast i think i'll cry, welldone Sam, humanity is not the same without you, i think i will create a fun club if not existed

[sbslusher]

get these bikes training wheels, fucking nannies

[vistigioful]

I know a way to make a bike go fast. You set up a series of gears in a manner as to multiply the speed of the chain (go from a smaller gear to a bigger gear). This will make it harder to pedal, but you cancel that out by adding long levers, which will make it easier to pedal.

[weepaddy123]

Well i dont know what you wanna call a odd shaped bike i only know two things about things about this, you still pedal for one and secondally it looks fun and i wanna go on one :)

[SuperJustinbeiberroc]

FAKE

[johngorgis]

how do they breath

[thirdlegUK]

he has nothing on mark cavendish and chris hoy.

[DestroyTheseWalls]

fuck recumbents...theyre for the bastards that cant go fast on real bike

[timjtharvey]

So, I take it you own one?

[DestroyTheseWalls]

@timjtharvey hell no recumbents are as i said for loosers if they want to impress me then they should do it on a road bike...they were banned from the tour de france for a reason

[drsquirrel0]

@DestroyTheseWalls What is the difference between this and drops? aero bars? aero wheels? aero spokes? different geometry.

Yea, fuck road bikes... road bikes are for idiots like you that cannot go fast on a BSO full sus MTB with knobblies.

You might noticed this is a HPV, which is a different classification in the UCI than a "bike" (hence why there are 2x hour record categories).

[DestroyTheseWalls]

@drsquirrel0 hmmmm.... aero bars and aero shit doesnt change geometry of the bike it changes the cyclist geometry......and recumbents are pathedict excuses for bikes....the UCI banned them becuase they arnt bikes, there for those who ride them arent cyclists they are recumbists or something retarded like that

[drsquirrel0]

@DestroyTheseWalls pathetic excuses, they're called HPV for a reason and why not take the aerodynamic advantage

if you think they're just weak riders get a recumbent and show them how much better you apparently are

there are some really fast riders on uprights that use recumbents too, not all bent riders just ride recumbent

my point about rider geometry is that its adjusted overall, rider or bike it doesnt matter, recumbents are more aero and efficient - fucking live with it.

[animation508]

@DestroyTheseWalls Recumbents have their strong points, most notably the extreme arodynamics. Racing or Road bikes, on the other hand, are geared for an all around kind of, in the sense that the hills they'll encounter will won't cause a problem

[DestroyTheseWalls]

@animation508 Yea I know I was just being a troll ahaaha but I'm a road cyclist and I don't appreciate fuckers like this guy getting the "ur a badass" award lol

[animation508]

@DestroyTheseWalls I'm a road cyclist to, and I'll admit I chuckle when I see recumbents and then overtake them, especially on hills.

[48041]

@DestroyTheseWalls; When your testacles fall off from lack of curculation, don't come crying to me!

[Oxstayne]

I know a person who has broken the speed barrer...

[kennybenny]

based from the UCI rules, its not a bike :D

[Perelly]

@kennybenny

It's not a bike to compete with in UCI speed or 1hr races. It's still a bike.

[glamtrackstar70]

@Hypothebai They have no interest in doing so. 

[glamtrackstar70]

@Vragusila You just proved my point. Any well conditioned track cyclist would beat this record. You they other one that only went about 60mph. Probably because the build wasn't proper and to his fitting. This crap still and never will impress me. I'd rather see this guy back on the track doing some masters races.

[Hypothebai]

@glamtrackstar70 If any "well conditioned cyclist" can beat this record wy have they not done so yet?

[VRagusila]

A note to all the people being idiots....racing is all about what rules are set up.

Back in the 60s i think a recumbent entered the Tour and beat everyone by quite a few hours...and then recumbents were promptly declared illegal. Which means that the Tour (and most official races) are all about who goes the fastest on a normal style bike.

TT has different rules regarding aero package, so people go even faster

Battle Mountain is all about having as few rules as possible.

[hockeyhatesgooglnow]

I'm sure you could customize the drag on a road bike so it matches what this dude is riding, it would be highly dangerous and life threatening to reach 80 mph, but at least no one would complain about it not looking like a conventional bike.

[Hypothebai]

@hockeyhatesgooglnow Ok, if you are so sure go ahead with your idea and lets see how you go. I do not predict a winning outcome so I will not waste my time.

[houdini69]

this is not a bike i dont care what you say, !!!!!!!

[glamtrackstar70]

@323tom323 Ha! You mention ping pong? I consider ping pong to be a very skillfull sort. Living in Japan I've seen many matches. Worthy of being an Olympic sport. This on the other hand will never be an Olympic sport. I don't think you have ever been in a serious cycling event. You have never climbed mountains or have been on a velodrome.If you call traveling fast in a big dildo,with big gears a sport. Fine. Keep on sucking this guys dick. Bitch!

[timjtharvey]

Of course it's a bicycle. That's the way a bicycle looks when you customize it for maximum speed. It has two wheels and is powered by pedals, what more do you want? Do you expect bicycles not to evolve over time in directions related to high performance? Do you think we should still be riding around on bicycles with solid tires, giant front wheels, and no chain, like we did 100 years ago?

How would you define bicycle?!

[m33lad]

thats not really a bicycle!! LIKE HONESTLY!!

[maartendaan]

Cancellara would definately kick his ass

[glamtrackstar70]

Oh please. This is such crap! Any top pro, track cyclist would beat his record on that cheating bike. I'd beat his record.He's such a pussy. I don't think there are any pro road and track cyclists that do this sillly sport. If you can call it that. It would be more entertaining if they did it match sprint style. 2 racing at the same time with some wagering.

[323tom323]

@glamtrackstar70 you are stupid, this is a real sport and this guy is probably good on normal road bike too. what you're saying is like saying oh ping pong is such a gay sport, the only true racket sport is tennis...come on retard

This is worthy for all the other assholes saying the same thing!

[VRagusila]

@glamtrackstar70 Sam is a track cyclist. he was in the Canadian Team for a while. Back in 2001 the Olympic track champion rode such a bike at Battle Mountain...and he went rather slow (60mph). Building such a bike, managing to ride it safely and efficiently and getting a record attempt together is a very hard thing to achieve.

[UploadOrDownload]

when you look closer while he is going,it looks like he is hovering

[purpalhaaz]

it's like a Lamborghini challenging a Toyota to a race, and then bragging that they won !!!

[timjtharvey]

I still don't understand the complaint. The Tour is for people attempting speed over vast distances. This race is all about moving as fast as humanly possible without the assistance of wind or gravity. It just so happens that a type of bicycle is the ultimate vehicle to fulfill that challenge. Lance may have been the world's fastest cyclist of a conventional bicycle in certain race types, but Whittingham was the self-propelled person, period. Lance never attempted that feat.

[billysue2]

@timjtharvey nobody would sugest armstrong was even a fast cyclist ,let alone the fastest,he is an endurance athlete,not a sprinter.Can the marathon champ go faster than usain bolt?

[DieMenschMaschine85]

@purpalhaaz : Where do you get your 'logic' from?

[purpalhaaz]

it's a different type of a ride .. if he's so good why doesn't he enter the Tour and try to win it ??? to determine who is REALLY the best cyclists .. everyone must ride the same type of a bike under the same conditions .. then and only then will it be determined who is the ACTUAL best ...

[timjtharvey]

What do you mean -- why should Whittingham enter he Tour? Why doesn't Lance Armstrong try to beat Whittingham at THIS race? He probably knows he'd lose. If Lance Armstrong wants to prove he's the fastest cyclist, he should enter the race where cyclists reach the highest speeds. And although I don't think he should be required to, I think he would probably chose to use a bicycle like Sam's.

[billysue2]

@purpalhaaz are you retarded,nobody in road cycling would even approach the power output of a track cyclist in a sprint,this is what is being demonstrated here.For sure there are track lads who could go faster than this guy using this bike.

[Deango2]

It's illegal to do that on public roads... USA highest speed limit is 80 mph. Cops need to give a ticket to that ruthless driver, he is the same as those guys that do gumball 3000. LMAO! JK. Public roads turned into closed courses are awesome! :)

[mediaplayer20]

the best way for me to reach my max speed which is 1:to get chased by a k-9

2:get chased by a train when its off its tracks but i think my top speed is 45mph on 14 gear i only got a mtb ... if i had a cycling bike i may hit 53 mph im only 13 so by the time im 26 i wana hit over 100+ mph and be rich famus and the fastest cyclist ever but i really gota stop playing halo 3 i been playing it alot now that i got this clan up with over 100 people in it lol im working on a book for machinmas ahhhhhhhh

[boomkingg]

@mediaplayer20 BULLSHIT!

[Austin393]

Retarded

[callumwallzy15]

james bondaygee ur a dick why would u mass produce this when as u stop u have nuffing to blance u so u will tip and thay only turn about 1cm are u a fuckin twat or what ?

[nakatasnoodles]

God help this guy if Chris Hoy ever got into one of these "cycles"!!!! His record would be obliterated!!!

[mediaplayer20]

im gon BEAT THAT RECORD SOME DAY

[ShillBasher]

Go for it, I mean that.

[comsunjava]

I guess you could argue it's not a bike, in the same way you could argue Michael Schmacher's formula 1 race car is not a car. Hm, so what's the point here?

Very awesome, that's what.. 82mph on a racing bike.

[wanmaker]

no bike ive seen.its not a bike.its got fearing.bullshit

[graciousSenor]

Pretty neat, but I think I'll stick to my road bike.

[jamesbondaygee]

That's a bike!! Two wheels, 100% human propelled! Bravo. Let's mass produce these babies!! I want one!!

[DeadRiser1]

@jamesbondaygee Hahaha, i would too if they don't fall over when you stop, no way of stopping them falling when stationary.

[gbdill]

That's not a bike. It's a modified two-wheeled cycle with enhancements. Let's see him do 82 mph on my store bought Schwinn.

[admilu]

What'd he say the bike was made of>?

[forrest225]

Carbon fiber, and kevlar.

[admilu]

Right, thanks :) Better late than never I suppose XD

[hoodikov31]

well you could have just watched the first minute of the video again....

[admilu]

That's not the reason I asked. I was un-sure of how to spell "Kevlar" at the time and in order to find out I asked what the shell was made of and guess what... I got the result I wanted :)

[giantman72]

Yeah, he's the champ until I break out my Huffy. I can ride one handed and pop wheelies. Let's see him do that. IM THE MAN!!!!!!!!

[skyspydude1]

lol u fail

[ciaran32123]

the bike looks like shit

[HeadShotted001]

dude... to get to 80mph u gotta have like fucking legs of steel u shit head... hed go faster than anyone on any bike on any road in any country

[hanyongxiang]

If we put him on a road bike, I doubt he loses to all the professionals who train hard all day long.

[timjtharvey]

I'm happy to be corrected, if someone can show me that my definition or standards are reducible to an absurdity, or allow for the absurd. That's the best way to check the defensibility of a position in an argument. Its easy to gravitate to a position that we "like" despite it being reducible to an absurdity. A great example are people who claim that to circumnavigate the world, you don't have to touch opposite points on the globe. I say to them, ok, I'm going to go and run around the north pole!

[joshwozear]

Eric Braone - 128.49 mph.

Ok it's down a hill but he is technically the world's fastest cyclist.

[timjtharvey]

Downhill riding -- attaining the fastest speeds on a bicycle -- is not self-propelled, but gravity-propelled, and as such, is in a different category. I wouldn't even call it "cycling," as much as I would call it "sitting on a bicycle and rolling with the forces of nature propelling you".

[joshwozear]

To quote you timjtharvey

"It has pedals, a chain drive, all the parts you would expect on a bike. What makes it not a bike? Where's the engine?!"

He is riding it and so like it or not, it is cycling.

I'm not arguing that Sam Whittingham isn't the worlds fastest 'flat road cylist'. Simply that he isn't the world's 'fastest cyclist.'

[timjtharvey]

You're right, both are bicycles. My only point is that in one case, gravity provides the speed, in the other case, a human being provides the speed. If there was a flea riding on Eric Braone's bicycle frame, your logic says the flea is a faster cyclist than Sam Whittingham!

Let's even the playing field. Three bikes -- one for Eric, one for Sam, one for the flea. Any number of races, up hills, down hills, and flat. Who do you think would prove to be the fastest - the flea?

[joshwozear]

You are questioning my logic with a strange flea analogy, however I was simply stating facts.

Regarding the flea analogy... well a flea isn't a human and would probably have difficulty reaching the handle bars ;).

----cyclist

----noun

----a PERSON who rides a bicycle"

A flea isn't a person buddy.

Maybe Sam could beat Eric's time down a hill, but as he hasn't Eric is still the faster cylist.

All credit to Sam though. Great work.

[timjtharvey]

I agree. Great work to both of them. However, I propose the we could strap a dead human body to a bicycle and, with a near-vertical slope and some low-friction training wheels, the dead guy might attain the fastest speed and fit your definition. We could even lop off his arms and most of his body, and mount his head to the handlebars. How about it? World's fastest man!

You're right, we disagree. I believe that the real test of speed requires that the cyclist cycle for momentum, not free-fall.

[joshwozear]

Yeah ok buddy.

Your wrong...

[jbvcw71]

She said bicycles have "gears" she is WRONG.

They have zero gears.

The correct term is "SPROCKETS"

[SkynetVinnie]

big boy green machine

[debakle001]

it's not really a bike is it

[Anywien13]

That's my cousin!!

GO SAM!

[stinkyprimo888]

Thats not a bike

[timjtharvey]

Whatever man, have some imagination. It has pedals, a chain drive, all the parts you would expect on a bike. What makes it not a bike? Where's the engine?!

[stinkyprimo888]

Its not a traditional bike, its recumbant

[LiquidZ2k]

Oh god, not the recumbent vs traditional argument.

[Duncan55Watson]

2 wheels, human engine. Looks like a Bi-cycle to me.

[kawiracer52]

i wanna see that on a MTB like a kona stinky or a norco shore 1

[maxvincecarter15]

That's one fucking speedy guy

[FeelTehBa55]

The way they classify the fastest cyclist this might be a world record..but there have been people to reach speeds of 100+mph.. They gave a very vague description. They said that it was the fastest anyone has ever ridden on a bicycle..wrong.

[boxsterwelby]

fastest self propelled cyclist. I agree it's a vague description. But, as cyclists we know that this is the fastest rider in the world.

[Protobikes]

Fastest self propelled on the flat, unpaced. Anyone who went faster did it behind a car, down a mountain or on rollers. Sam is the real thing.

[bkermike]

i hope that they develope these to a practical level. so one day i can cruise about in one as if am on a normal bicycle. 50+mph np! who needs cars. this is the way forward when it comes to avoiding all the oil and gas prices. cus the world is hitting an all time low on the market. there is only so long we can keep going on using cars before it WILL be to expensive. when my dad was my ages(40yrs ago) gas prices were 10dollars. now there 110dollars. that was his vague description of it.

[rockprincess000]

i have a 11 year old cousin named sam whittingham no lie

[RhianneTheSinger]

Me To My Surnames Whittingham Im Rhianne Whittingham :D Wicked Woo Go Whittinghams !

[adamrwhitt86]

my surname is whittingham.

im so proud!!! lol

[alooobre]

almost like Flintstones...

[sarsDJ]

thats awesome

[rioter5649]

guess that he won't have to worry about gas prices

[scareik]

can they steer?

[KaLbO27]

how can they breath?

[smalliverchick]

wow. Bullets on wheels is one way to describe it. That's pretty cool it's made of kevlar too.

[mike1161]

that is awesome, they're kinda like UFOs on the road

[kevinbocking]

sweet man