Best road descent in the UK

[1988_Ben]

Perhaps I'm not very aerodynamic, but I seem to reach a terminal velocity of about 58 mph, which I've achieved on the following:

Mount Road, Marsden, W. Yorks (my parents now live on that road !)
Descent from A635 nr. Holmfirth into Meltham
Descent past the Roaches, towards Leek, Staffs
Bealach na Ba (Southern face)
Descent from Fleet Moss into Hawes, N. Yorks
Chinnor Hill, Oxfordshire (during a road race)

All the above are 'safe-ish' in my view. I've got near those speeds on others (Sir William Hill - Grindleford, Holme Moss south face, Mam Tor) but they're a bit risky due to bumpy off camber roads, cattlegrids and blind corners etc...

 

[Simplex]

70 mph :shock: - must feel like Biggles breaking the sound barrier. Any issues at that sort of speed - wheel balance comes to mind.

 

[pigman]

70 mph :shock: - must feel like Biggles breaking the sound barrier. Any issues at that sort of speed - wheel balance comes to mind.

none!
sit in the saddle, rather than perched on it (I sit low anyway, everyone my size who sits on my bike reckons the saddle is low), my bars are low to put weight on the front wheel and I tend to cut (apex) corners rather than brake and steer. Then simply enjoy. Only issue is cant pedal fast enough. Even the 70mph was done on 52x13 (never had a higher gear)

 

[roadking]

Descents.

Porlock Hill in Somerset, either direction, will " wake you up a bit..."

Dave

I agree with Porlock, nice part of the world too, Exmoor's good cycling also. My Grandad used to go down there in the old days...if there was any doubt about your car making it up the hill you'd go up in reverse gear.

Someone mentioned 70mph - maybe kph, call me cynical then.

Been up and down the Aubisque and Tourmalet, very long and very fast, and a long way down if you misjudge a corner!!!

I also agree with Ned, it's not just about speed. I was riding down a hill on my Pavemaster (I was 7) misjudged the bend halfway down, did several somersaults and ended up in hospital - nearly broke my young jaw.

Doesn't matter how fast if you don't get to the bottom!

Roadking.

 

[Supernaut]

Perhaps I'm not very aerodynamic, but I seem to reach a terminal velocity of about 58 mph, which I've achieved on the following:

Mount Road, Marsden, W. Yorks (my parents now live on that road !)
Descent from A635 nr. Holmfirth into Meltham
Descent past the Roaches, towards Leek, Staffs
Bealach na Ba (Southern face)
Descent from Fleet Moss into Hawes, N. Yorks
Chinnor Hill, Oxfordshire (during a road race)

All the above are 'safe-ish' in my view. I've got near those speeds on others (Sir William Hill - Grindleford, Holme Moss south face, Mam Tor) but they're a bit risky due to bumpy off camber roads, cattlegrids and blind corners etc...

Christ! I bet that's interesting as you come into the corner at the bottom where the snowploughs have dug into the tarmac :shock:

 

[Supratada]

70 mph :shock: - must feel like Biggles breaking the sound barrier. Any issues at that sort of speed - wheel balance comes to mind.

Braking, for one. A rider would have no chance of stopping in any sort of reasonable distance if something occured, hence why choice of road is all important. My friend and I managed 56mph on a short downhill in the Darent Valley, as recorded by cyclo computer. It was quite scary as that road had a side road coming onto it. Still, it wouldn't be much of a childhood / adolescense if we didn't take any risks.

Coming off at those speeds in lycra doesn't bare thinking about. I fell off a Raleigh Chopper in my primary school days, on a fast downhill (fast for a 7 year old) due to the old built-in front wheel wobble, and my school photo is scab-tacular.

 

[David B]

Re: Descents.

Doesn't matter how fast if you don't get to the bottom!

+1. I tend to shy away from loony descending speeds these days after hitting a dry stone wall at only 25mph near Ilkley, left me with pretty nasty leg and facial injuries (still have some scars, bafflingly the bike came out of it intact apart from the saddle).

Now, seeing how fast I can get to the top of a hill is a different matter! Of late I seem to be re-acquiring the decent climbing ability I used to have in my teens.

David

 

[pigman]

Re: Descents.

Someone mentioned 70mph - maybe kph, call me cynical then.

no defo 70 MPH and verified by 2 bike computers - a third guy reckoned his computer went wacky at 60mph, so maybe his only calibrated up to 60mph?? - it was in the late 80's and computers I guess were more primitive.

to be exact, it was on the isle of man, in a race and a long straight on the descent after you take a sharp righthander where a big pub is. I remember almost panicking on that right hander, being second in line and looking at the angle of lean of the guy in front. Whilst we were never gonna win the race (I think I finished 30th, but not sure), we were well drilled at going through and off. As soon as you came through, the next man in line was alongside you and you probably only needed to do half a dozen revs or so. Like I said, I was on a top of 52x13 (12's were quite rare and 11's didnt exist anyway) and the tailwind was great.

 

[1988_Ben]

Re: Descents.

Doesn't matter how fast if you don't get to the bottom!

+1. I tend to shy away from loony descending speeds these days after hitting a dry stone wall at only 25mph near Ilkley, left me with pretty nasty leg and facial injuries (still have some scars, bafflingly the bike came out of it intact apart from the saddle).

Now, seeing how fast I can get to the top of a hill is a different matter! Of late I seem to be re-acquiring the decent climbing ability I used to have in my teens.

David

Totally agree - if you can climb well, you'll have more fun on any ride, whether road or MTB. Descending is still fun no matter how slow or cautious you might be. The only 'risks' I take nowadays on the road are Alpine descents that I know well (you just have to go for it a bit there, pretend you've escaped the pack in the Tour...)

 

[lastpubrunner]

The term 'Best Road Descent' can be interpreted in different ways. To me, the fastest speed is not necessarily the defining factor. A long, sweeping, well surfaced, wide, quiet road with super views and a slight tailwind is probably 'The Best'. Now, where is there one that matches that specification?

I know just the hill.

The Milltir Cerrig (Welsh for mile of stones) is a mountain pass in Wales, on the B4391 between Bala (in the county of Gwynedd) and Llangynog (Powys), briefly passing through Denbighshire. It crosses the Berwyn mountain range at an altitude of 486 metres (1594 feet).

The longest part of continuous descent, is 330m over just 6.26km. (1082ft of descent, in just 3.89 miles).

Going the other way is pretty tough !

It is a terrific road, rather quiet and certainly, one of the most scenic routes anywhere.

Go there, and I promise that you won't be disappointed.