How Fast Can a Bike Go? From 60 MPH to 183 MPH World Records

In 1899, a cyclist named Charles Murphy rode behind a speeding train at 60 mph 🤯. People thought he was insane. Today, the bicycle speed record stands at 183.9 mph—faster than most people drive on the highway.

Over the past 126 years, cyclists have risked their lives chasing speed records that seemed impossible in their eras ✋.

I’m taking you through the complete evolution of bicycle speed records—from steam locomotives to dragsters, from wooden boards to salt flats.

The Birth of Speed: Mile-a-Minute Murphy (1899)

Charles Minthorn Murphy had a crazy idea. He believed he could ride a bicycle at 60 mph—a mile a minute—if someone could eliminate wind resistance.

Everyone laughed at him. In 1899, the fastest bicycles could barely hit 20 mph. Murphy didn’t care. He convinced the Long Island Railroad to let him try something absolutely nuts.

On June 30, 1899, railroad workers laid two miles of wooden planks between the rails of track near Farmingdale, New York. They built a hood on the back of a passenger car to shield Murphy from wind. The plan? Murphy would pedal his Tribune “Blue Streak” bicycle in the dead air behind a speeding locomotive.

Murphy described the experience: “I was riding in a maelstrom of swirling dust, hot cinders, paper and other particles of matter. The suspense became maddening.”

On his second attempt with a more powerful engine, Murphy covered the mile in 57.8 seconds—averaging over 62 mph and likely hitting 70 mph at points.

Grown men on the train hugged and kissed each other. One fainted. Another went into hysterics.

Murphy had to be hauled onto the moving train immediately after crossing the finish line—there were only seconds to spare before the wooden track ended and exposed railroad ties would have destroyed him. He collapsed, ashen and burned from flying cinders.

The Quest for 100 MPH (1920s-1941)

Murphy’s record stood for nearly 30 years. Nobody else had the combination of fitness, fearlessness, and access to steam locomotives fast enough to try.

But by the 1920s, motorcycles and race cars could go much faster than trains. Cyclists started drafting behind motorized vehicles fitted with wind-blocking fairings. The speeds climbed rapidly:

• 1928: Leon Vanderstuyft (Belgium) – 76 mph behind a motorbike
• 1933: Alexis Blanc-Garin (France) – 80 mph behind a motorbike
• 1937: Albert Marquet (France) – 87 mph behind a car
• 1938: Alfred Letourneur (France) – 91 mph at a velodrome

Then came the breakthrough.

Letourneur—nicknamed “le diable rouge” (the Red Devil)—became the first human to ride a bicycle faster than 100 mph under any conditions. The record would stand for decades.

The Modern Era: Bonneville Salt Flats (1970s-Present)

By the 1970s, speed record attempts moved to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah—a vast, flat expanse perfect for high-speed runs. Cyclists now drafted behind dragsters with custom wind shields.

The progression continued:

• 1973: Allan Abbott – 139 mph at Bonneville
• 1985: John Howard – 152 mph at Bonneville
• 1995: Fred Rompelberg (Netherlands) – 167 mph at Bonneville

Rompelberg’s record lasted 23 years. It seemed untouchable. The Dutchman had crashed twice going over 100 mph in 1988, breaking 24 bones, before returning in 1995 with his custom 1,000-horsepower dragster.

Then a 45-year-old mother from California decided to break it.

The Current Record: 183.9 MPH (2018)

Denise Mueller-Korenek was a national champion cyclist who had retired to run a home security business and raise a family. But she never stopped thinking about speed.

In 2016, she set the women’s record at 147 mph. But that wasn’t enough.

On September 16, 2018, Mueller-Korenek returned to Bonneville with Rompelberg’s restored dragster and a custom KHS bike. The bike was over 7 feet long, weighed 35 pounds, and had 17-inch motorcycle tires.

The gear ratio was 488 gear-inches—so high she had to be towed to 100 mph before she could even turn the cranks.

Mueller-Korenek described it as “a dance” with her driver, Shea Holbrook: “I’m constantly adjusting, floating forward and floating back. Everything is just white with no reference points. It’s like being in the back of a box truck with no windows.”

She covered the measured mile at 183.932 mph—faster than the takeoff speed of an Airbus A340. The equipment barely survived.

Five days later, the flange on the rear hub completely popped off. One side of the rear wheel just snapped off the hub.

Mueller-Korenek had shattered a 23-year-old record and become the fastest human ever to ride a bicycle under their own power.

Pure Human Power: The Unpaced Records

Motor-paced records are impressive, but they rely on eliminating wind resistance. What about pure human power with no help from slipstreams?

That’s where streamlined recumbent bicycles come in—enclosed in aerodynamic shells that look more like torpedoes than bikes.

The progression:

• 2009: Sam Whittingham (Canada) – 82.8 mph
• 2013: Sebastiaan Bowier (Netherlands) – 83.1 mph
• 2015: Todd Reichert (Canada) – 86.7 mph
• 2016: Todd Reichert – 89.59 mph

Reichert’s record was set at Battle Mountain, Nevada—a location chosen for its elevation and thin air. His vehicle was the “Eta Speedbike,” built by the AeroVelo team (the same group that built the first human-powered helicopter).

For context, that’s nearly 90 mph with nothing but leg power and aerodynamics. No motor. No slipstream. Just pure human output.

Downhill Speed Records: When Gravity Helps

There’s another category: gravity-assisted downhill records. These happen on snow-covered ski slopes or volcanic ash, where riders can reach insane speeds going straight down mountains.

Éric Barone’s 141.5 mph run down a ski slope is terrifying to watch. One mistake, one patch of ice, one moment of panic—and it’s over. These riders wear motorcycle leathers and full-face helmets because crashes at these speeds are catastrophic.

The Bikes That Make It Possible

These record bikes are nothing like what you ride. They’re purpose-built machines designed for one thing: surviving extreme speed.

Mueller-Korenek’s bike alone cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to develop. The dragster she rode behind? Fred Rompelberg’s custom 1,000-horsepower machine that had been sitting in storage since 1995.

Final Thoughts

From Charles Murphy’s 60 mph ride behind a steam locomotive in 1899 to Denise Mueller-Korenek’s 183.9 mph dragster run in 2018, bicycle speed records represent 126 years of humans pushing the absolute limits of what’s possible on two wheels.

These aren’t everyday cyclists. These are obsessives who risk everything for a number—who spend years training, hundreds of thousands of dollars developing equipment, and face life-or-death consequences for a few seconds of glory.