Systems, methods, and apparatus for improving throughput of a serial bus are described. A method performed at a device coupled to a serial bus includes detecting a transition in signaling state of a first wire of the serial bus while a first pair of consecutive bits is being received from the first wire of the serial bus, determining that no transition in signaling state of the first wire occurred while a second pair of consecutive bits is being received from the first wire, defining bit values for the first pair of consecutive bits based on direction of the transition in signaling state detected while the first pair of consecutive bits is being received, and sampling the signaling state of the first wire while the second pair of consecutive bits is being received to obtain a bit value used to represent both bits in the second pair of consecutive bits.