Can some rich person or group just create a competing organization to the UCI and fund their own races that are counterpart to those of the UCI but without all the stupid rules to have more innovative bikes?
I was Rudy's technician at Lotus during the time he was involved in the Lotus bike project. I worked on the Boardman bike with Burrows and Hill, another ridden by Shaun Wallace and Byran Steele, and I built the 15 "replica's". I also spent some time on the 110. Good video.
MeowX Squared yes also as Phantom Noir says, the chain doesn’t ever shift (fixed gear) so movement of the pedals directly corresponds to movement of the rear wheel. To stop you just slow your pedaling until you can stop the pedals
@John What's the point of all the rules? Either give every athlete the same bike to rule out all mechanical advantage or let them innovate new technologies to their content.
@Lucas de Abreu bro, there's no use in arguing with these people, it's a complete slippery slope. ''this thing should be banned because it gives an 'unfair advantage' or 'this undermimes the human aspect of the race'. Using their own logic, you can quite easily argue ''training should be banned because it gives an unfair advantage over people who don't train'' or ''people with amazing genetics should be banned because their potential gives them an unfair advantage over the less gifted''.
@@bearsoundzMusic it doesn't take a rich team to build a recumbent bike, or to have longer handlebar extensions. Banned anyway. The UCI just bans anything that doesn't fit their arbitrary definition of "true bicycling"
I got to ride the Lotus on Manchester velodrome when I was 17 back in 99 doing some testing for junior GB team. Keith, Chris's dad lent me the bike and it was so stiff and fast to ride. Great times :-) I was also there when Chris broke the hour record in Manchester, fantastic atmosphere - truly electric :-)
It was Chris Boardman that loaned Obree his helmet for the world championship final. Boardman was knocked out I recall by Obree. Obree was to face Emenault as I recall in the final. Boardman reckoned his custom helmet was better than Obree's so loaned it to him. He later said that at least he had something in the final. Obree won. You can see the helmet in use on a youtube video. Obree is often seen as a bit of a joke, not helped I thought by the whimsical image of him in British newspapers, wearing leggings, stood cross legged shouldering Old faithful. In contrast Obree, when he broke the hour record was treated to pages of heroic images in L'Equipe celebrating his record. The British press focussed on the washing machine derived bike, in fact it was only the bearings the bottom bracket ran on, rather than the supreme athlete Obree was. Those days were ace, I loved them, but I was much younger and faster too.
Steve Bretnall Boardman did a test recently on his positions. The tuck, the Superman, and a modern day TT position. I think the findings meant that the main reason Obree was soo good is because his position was much, much better than others. He didn’t win because of his athletic abilities, but because of his incredible ability to think outside of the box. (But I could be misremembering)
@@AKindChap I agree the positions were a big part of Obree's winning ways. But, applying the logic that the positions were the main part of it suggest anyone could win a world title on a bike with a radical position. I do take your point though. I do remember in 1992 at a weekend '25 in Cheshire talking to one of my competitors saying, and due to the passage of time I paraphrase a little, "Boardman would have beaten Lehman had he been riding a childs trike". Good debate matter though and you are quite right. I still reckon Obree was a super athlete. I saw him once at a time trial with his skin suit tied around his waste. He had veins on the outside of his body. he was that lean. I bet he could still ride most national TT champ riders under the table.
@@AKindChap, Obree was an incredible innovator, but a supreme athlete. I'm pretty sure that when he went to Norway to try to break the hour record and failed, he came back the next day and then beat it. 2 hour record attempts on consecutive days? That must take phenomenal mental and physical strength. Obree was every bit the athlete that Boardman was, and did it without the help of coaches and scientists and with next to no money either. A remarkable man.
@@alastairmerrill9349 Amen brother. It was Hamar, I think. In the film and book, The flying Scotsman Obree told the story of the first failed attempt. As a long time admirer of Obree and advocate of his methods I was only ever suspicious of Obree because of the night after the failed attempt, but before the successful attempt. Obree told how he trained every two hours to prevent stiffening up. To ensure he woke, Obree drank a pint or so of water, his bladder would then wake him. At that time in the nineties, the accepted method of preventing heart failure due to blood thickening was to do exactly that, blood thickening we now know was due to the presence of EPO in the blood stream. Rival teams reported how they could hear Dutch riders using turbo trainers in the dead of the night and that followed a spate of deaths suffered by otherwise very fit young Dutch riders. Did Obree dope? we'll never know. What I do know is that if I had a daughter, Obree would be welcome to marry her any time.
@@Servicevelo , I didn't know that about (Obree) getting up repeatedly in the night in between the 2 record attempts, but I do remember the stories of riders spinning on turbos at night to stop their blood thickening due to EPO. At the time, and still now, I never doubted his integrity as an athlete. His lack of results for the short time he rode for Le Groupement suggested to me that the reason he wasn't competitive amongst the Pros was because he wasn't juiced. I also interpreted his sacking by Le Groupement for 'unprofessionalism' as a euphemism for not getting with the programme and doping like the majority of the peloton at the time (although I don't doubt for a minute that he was a challenge to manage - I think it's likely he was very insular, not much of a team player, and probably quite a prickly personality. Similarly with Boardman - he did well in (I think) the Dauphine, but anything longer than a week and he was right off the back. His inability to recover in longer races suggested to me that he didn't have the 'help' that the other Pros did. For me there are no question marks over their cleanliness as athletes.
Niiiice! Awesome video Jon, one of your best yet! 👏👏👏 Probably mentioned already in the comments but a vid on Obree would be great. And other track history too like the Cinelli Laser pista and the Nitto brand too #thanks
How about the Australian RMIT superbike? 3 beautiful track bikes there John great video. When do we get to see the private collection at home in your bike cave?
Finally, finally, someone explains the full history of the best bike ever. Finally. You forgot to mention that the wheels were not aligned in the lotus, they were not tracing the same line, one wheel was a few millimeters parallel to the other one, parallel, not in the same line. Burrows knows this. Prototypes.
@@aurboda indeed, this one was the best=most innovative. fastest, I dont know, I don't have data, but probably wiggins bie was less innovative and maybe still faster than this... I don't know. This one was banned. New track bikes too restricted.
I would like to see an episode regarding the history of recumbent bikes and UCI racing. My understanding is that they were once legal and began to dominate all races sometime in the 20's or 30's, at which point the manufacturers of traditional diamond frames lobbied the UCI to ban them because the manufacturers simply couldn't compete and wanted to protect their market share.
That was great, thank you Jon and the GCN Tech team. I love these in depth historical pieces and the enthusiasm with which they are presented. Any chance of a chat with Mike Burrows, I seem to recall that he was something of a character? Keep up the great work.
Wait, so let me get this straight. This guy talks about the fastest bikes in the world but doesn't ride any of them. Does anyone else see the problem with this?
@@lucamilde7750 WOW, this is amazing. I have seen some recumbent bikes every now and then but I didn't know that they were that much better than regular bikes. I think I'm going to get one, too. I currently don't own a bike anyway so I'll have to get a new one either way. I've watched a couple of Marcel Graber's videos and it looks like he's driving a car. I mean, that's how fast his bike is.
John..........how about the bikes in the church at Madonna del Ghisallo. There is a fantastic collection of bikes ridden by Coppi, Merckx, Bartali, Indurain, Anquetil etc. If you run out of material there, pop into the museum next door......Plenty of bikes that have won the Giro, TdF, world champs, hour record, Il Lombardia etc.
You left out one of the original super aero bikes created right here in the U.S., the Zipp 2001/3001. I'm the proud owner of an authentic Limited Production 3001, #33 of only 100 made and I have to say that bike is fast. Anyone that rides behind me always says there is no draft.
Fantastic video Jon! Very interesting, and fascinating stuff. A suggestion for another video would be the tech involved with Marshall “Major” Taylor and how he set records in track cycling in 1899 and before. That is something I would love to see you or the GCN show do, and now that you have Jeromy in New England, it should be an easy shoot. No visa issues, although we would love to see you in the US.
Yes, Taylor a total legend and encountered such dreadful prejudice and still it carries on. Cycling very white. We need a Tiger Woods. Without the crashes……
The uci is like the teachers pet that tells on everyone for things they shouldn’t even get in trouble for and thinks that something is wrong as soon as the classmates get comfortable and start having fun
Why not check out Favorit bicycles, over in what was once Czechoslovakia. Maintaining and updating one of these has been a fun lesson in how tech from the west trickled across the iron curtain to Bohemia.
Very nice video. thanks a lot for the truckload of information. I love the 90's timetrial-bikes. Maybe you can get a hand on some of the pinarello-TT bikes used by team telekom?
After watching this video, I really would like the UCI to relax their frame design rules. Just imagine the many innovative bikes people would think up and create!
Few things I love more than these looks at the golden era of two wheeled weapons. I've got to say that I'd sell my left crank for a Graeme Obree special. Always been an idol of mine.
Graeme was a great guy, and I never understood why some people hated either him or Boardman... Honestly I always cheered for both of them. Glad to hear they got on great off the bike though!
10:20 "Lotus didn't have any experience with carbon fibre" Umm, they'd been building carbon fibre F1 cars for over 10 years by this point. In the same factory. Also, I'm sure they were using the F1 autoclaves, so ambient temperature really shouldn't have been an issue regarding resins etc. More likely they had to work early shift because the F1 team would have been monopolising the autoclaves etc producing car bits. Beautiful bikes tho, I remember watching.
Naah, Mike Burrows Lotus is better. And Graeme Obree cant beat Mike Burrows genius in thinking outside UCI rules, because Mike embrqces recumbents and fairings
@@taufikabidin412 But then Mike Burrows never held the one hour record on any bike, and Chris Boardman didn't design and build his own record breaking bike. Both of which Obree himself did. I have a lot of respect for all three men and their individual achievements.
@@another3997 Officially maybe, but we dont know unofficial ones, especially if UCI rules are thrown out of the window as Mike Burtows himself participate in races and also train. Knowing recumbents and fairing, he probably has some persobal records. Furthermore, this is about the bike. Obree might be the better athlete, but Burrows bikes, either UCI legal or illegal are superior and have lasting impacts
in the early days of ebay i found a lotus track going for sale but never bid stupidly thinking i already have too many bikes, the winner got it for less than £500....!
Watching Chris at Barcelona in 1992 got me into cycle racing, Chris and Graeme were hero’s of mine. Then in 1997 I had the honour to ride for the North Wirral Velo team. But secretly I wished I’d got to ride for Leo Shorter Rochford which were Graeme’s team. I had a sneaking suspicion were also interested. 😉 If you’ve covered Boardman bikes it’s gotta be Graeme’s next.
Amazing bike! I saw one of them at the design museum and it's truly awe-inspiring. Also it's ok to say Union Jack, in 1902 the Admiralty declared the terms to be interchangeable so either is fine! 🇬🇧
That's a moot point since bikes today are still better than bikes in the 1920s. If it were just about athletic performance why not just ban all differences in bikes and limit all athletes to the same models?
What's wrong with recumbents? We would have much stronger records... But they don't take anything away from athletic performance. If anything, they're the biggest proof that we would be better off without the UCI
Check out Burrows early prototype at Lancaster Cyclefest 2002, next to a Pedersen by the looks of it? www.cpcnw.co.uk/travelog/2002-08-CYCLEFEST/bike1.jpg
It’s a clever acronym but, my dad had a LOTUS when I was a little kid in the 70s, and that car never gave any problems. It was just his everyday driver. And every ride in that car was an event. Unforgettable.
Love videos on the history of cycling, keep it up! Also Ive probably made this comment before but those Lotus bikes are just stunning, and the Lotus 108 is the greatest of them all.
Why do such fast bikes get banned? I can understand safety concerns for road cycling but shouldn't it be anything goes, as long as it's not motorised, for track?
After seeing this I’ve checked Wikipedia page about hour record and my mind have been blown 🤯 There is 105+ years old guy with an OFICIAL HOUR RECORD (let it sink in)... I would love to see material about those old guys... And other age groups of course... Maybe guys from GCN would try to break one in the specific age group 🤔
It’s a disgrace the Obree was treated the way he was. Says it all that the UCI seen the £$€ from a fancy lookin lotus bike than some “heap made of washing machine parts”. Graeme will always be the real hero of that era for me. Wish I still had that autographed picture from when I was a lad.
i just want to say Tony Romingers time for the hour record is better than any of the recent attempts and record. he rode a STEEL bike and his only modern sin was a 650c front wheel. please some love for Rominger.
I wish they had a bike race where the only rules are: - Has to be entirely manpowered with 1 rider - Can’t be more than 5 feet wide - Cannot come with features to intentionally sabotage/harm other racers You would probably get a whole bunch of wacky innovative designs that way setting new worlds records for the fastest manpowered road vehicle every year. Now that would be something truly fascinating to watch as a spectator and a lot of fun to be apart of as a designer.
Superb. An amazing moment in the sport. Those bikes were awe inspiring. Thanks Jon. I love your videos keep it up please. There does however seem to be a bit of a theme at the moment that somehow the 'UCI holding things back' through their rules. The only reason those amazing bikes exist is because they conformed to the rules at the time. So lets get rid of the rules and see what happens. I assume though everyone wants to keep at least the rules about the bike actually being human powered and having wheels? If so then the fastest TT bike will be a full enclosed recumbent. Current record is 83mph however with more research and development and specific training that will only go up. We're going to need much, much bigger velodromes for the hour record attempts. And bunch racing is probably going to get too dangerous for the open road unless all road racing is restricted to only going up steep hills. Sprint finishes wouldn't need Djamolidine Abdoujaparov to be like something out of Fast and Furious. Personally I'm not sure any of that would really improve bike racing.
What would happen is the sport turning into F1, where the guy with the best tech and the most money wins. The reason you're talking about who won a stage is specifically because the UCI banned certain innovations.
"Chris Boardman's UCI Absolute (formerly known as Best Human effort) Hour record of 56.375 km (35.03 miles) has now been bettered twice by a rider on an unfaired recumbent bicycle, without a streamlined enclosure. Frenchman, Aurelien Bonneteau rode 56.696 km (35.229 miles) on July 16, 2014, and previously 56.597 km (35.168 miles) on May 25, 2012." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hour_record_(recumbents)
My good self centre shot on a Vision R40 SWB bent with non other than Mike Burrows on his Ratcatcher on the far right of shot during 'Devil takes the Hindmost' at Salt Ayre during Lancaster Cycle Fest! www.cpcnw.co.uk/travelog/2002-08-CYCLEFEST/Graham9.jpg
How tf are you supposed to ride it you’d face plant just trying I pedal it how are you supposed to get on it without absolutely obliterating the family jewels? Idk but I ride bmx not whatever tf this is lmao
He he! I've ridden that lotus Carbon bike. The bike that Boardman took to the Olympics. It was on tour round Halfords after the win. Guess where I worked in the 90's. One night after closing the glass cabinet got opened and a few of us took turn riding around the warehouse and store. Wicked memories!
I get its about the sport and not about equipment but i feel like the UCI is holding back technological progress in bike tech big time. Banning recumbents, banning aerobars. I actually love to see teams or riders having advantages though technology. Lots of technology we now use in modern cars comes from racing and trying to get a technological advantage over opponents.
It would be very interesting to see a Formula 1 type of cycling competition where it its both a rider and constructor championship. In many ways, track cycling is more like this in that regard. That's what makes it so exciting!
Can't believe that the Bryan Steele versus O'Bree race was omitted, Steele on Boardman's Lotus, O'Bree on 'old faithful pulling his foot out of the pedal allowing Steele a massive advantage. However O'Bree pulled him back and next time out he had bonded his shoes to the pedals, sheer genius!
Memories...... I've sold and built so many. The look stem, campy headsets, mavic wheels corima frames ect. I've been blessed to have built and test riden almost everything in this video but in the end it's just memories now.
