I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Innovation is ugly, inelegant. By it’s very definition, it is carried out with almost a kind of contempt for The Rules. With no regard for aesthetics, it is a domain ventured into by the casually courageous and mentally frail. It comes in fits and starts, and success is punctuated by devastating defeats. The same personality that drives innovation thrives on the momentum of success and easily passes over seemingly insurmountable obstacles with hardly a moment’s notice, and is also irreparably upset by inconsequential setbacks.
On an afternoon ride with a friend, Graeme Obree decided to turn up the bars on his road bike in order to achieve a better tuck while riding. After a succession of iterative improvements to that core idea, he arrived at a bicycle that carried cycling into perhaps it’s most prolific period of innovation. When it comes to innovation, success also carries with it the singular distinction of changing the world and the way we operate in it.
If ever there was any question that innovation can be ugly, his trusted bike, Old Faithful – famously built out of bits of washing machine and scrap metal – definitively put the question to rest. However ugly the machine, uncompromising function can in it’s own right be beautiful, and Obree’s “I’ve been kicked in the boys” tuck exhibited only grace and elegance as he flew around the track in Norway to set the World Hour Record in 1993.
Obree led the charge in revitalizing interest in the Hour, fearlessly taking on much better funded pros such as Chris Boardman, Tony Rominger, and Miguel Indurain. I look back on this period as perhaps one of the most exciting times in our great sport, and it all started with one crazy idea.
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@frank
Looking at the video again, it does look like he's only got one fork blade, doesn't it? This will require some further investigation. Anyone know what the deal was with the fork on Old Faithful?
@eightzero
Surely you jest, comparing riding on the track - together with it's long and rich history and tradition - to riding faring-equipped recumbent?
@Oli Brooke-White, @Rusty Tool Shed
++1
Well said and completely agree!
Man, I agree! Nothing rubs me more wrong than when I see someone on a recumbent. I mean, what the HELL are they thinking!!!
Recumbents (and their riders) are a pariah to the cycling world and should be beaten severely about the head and shoulders with a Campy head equipped Silca frame pump anytime they claim to be cyclists or are riding a "bicycle" They are the antithesis of Rule 5, tradition, soul, etc. And then if you publish and article (in jest) in a magazine they get all indignant and cry like little babies and threaten to cancel their subscriptions (as if anyone really cares).
See the difference?
@Cyclops
That second shot looks remarkably close to a self-portrait. Facial hair and recumbents are often found together.
@Marcus
That's way harsh dude.
BTW, Cyclops is sans facial hair now (except I could do an awesome comb-over with my ear and nose hair).
@Cyclops
Damn Cyclops! That photo contrast was worth the price of admission to this site today!
I've been on group rides before where dude's show up and ride recumbents in the pace line.
How do you gents feel about this?
I've nothing against them per se but no way should they be joining a paceline. They contribute nothing to the aerodynamics and enjoy all the benefits. It's wrong, wrong, wrong on so many levels.
I don't think I can sleep tonight knowing that this has actually happened. I'd feel much better if you told me it was just a hypothetical.
Having said that, I'm surprised any recumbent could keep up with even a moderately fast group ride on rolling terrain. Maybe it was a visitation from the evil one for your lack of V.