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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Fun to listen to the voice of you-know-who in the video! Seems like a long time since anyone took a shot at the hour.
I never knew how to take Merckx's comment that "For the first time in the history of the Hour record a weaker man has beaten a stronger man" when Moser beat his hour record. Undoubtably Merckx's bike in '72 was far advanced over the guys from the 50's and 60's. I think that thinking outside the box is all a part of being a great champion. BTW, the "Flying Dutchman" is such a good movie. Both great for cycling fans and for non-famns a like (kind of like "Breaking Away" in my opinion).
Watching that gave me the chills.
Merckx's comment reflected the vast difference Moser's aerodynamic machine made, )although we all know Conconi's blood doping certainly assisted!). When Merckx set the record he was riding a souped-up standard track bike, aside from minor tweaks essentially the same as the machines ridden by Ritter, Riviere, Anquetil and Coppi. There's no way that Moser was stronger than Merckx, so Eddy's remark just bluntly stated the truth.
!?$@! ( dammit!
I'm reminded of the "praying mantis" position (spearheaded by Floyd I think) and the similar tone he got for that: it was ugly, unsafe, etc... BUT it was innovative. This was happening at the same time as straight aero bars made the rounds. Which you'll notice have all but disappeared. Not for lack of effectiveness but because its just an uncomfortable for your wrists. But that straight bar was not dissimilar to Obree's later "superman" position. It's always interesting how things can come full circle with just enough time.
Scotsman
OOOOPS! You're TOTALLY correct there! Sorry about that!
And I still think that Merckx was just having sour grapes! No disputing that he was the greatest rider ever, but I thought it showed a real lack of class when he said that.
I can't imagine riding in that position for an hour.
So it looks like he only had one side of his fork? Was this to save weight or was it for aerodynamics?
@Ron
Old Faithful had a regular fork - I think it was actually just his old bike which he kept modifying and modifying and modifying.
In that picture in the article, I believe he's on the Specialized-built bike that he rode the day before he broke the record, which was a failed attempt. Specialized built him a bike that was supposed to be the same but better than his own bike, but Graeme wasn't at home on it.
The next day, he rolled up on his own bike and the starter asked him, "Are you ready?"
He simply replied, "Are you?"