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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@Buck Rogers
I think he might have been having sour grapes, but that also came at a time when historically the strongest riders had always won. Drugs and equipment, while factors, never turned a gregario into a champion, and the lack of the same never caused a champion to become a greggario.
Moser's win represented a cold shower in terms the reality of how the sport was changing, and in that light, I think it's understandable that he wriggles to keep his composure.
Oh, and the Flying Dutchman is probably a good movie, too.
That bike is ugly as hell. And I'll have to agree with Oli, Merckx was a much stronger rider. But I suppose this is why we now have two different classifications for hour records now.
@frank
True. But, while I totally agree, we have to remember that Merckx was famous for drilling holes into anything he could on his bike to lighten it and modify it to be faster (which a lot of other riders thought was crazy and questionable).
I truly believe that Merckx was the greatest ever, but I still think he lacked class with his comment.
But, either way, that movie is sooo awesome. I cannot wait to watch it with my wife!
I've always thought the hour record should be " anything goes". So long as it is non-doped human powered, bring it. Farings, electronic gadgetry, anything. No storage devices, but really - isn't this a showcase for human powered devices? And really, isn't that uci weight limit thing sort of out date? I rather understand the safety deal - the uci thinks someone will show up with a paper bike, but isn't there a better way? Who really cares if the aspect ratio on a pipe is 3:1 or less? Rule V applies to tech as well.
I was thinking at Merckx's comment on Moser (winner of 1 Giro d'Italia, 3 Paris-Roubaix, 2 Giro di Lombardia, 1 World Championship and many more) and then at the Rule n. 5 (in a very humble way).
There are already competitions for faired HPVs. I think it's cool that we've gone back to the "Athlete's Hour" but I still think Moser, Obree and Boardman's rides should be regarded as proper records without asterisks...
Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Moser fan! He's one of my all-time faves.
@Oli Brooke-White
I wonder what Merckx thought when Chris Boardman set the new hour record 10 meters over his old (equal bikes)
Including recumbents?!
@Pedale.Forchetta
In contrast to his comment about Moser, I think he was pretty human about it, wasn't he? Something along the lines of, "yeah, well...it's about time..."