
Bike blog: Experiments in Speed [video] - wyclif
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/video/2013/aug/09/bike-blog-experiments-speed-video
======
buro9
Anyone who watches this and thinks "But why?" and "People have done this
before with a bigger budget and gone faster!" are not looking at it right.

Tom is a one-man frame builder, and he took the resources he had available to
him: His old car, his existing skills, his local area. And he's pulled them
together to recreate the kind of pioneering that took place 50/60 years ago
for setting these records.

He knew from the outset that he wasn't going to get the record, he didn't even
get an athlete to ride the bike as he rode it himself.

What he did do was go on this incredible journey of exploring the limits of
his own skills as a frame builder, of looking at what it takes to go so fast
on a bike, and he did it with virtually nothing.

And he's not the only one. A lot of people I know in the cycling world, in the
design world, and in the tech world seem to be shaking off their cynicism and
pessimism, and throwing themselves into projects that help them push their own
individual talents.

It's the hacker culture of taking something apart, and putting it back
together, and sometimes the entire point is "Why the hell not?". It doesn't
have corporate backing, or government nods, it's just a few guys doing
something they love and letting no obstacle stand in their way.

It's easy to say "Why bother, it's not going to be the record", it can be
harder just to recognise and applaud them for their individual effort. But
that's what should be done.

~~~
teddyh
I think the problem is the title - it sets up high expectations. When it turns
out that an ordinary store-bought racing bike would have worked just as well,
and the high speed is reached not by the bike being special, but by drafting
behind a car, then the disappointment sets in.

If the story had been "Guy builds racing bike from scratch, goes drafting with
it just to see what it can do", then it _would_ have been the cool inspiring
story of the hacker spirit. But now it wasn't - it was framed.

~~~
vinceguidry
It's not really possible for a human-powered bicycle to go 80mph. Air
resistance tops you out at probably around 50-55mph and there's not much that
can be done, the power output of human legs has a hard ceiling.

So inherent in a story about a bicycle going 80mph is some way around that
limitation.

~~~
buro9
It is possible, the record is 82.33mph (
[http://www.ihpva.org/land.htm](http://www.ihpva.org/land.htm) ) and Graeme
Obree is currently working to best that and aspires to go significantly beyond
it:

[http://www.gizmag.com/graeme-obree-
beastie/28234/](http://www.gizmag.com/graeme-obree-beastie/28234/)

It's actually happening this week and they're out there right now doing it:

[http://obree.com/obree-news/297-ihpva-world-land-speed-
recor...](http://obree.com/obree-news/297-ihpva-world-land-speed-record.html)

~~~
vinceguidry
Yeah, there's not that much difference between drafting behind a car and using
an aerodynamic shell.

~~~
lambda
There's a huge difference. In one case, the car is displacing all of that air;
in the other, you are. Now, sure, an aerodynamic shell helps with that, but
you still have to be the one to displace that air mass, while with a car you
have a powered source doing so.

------
justinator
The title of this is a little disingenuous, as there's an entire system to get
to those speeds. You could have probably taken any track bike, put that large
of a front ring, and do what he did. He talks about the frame construction
made using the same materials and techniques he uses for all of his bikes.

The whole system includes a car that is used to draft behind - very close
behind, much like what was done over 100 years ago, with a train[1]

[1]
[http://www.bikereader.com/contributors/woodland/murphy.html](http://www.bikereader.com/contributors/woodland/murphy.html)

~~~
redthrowaway
The point, though, is not the novelty of the engineering. It's more about the
builder mentality than the results. It's about a couple of guys doing
something cool in their garage with limited resources.

~~~
honzzz
Yes, but is it really cool when anyone can do it? You could use any store
bought racing bike (with minor tweaks) to do this. The only reason that you
can set 'records' like this is basically because real racers with real top
bikes do not value speed achieved by being dragged behind some aerodynamic
shield and therefore there is no competition.

I don't want to sound disrespectful but I have to admit that I was
disappointed. I expected something innovative like what Graeme Obree did -
that was what I call 'cool'.

~~~
jrockway
_real racers with real top bikes do not value speed achieved by being dragged
behind some aerodynamic shield_

I know you're trolling, but I wanted to point out that, except for time
trials, this is the entire sport of cycling. The "aerodynamic shield" is your
competitors.

~~~
honzzz
No, I am not 'trolling' at all, I am just expressing my opinion and trying to
provide some feedback about newsworthiness of the article and related HN post.
You might disagree with me but that does not make me a troll and I find the
accusation highly offensive. And although aerodynamic drag is important part
of cycling tactic, the goal of the sport of cycling (ideally) is to determine
who is stronger, has more stamina etc. It is obvious that the speed could be
increased by technical means like specially built cars serving as aerodynamic
shields - but that is not what the sport is about, is it? That is also why
this is not allowed in races and why I claim it is not valued by racers. You
are comparing apples and oranges.

~~~
jasonlotito
> newsworthiness of the article and related HN post.

This is far more worth of HN than you give it credit for. In fact, it's
exactly the type of post that should be featured here.

Edit: This is far more worthwhile than yet another article on Snowden, that's
for damn sure.

> that does not make me a troll and I find the accusation highly offensive.

Maybe you weren't trolling, but what did you think was going to happen when
you posted what amounted to an anti-hacker comment on "Hacker News?"

From your previous post:

> is it really cool when anyone can do it

Yes. In fact, it's much cooler when anyone can do it. That is practically one
of the central tenets of the hacker culture.

~~~
honzzz
Thank you for your comment. It certainly made me think. I am not sure I see
this the same way that you do. But I do realize now that my comments might
seem negative and I do not want that - I think I have said enough and I should
stop now.

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6194860](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6194860)

------
frozenport
This is a common gimmick called "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor-
paced_cycling"](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor-paced_cycling").

~~~
bobbydavid
looks like that page was deleted

~~~
aqme28
Just a trailing quote: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor-
paced_cycling](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motor-paced_cycling)

------
huhtenberg
Does anyone remember a (French?) guy who did exactly the same in the late 80s?
Except that he was wearing a simpler helmet and his bike used simple 3-gear
fixed transmission, with extra gear mounted under the seat. His bike rolled 30
m with a single pedal rotation and he too was riding after the bus to
piggyback on a slipstream. His ride was highly publicized and I think he made
it into a Guinness book.

~~~
enqk
Maybe you're talking about José Meiffret:

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Meiffret](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Meiffret)

He rode to 130mph / 200km/h back in 1962

~~~
huhtenberg
Nope, not him. Googled a bit and I was thinking of John Howard in 1985.
Apparently, it wasn't a bus, but a custom dragster and his helmet was a match
too :)

And here's his bike -
[http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=8bqd1t1](http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=8bqd1t1)

~~~
enqk
Indeed, I could not remember the gearing you were talking about. This looks
super cool :)

------
nikster
"We'll make you watch a 10 minute video before you find out what this is all
about". Meh, no thanks.

~~~
awjr
I would say your loss. The film is about a guy who had an idea, used the
resources around him to make that idea a reality while relying on his friends
and people in the industry he works in to come to together and make it a
reality. The only reason this happened is pretty much expressed in the film.
He had immense respect of his peers and they supported him.

Yes he ended up, head down, doing 80mph right up against the bumper of a car
inside a shed, but what an amazing journey to get there.

You have to respect somebody who achieves the crazy using the limited
resources available to him with the help of his peers and friends.

I saw the bike at the Bristol Bespoke Cycle show earlier this year. I have to
say until I saw this film I had no idea what had gone into it.

------
FigBug
I thought this was go to be bat Graeme Obree, who is Scottish not Eglish, who
is attempting to break the human powered vehicle speed record which is
currently 82.4 mph on a bike he is building himself.

~~~
popopje
this is imo a much more interesting endevour - here's a video
[https://vimeo.com/69901706](https://vimeo.com/69901706)

really does not look at all promising right now and personally i think there's
a good chance it could come to nothing.. but he has a pretty decent past
record having developed a couple of bikes and riding positions that proved
superior
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graeme_Obree](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graeme_Obree)

------
thatBilly
This guys is a wannabe Graeme Obree - obree.com

[http://obree.com/obree-news/297-ihpva-world-land-speed-
recor...](http://obree.com/obree-news/297-ihpva-world-land-speed-record.html)

------
claudius
While this is certainly a fantastic feat, it’s not always practical to have a
car ride in front of you – which is why I’m still thinking of getting one of
those ‘Velomobiles’[0], apparently with regular cruising speeds of ~45
km/h[1].

[0]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velomobile](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Velomobile)

[1]: [http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2010/09/the-velomobile-
high-t...](http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2010/09/the-velomobile-high-tech-
bike-or-low-tech-car.html)

~~~
buro9
My favourite velomobile is the Quest:
[http://en.velomobiel.nl/quest/](http://en.velomobiel.nl/quest/)

I really want to try one for a long ride, perhaps the Dunwich Dynamo.

The only issue I have is that I live in a flat and have no garage, I have no
way to store one of these otherwise I'd have made the jump a while ago.

------
pge
If you're interested in the topic, check out ihpva.org (international human
powered vehicle association). They have a regular speed test in battle
mountain, nevada where the fastest speedbikes do time trials (without
drafting). It's inspiring on both a physical and engineering level. Current
record is around 80mph.

------
jacquesm
That's an incredibly inspiring video, well worth watching. Tinkering, finding
and exceeding your own limits and then in the end succeeding at your goal.
What else is there to wish for?

