Graeme Obree is turning to the Dark site of Cycling

[machew]

Scottish cyclist Graeme Obree targets new world record

If this true then 'bent riding will gain a lot of new followers

 

[ColinJ]

Hmm - I thought that he had decided not to try and break any more records because every time he gets back into record-breaking mode, his mental health suffers? (Link)

 

[ufkacbln]

Hmm - I thought that he had decided not to try and break any more records because every time he gets back into record-breaking mode, his mental health suffers? (Link)

The problem with mental health is that it is a vicious circle.

Record breaking may affect his health, but in other cases he has stated that this was the one thing that gave him self-esteem and made him meaning.

Worst case would be not to make it?

 

[byegad]

According to another forum he's aiming for 100mph!!!! Probably at Battle Mountain, where so far they,re well short of 90mph!

 

[ColinJ]

Record breaking may affect his health, but in other cases he has stated that this was the one thing that gave him self-esteem and made him meaning.

Worst case would be not to make it?

No, the worst case would be that he invested 100% of his self-esteem into the project, but despite his best efforts 'only' managed to achieve a despicable, pitiful, degrading 81 mph, plunged back into depression and decided that the world would be better off without such a miserable waste of space ...

 

[albion]

Common sense says he needs a younger fitter, lighter body double for attempt number two.

 

[ColinJ]

So, he has as far as he wants to get himself up to speed and is then timed between two fixed points on the road, 200 metres apart? (No drafting allowed to gain speed, the road must be 'near enough' flat and level, and there must be 'minimal' wind.)

 

[arallsopp]

Common sense says he needs a younger fitter, lighter body double for attempt number two.

Weight and age are probably less important than bike design, and in particular gearing and aerodynamics. These are his strengths, so provided fitness isn't prohibitively weak, there's no reason to assume he won't give it a good try. I hope he does it, and I hope he teaches us all how its done.

Without radical innovators, Battle mountain is only ever going to see tiny increments in top speeds. The UCI knows how that one goes.

 

[byegad]

Tend to agree arallsopp, the increase in effort and decrease in drag to get 15mph on top of the present top speeds is a big ask. It's not as if the present crop of fast machine/rider combinations haven't innovated a lot.​

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That said I'd love for him to do it. ​

 

[Riding in Circles]

He needs to coat the outside of the bodyshell in milk.

 

[TheSandwichMonster]

I thought that he was looking to do it a Bonneville Salt Flats? Or am I imagining that I read that somewhere? I think the basic principle was that he's going to construct a carbon fibre torpedo with pedals... The smaller the cross section the better. Love to know what gear ratio he'd use though!