The Hour Record

But that stuff was still technically (bullshit) commercially available.

It's fucked anyway, since you have to be a pro to get on the bio passport and you can't have a crack at the Hour without being on the bio passport. So, all this bullshit about 'anyone can have a go' from the pros is just that.

I don't get how the escavated surface of the pedals, "like a golf ball" helps aerodynamics. I mean I get the theory and the laminar flow but why aren't planes designed that way then?

It doesn't. Dimples only work on rotating things. Like, y'know, balls.

I'm sure if anyone pressed them the 3D printed bars could be 'commercially available'

I'll need to look up the rule but I thought there was a time frame they had to have already been commercially available.

I think I mentioned the same thing for the other attempts.

UCI turn a blind eye to this but "rules are rules!" when it comes to swapping a wheel in a grand tour.. thanks for ruining the Giro twatfucks.

I thought any kit used in UCI events (inc. hour record) had to be available for consumers. Surely custom-printed bars is not within that rule?

Well, they are commercially available as long as the printer is prepared to offer the same service to anybody else. The bars (and most of the bike, and the other recent hour bikes) really fall foul of this:
"The use of equipment designed especially for the attainment of a particular performance (record or other) shall be not authorised. "

He's clearly static and they're just moving the background.

So all the records should be nullified and the bloke who rode the Raleigh Chopper should be on the list.

Look at the scrawny get.

Whatever happened to needing to carry weight for track work?

Way more sexeh.

Real track riders have curves

Found this interesting. Sure many here have read it already: http://www.zipp.com/_media/pdfs/technology/rough_around_the_edges.pdf

They're sprinters and not even all the sprinters look like that... Jason Kenny?

I'm the bloke who rode the Raleigh Chopper Hour.
I asked British Cycling if I could apply for a biological passport and if they would ask the UCI to ratify the Chopper Hour record. They said they were "advised that you will not be able to obtain a UCI biological passport, the view from BC is that this is not a competitive event. Also a chopper bike would not be allowed in a track endurance event and therefore would not be within the rules to make an official attempt on an hour record."
If anyone is interested, here's a one minute video about Chopper vs The Hour:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTCIkIMU3sU

And here's the blog about it:
http://raleigh-chopper-the-hour.blogspot.co.uk/
Many thanks!
Matt
P.S. There's still time to donate:
https://leukaemialymphomaresearch.org.uk/CHOPPER-Vs-The-HOUR-FIREFLIES
P.P.S. I think it's clear from the attached picture that, based on him eating the same number of jam sandwiches as I did before the ride, Sir Wiggo will go a great deal further!

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Absolutely absurdly ridiculous!
Did you also do the Alps dhuez on that glorious beast?

truly awesome

http://teamchop.co.uk/?p=309 I saw this bloke riding up Tourmalet in last years Etape on a gold chopper!

Excellent work Matt, for the simple fact that you didn't low-pro (bars) your chopper for the hour record.. Money coming.

Viva les fireflies
Almac aka McFly Rouge 2007 xx

Dirty protest against UCI at Wiggo's attempt...

Thank you. It was ridiculously painful! I haven't ridden Alpe D'Huez but last year I rode up Mont Ventoux...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNaqRgGOuQQ

Thank you, sir!

Blocked in the UK due to copyright.

Yes - that's Dave Sims, another Chopper nutter. He's doing a different thing. His Mk3 Chopper is heavily modified: proper seat post and racing saddle, eight speed hub, slick tyres, full sized racing cranks and racing pedals / shoes. This is because he's doing the whole Tour de France route.
I used an unmodified, factory spec 1969 Mk1 Chopper to do the Hour: banana seat, original spec tyres, three speed hub, between knee gear stick and silly 140mm cranks (the left one clips the kick stand every time it goes round) with rubber pedals.

Try this clip of Ventoux...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jba8gLgGz1g

priceless! well done Matt. kickstand is is a pain on the way up no doubt, but always comes in handy at Mt Ventoux summit :-)

Yes, the kickstand did come in handy at the top. It's also invaluable during the inevitable post-event publicity photo shoots (seen here with fellow Chopper enthusiast).

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