"its like nothing else I have ridden": Stuart Dangerfield on British Cycling Bike

Dangerfield Gets State of the Art Bike for Olympics

With the Olympics getting ever closer, Great Britain's Stuart Dangerfield is busy training and despite the heavy schedule, the wins are still coming after he won a district round of the Rudy Project series by over eight minutes. On a small circuit that they had to race around again and again, Stuart averaged over 29mph and was pleased with the effort despite being tired from the training program. It isn't only the training though that is getting some special attention. Stuart was in Manchester recently and test rode the very special British Cycling time trial bike built from carbon fibre by the Institute that build the just as special track bikes.

Stripping the bike and building it up with a mixture of own his equipment and that from British Cycling, Stuart was well impressed with his Olympic machine. There is only one of these bikes and so the first test after the bike was built, was to see if Stuart was able to obtain the same Time Trial position he has on his normal Argus bike. He was so they moved on and got the bike ready for competition and it came through that test rather well too it seems.

"Its like nothing else I have ridden" Stuart said to me on the phone. He explained that although it is lighter, its not the weight but the rigid nature of the bike and just how well it is put together that impresses him. The perfect handling surprised him due to the high bottom bracket but handle it does and there is more to come with improvements planned in a number of areas. In the meantime, Stuart is continuing his motor paced training behind a friends Vespa, doing a '47' on a local 25 course with only the local speed cameras causing him to slow down.

Right: A picture of the bike before it was rebuilt for Stuart.

As well as the special bike, Stuart says that his preparation is going well and whatever he needs is being catered for to ensure he gets the best run at the Olympics he can. We'll keep you up to date with more on Stuart and the rest of the Olympic team as we get it.

Facts about the Olympic Bike
1. The bike is the only one in existence and at the time of writing not even a spare exists. Despite the fact that the track bikes upon which it is based (similar but not the same!), have been in existence for quite a while now and been seen in competition in World Cups and World Championships since they were introduced at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, the interest in finding out more about this TT machine has been "constant" according to Ernie Feargrieve, mechanic for the GB Olympic team.

2. When asked what set this bike apart from those going up and down dual carriage ways in the UK or even those in use in the pro peloton, Ernie was quick to credit Dimitri, saying that his special way of weaving the carbon fibre to create a light but also very stiff bike made it a very special racing machine. "The power in this bike" he explained, "is transferred straight from the rider to the back wheel. You're not losing anything through the frame flexing which gives you the speed."

3. I asked about the cables which are all hidden away inside the high tech tubing. This is done by the runners for the cables having been placed into the moulds before the carbon fibre is weaved and Ernie says the cables thread there way through the frame so nicely, that it was just so easy to put together and so smooth under brakes.

 

OLYMPIC MEDAL HOPEFULS | OLYMPIC LONG TEAM | TRACK RACING INTRO | GB TEAM RIDER BIOGRAPHIES | CYCLING SCHEDULE

GREAT BRITAIN OLYMPIC RIDERS IN BREIF

Rider (potential events)

Oli Beckingsale (Mens Mountain Biking) 
Nicole Cooke (Women's Road Race)  
Steve Cummings: (Team Pursuit) 
Stuart Dangerfield: (Men's Road Time Trial) 
Emma Davies: (Womens Individual Pursuit/Womens Points Race) 
Ross Edgar: (Sprint, Keirin)  
Roger Hammond: (Mens Road Race)
Rob Hayles: (Mens Individual Pursuit/Team Pursuit/Madison) 
Rachel Heal: (Womens Road Race)  
Chris Hoy: (Kilo/Team Sprint) 
Jeremy Hunt: (Mens Road Race)  
Liam Killeen: (Mens Mountain Biking) 
Craig MacLean: (Kilo/Team Sprint)
Paul Manning: (Mens Individual Pursuit/Team Pursuit)
Chris Newton: (Team Pursuit/Mens Points Race) 
Victoria Pendleton: (500TT/Womens Sprint) 
Jason Queally: (Kilo/Team Sprint)
Jamie Staff: (Kilo, Team Sprint, Keirin)
Bryan Steel: (Team Pursuit) 
Sara Symington: (Womens Road Race)  
Charly Wegalius: (Mens Road Race)  
Bradley Wiggins: (Individual Pursuit/Team Pursuit/Madison)  
Julian Winn: (Mens Road Race)