It's actually more bike than I can ride right now... a back injury a few years ago slowed me down a great deal but before that was in some pretty spectacular shape and could knock down that sub 40 on a fixed gear... and was riding 10,000 miles a year at the time so I could do this.

Guys were doing this 60 years ago on bikes that were no nicer than my old Raleigh which is a very nice 531 bike under that decoupage and with it's racing saddle it weighs just a spot over 19 pounds.

Have ridden 1 hour time trials on heavier geared bikes (21 pounds) and also managed to hit the 40 km mark in 59 minutes and change... with better technology modern racers can exceed this and the gains are primarily due to improvements in aerodynamics of the bike and rider equipment.

But you still need a great engine.

Merck rode 50 km in an hour in wool, a leather hairnet, and with clips and straps on a conventional, albeit very lightweight, track bike... with a very bad back and in a lot of pain.

He's my hero.