Holy Craptaxi that guy is givin'r.

I want to see someone riding one of those on the street!

Oh yeah...that looks way more comfortable than a negative rise stem with track drops!

Once you have deviated that far from a traditional bike design, you might as well just go with a recumbent, which is still going to be more aero than that thing, and probably way more fun too.

I dont think its about fun

No, not in this case. Its about speed and a 'bent' would still be faster.

yeah, until they get banned by the UCI...

plus, deep drop stems look pretty, and his bikes look ugly

well, i can say that for my nitto stem, that it rises straight up before dipping down at 58*. i have it raised 3-4 cm above full insertion for the street, which puts the tops just above the locknut on my headset - definately not that extreme.

WTF? Try entering a UCI bike race with a 'bent... you could say the same thing about aero helmets, wheels, frames etc. A 'bent is more aero, only it's not a bike so it's sort of moot.

I want to know what's going on with that tall stem setup. Looks like it could be marginally more aero, but immensely uncomfortable (so as to affect performance) and handle so horribly that the guy may well crash or wobble enough to lose all advantage. Is it being used in racing? 4000 TT or what?

That is Graham Obree, and he basically built the bike himself as an almost amateur, and then smashed the hour record on it (twice). The position meant he was much more aerodynamic, and also had a very narrow BB, which I recall being made from the bearings of a washing machine, which made a lot of press in the UK.
He was a maveric hero of cycling in my book.

Recumbents are bikes.
All I'm saying is that that bike is so modified from a normal design, that the results aren't comparable from the standpoint of human achievement, regardless of wheather or not its "legally" a bike. Thats one good thing about NJS...despite its anachronistic requirements, everyone (past and present) is on a level playing field and their results are comparable.

I have a question.. you people that knock deep drop stems and bars, have you ever actually ridden them? Because it's really not /that/ bad. Seriously.

yes, I have and found no benefit whatsoever of a drop stem vs. a straight stem regarding my riding fit. I am sure someone might have said "nice bike" once or twice more if I had ridden a deep drop, and then I probably would have heard "wow, back again?" from a chiropractor too. I weigh my choices wisely.

I don't mean you 165, I know you're legit. I'm talking about the people who say how horribly uncomfortable and unbearable they must be... I mean, honestly, it's not something you'd want to take on a touring ride through the mountains, but for daily riding around, it's really not going to kill you :) Keep in mind that people do long distance track races with a bar/stem setup close to this. And I also am unsure as to why people say that no one with track bars on the streets rides in the drops. What are you basing this on? You know how everyone out there rides?

I ride in the drops all the time....all the time
get looooooow

plus 's 182.6% more comfortable/effective to sprint in low drops than anything else

Yep. Just ask Tammy Thomas
http://images.velonews.com/images/ne...33.16976.t.jpg

I have a deep drop stem and its silly. Trust that I'm not just 'making this up'. I find riding a setup like this WILL kill you just for just daily riding around because it puts your head so low you can't see over traffic or do a shoulder check. All you can do it look ahead and hammer, which is great if you are doing long distance track events. Keep in mind that long distance track events never take longer than an hour and you can pretty much put up with any discomfort for that long, especially if you're competing. For me the deep drop stem was a little uncomfortable, but it was mainly the awareness problem that bothered me.

It is the exact same situation with deep drop track bars. People that claim they ride in the drops all day (yoga instructor or not) must not be able to see traffic very well... That concerns me a bit. They are also uncomfortable

Here's his Superman position that won him so many races until they banned it.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/eve...es/score05.jpg

The Superwoman Antonella Bellutti
http://www.antonellabellutti.it/at12g.jpg

isn't that the guy from The Monkees?

No, it's Paul McCartney.

Its Mickey from The League of Gentlemen
http://www.lunacynet.com/league/images/s1_mickey.jpg

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/eve...es/score05.jpg

Why put so much time and effort into every little detail to beat the wind, and then leave on your wrist watch?

:lol:

Time to do some reading.

id guess it wasnt a wrist watch but rather something that allows him to track his pulse or the like...

or maybe you should human powered land speed records.

I was wondering that myself- also, why not disc wheels? On a closed track, disc wheels should be more aerodynamic than the spoked wheels.

A front might be a little more difficult to control, and the control in that position is sketchy to start out with. However, a rear should not pose any problems.

He's not on a closed track, he's outside.

Anyway, UCI banning the Superman was totally bogus.