It doesn’t even look like a bike, but it might be the fastest bike ever, according to the wild mind of world-renowned cyclist Graeme Obree. Made from kevlar and fibreglass, the Beastie will be used at the World Human Powered Speed Challenge where Obree wants to break the world record of 133km/h.
The Beastie is an incredible ride, because, well, just look at the damn thing:
Isn’t that just a street luge suicide style? The bike is so ridiculous that it topples over when its at standstill. Only when it’s moving (and it needs the aid of two people running next to it) does it gain enough momentum to stay up straight. Whatever. Obree constructed the aerodynamic shell to be super streamlined. He described the bike to Humans Invent:
“The front section is rounded, then it widens out and widens out and then comes back in, in a very smooth curve and narrows down to the back end…the most important part in terms of dividing the air and then pulling the air back in again with the least amount of energy is to have a laminar (non-turbulent) flow over the sides of it.”
Obree has reached 80km/h on the Beastie under his own power in fair conditions. He’s not positive he can break 133km/h but thinks he has a chance if things break right. With that sort of bike, it seems like things always have to break right for you. [Humans Invent]
Picture: Humans Invent