Slack Randoms: Fake Pro Cyclists, 'World's Fastest Bike', Unicycle World Records & More
We use Slack as our workplace communication tool at Pinkbike and we have a #randoms channel which we use to share an assortment of videos and stories from all corners of the cycling world and beyond... We thought a couple of the moments from the past week were too good not to share with a wider audience, so here are some of the highlights.
Exposed by a Strava KOM: The many lives of a fake pro cyclist
![photo]()
With more twists than an M. Night Shyamalan movie the incredible story of a fake pro cyclist by Iain Treloar on CyclingTips is a must-read this week, it may take a while to get through but it's worth every second.
"Australian cyclist Nick Clark built a loyal following at his Virginia bike shop, based in part on his national and international results and a lengthy professional career. There was just one problem: none of it was true.
This is the strange tale of the unravelling of a years-long deception – the ‘Catch Me If You Can’-like story of a man with a claimed past as a pro cyclist, a soldier, a CEO, a lawyer, an author, an academic, a hostage responder, and a weapons instructor.
These are the many lives of Nick Clark."
You can read the full story here.
BMC x Red Bull Claims its Prototype is the 'World's Fastest Bike'
![photo]()
BMC has collaborated with Red Bull Advanced Technologies to create what it claims to be the 'World's Fastest Race Bike'. To create the bike BMC's Swiss R&D lab worked with Red Bull's Advanced Technologies division for four years with the use of an advanced aerodynamic simulation that was originally developed for Formula One. The Time Trial bike is set to have its first competition debut this weekend ar the Ironman world championships although it won't be seeing much competition in its future as currently it is not UCI legal.
![photo]()
![photo]()
![photo]()
If you're going to cheat at least be subtle
Anyone who follows road cycling may have seen riders getting a little bit of extra momentum when they grab a bottle from the team car, but Burgos BH's Daniel Navarro pushed the envelope slightly further as he was towed uphill right in front of a camera on the final stage of the Vuelta a Asturias.
Unicycle one-hour world record
Simon Jan du Voyage takes on a Unicycling World Record and sets the new longest distance completed in an hour of 33.365km.
What happens if you put a giant propeller on a bike?
Double the engagement points in a Hope hub
Turning a leaf blower into a jet engine
Last week's Slack Randoms had a custom jet bicycle and now we have a bicycle mounted jet made from a leaf blower.
Creating a mountainside kaleidoscope
1 Million FPS
If you haven't already then go and watch 9 Value Bikes Hucked to Flat in Ultra Slo-Mo from our latest Field Test. We used a Phantom camera to shoot the bikes at just 1,000 frames-per-second, imagine the flex we could capture at one million.
The Climate Game
![photo]()
While you're waiting for the second round of the XC World Cup to kick off in Albstadt this weekend the Financial Times has created an interesting game you can play here that tasks you with trying to reach net-zero by 2050. The game was created using published scientific research and bespoke modelling by the International Energy Agency for the Financial Times.
Exposed by a Strava KOM: The many lives of a fake pro cyclist
With more twists than an M. Night Shyamalan movie the incredible story of a fake pro cyclist by Iain Treloar on CyclingTips is a must-read this week, it may take a while to get through but it's worth every second.
"Australian cyclist Nick Clark built a loyal following at his Virginia bike shop, based in part on his national and international results and a lengthy professional career. There was just one problem: none of it was true.
This is the strange tale of the unravelling of a years-long deception – the ‘Catch Me If You Can’-like story of a man with a claimed past as a pro cyclist, a soldier, a CEO, a lawyer, an author, an academic, a hostage responder, and a weapons instructor.
These are the many lives of Nick Clark."
You can read the full story here.
BMC x Red Bull Claims its Prototype is the 'World's Fastest Bike'
BMC has collaborated with Red Bull Advanced Technologies to create what it claims to be the 'World's Fastest Race Bike'. To create the bike BMC's Swiss R&D lab worked with Red Bull's Advanced Technologies division for four years with the use of an advanced aerodynamic simulation that was originally developed for Formula One. The Time Trial bike is set to have its first competition debut this weekend ar the Ironman world championships although it won't be seeing much competition in its future as currently it is not UCI legal.
If you're going to cheat at least be subtle
Anyone who follows road cycling may have seen riders getting a little bit of extra momentum when they grab a bottle from the team car, but Burgos BH's Daniel Navarro pushed the envelope slightly further as he was towed uphill right in front of a camera on the final stage of the Vuelta a Asturias.
Unicycle one-hour world record
Simon Jan du Voyage takes on a Unicycling World Record and sets the new longest distance completed in an hour of 33.365km.
What happens if you put a giant propeller on a bike?
 | I dive into my old collection of Popular Mechanics magazines and get inspired to build something! I found Ernest Winter’s air screw bicycle, so I tried to build it. He claims it is able to hit 20 miles per hour, will I be able to match his speed? How will I build the propeller? How can I power it with my feet? Will it go fast enough to fly? How does it compare to a giant fan? I go on the journey to test it and more! |
Double the engagement points in a Hope hub
| Of course it goes without saying that modifying any bike part is risky and you'll definitely void any warranty. As mentioned in the video a steel freehub body is highly recommended but even then please consider this a risky thing to do and you do so solely at your own risk. Disclaimers done, I mentioned that the Hope hub on my fatbike was modified to give double the engagement points a few weeks ago and since then every video has had comments asking when I'd make the video showing how it's done. Well the wait is over, Adam and I had some free time and we went to work not only showing the engagement mod but also how to double up the springs for a louder hub too. |
Turning a leaf blower into a jet engine
Last week's Slack Randoms had a custom jet bicycle and now we have a bicycle mounted jet made from a leaf blower.
Creating a mountainside kaleidoscope
| In a breathtaking display of skill and color, a collection of the world's best freestyle snowboarders and skiers, strapped colored smoke to their skis and boards at The Nines to create a kaleidoscope on the mountain Featured riders: Valentino Guseli, Nico Vuignier, Jesper Tjäder, Jennie Lee Burmasson, Fabi Bösch, Hailey Langland, Mac Forehand, Luke Winkelman, Matej Svancer, Thibault Magnin, Fridtjof Tischendorf, Max Moffat, Hiroto Ogiwara, Kaito Hamada, Kim Gubser, Lukas Muelleauer, Moritz Boll, Niek van der Velden, Alex Hall, Andri Ragettli, Kirsty Muir, Mia Brookes, Yuka Fujimori, Pat Burgener and Taylor Brooke Lundquist. |
1 Million FPS
If you haven't already then go and watch 9 Value Bikes Hucked to Flat in Ultra Slo-Mo from our latest Field Test. We used a Phantom camera to shoot the bikes at just 1,000 frames-per-second, imagine the flex we could capture at one million.
The Climate Game
While you're waiting for the second round of the XC World Cup to kick off in Albstadt this weekend the Financial Times has created an interesting game you can play here that tasks you with trying to reach net-zero by 2050. The game was created using published scientific research and bespoke modelling by the International Energy Agency for the Financial Times.
Author Info:
Must Read This Week
Sign Up for the Pinkbike Newsletter - All the Biggest, Most Interesting Stories in your Inbox
PB Newsletter Signup
Secret Tip: If you found this article entertaining, look into the other pieces Iain Treloar has done for Cyclingtips. My personal favourite is the one about the wild and whacky adventures of David Lappartient, president of the UCI, and his connections toTurkmenistans cycling-crazed "president" (read: dictator).
I can only imagine how many fakers we have on Pinkbike
Someone hoist the red flag!
Reminds me of a guy my daughter fell for, he made her believe he was a millionaire with stakes in new tech startups, drove a big car, bought a big house (not, they got kicked out), now he is living on her expenses...
youtu.be/-9QYu8LtH2E
The thing I find really sad about this is a lot of these people possess the social qualities that make them likeable, charming, and engaging. They could just simply be liked for who they are, but something within them feels the need to take it steps further and fabricate stories about their past. We could chalk it up to severe self-esteem problems, but I think it runs deeper than that. It's almost as if the person you've met is real, because being fake is who they are.
Anybody ever try the Hope Hub modification?
The pawl kit is reasonably inexpensive if it were to go south, although id be a little concerned about overheating the pawl during the grind process and loosing its temper/becoming weak/soft and even if you could keep it cool enough by using water or a file or whatever there’s still the possibility of damage to the ring on the inside of the hub and as far as I know that ring cant be replaced/repaired and your out a $250-$300 hub with a big fat zero engagement
Either way it seemed pretty easy to do and more engagement would be something I wouldn’t mind having on a SS setup, plus it didn’t really cost anything
Anybody ever tried anything similar to this??
I Never heard of her
Anyways were talking bikes dude @Snowytrail:
Ill bet that was fun to get apart hopefully you got your cassette back @the-one1:
The first hub I did this on was a Pro 2 with an alloy freehub back in 2011. Its still working, with all the original parts.
I have another I did last year which gets used for commuting duties (also SS) and also still all original parts - apart from the chopped pawls of course!
We had to be a bit 'careful' promoting modifications in the video, but its a pretty solid and reliable mod, especially combined with a steel freehub.
Enjoy!
Foo =✊=| twattle sir
@AdamR28:
Worlds ugliest bike? No contest.
That won’t even be the ugliest bike at the Ironman.