January 31, 201610 yr http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jan/30/hidden-motor-bike-world-cyclo-cross-championships?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+main+NEW+H&utm_term=153995&subid=8616881&CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2 Well, well, well...
January 31, 201610 yr Yes I read that this morning and was going to link to it too. The rumours have been around for a long time but the is the first occasion when they actually found something. It doesn’t say where the battery was but they are saying that these motors can save up to 100W of rider input. That seems like a lot to me though….
January 31, 201610 yr http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c11/friggenearthlings/shifty-eyes-ani2faster.gif http://cl.ly/261P3h200P0l/Image%202016-01-31%20at%2010.43.04%20am.png
January 31, 201610 yr I think the rumours have been nonsense and the whole issue a storm in a teacup, as it was at the time of the original false accusation against Cancellara. I'm inclined to believe the father that this bike was not used or ever intended to be used. These down-tube motor systems are far from silent and would be easily be heard by the public watching these events, often standing right next to the bikes as they pass. .
January 31, 201610 yr The machine may have been fitted with a bottom bracket power sensor, often used as a training aid. The device requires a small battery to power the electronic circuitry, the human power generated in watts displayed on an LCD panel on the handlebars. The scrutineer may have pressed on a pedal and saw 100 watts on the display...and assumed it was electrical assistance. Power Sensor Edited January 31, 201610 yr by Blew it
January 31, 201610 yr I concur - surely uci resources could afford a portable xray machine airport style and should be testing just in case. But even if not ridden and on site then rules is rules I'm afraid.
February 1, 201610 yr "It wasn't my bike, it was my friend's and was identical to mine," Van den Driessche told Belgian TV channel Sporza. I'm aware I have a big problem [but] I have done nothing wrong. "This friend went around the course Saturday before dropping off the bike in the truck. A mechanic, thinking it was my bike, cleaned it and prepared it for my race." It may not be what it seems but that's a lot of coincidences. Maybe in the future they will mark the race bike as such?
February 3, 201610 yr I think the rumours have been nonsense and the whole issue a storm in a teacup, as it was at the time of the original false accusation against Cancellara. I'm inclined to believe the father that this bike was not used or ever intended to be used. These down-tube motor systems are far from silent and would be easily be heard by the public watching these events, often standing right next to the bikes as they pass. . watch the video here http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/35460562
February 4, 201610 yr watch the video here http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/35460562 I'm not saying that bike didn't have the motor, merely that it wasn't used in an event. As I posted earlier, these motors are far from silent and given how close spectators are in cycling events, they'd be heard. The same applied with the earlier false accusation concerning Cancellara in the race world. There are other factors that make the rumours silly. These motors are very low power and geared to the legal EU assist speed which would be of very limited use. The tiny seat tube battery again has too small a capacity to be of much use, especially in long events. I suppose that as soon as the downtube motor was invented it was inevitable that the conspiracy theorists would find them a new subject to be suspicious about. However, accusations aren't enough, they need to explain how such an obvious and easily detected abuse was successfully employed. . Edited February 4, 201610 yr by flecc
February 4, 201610 yr If you’ve ever been close to a peloton going past they make a hell of a racket. Enough to cover up any slight noise, and these motors may be designed to be silent. Chris Froome takes it seriously and he says he wants more bikes stripped and checked at events. He also says that they have paid him particular attention and his bikes have been stripped down more than any other rider's. By the French mostly I expect. They refuse to believe that he’s clean and are happier to listen to French ex riders who were themselves drug cheats.
February 4, 201610 yr Sorry John, but I find all the conspiracy scenarios impossible to take seriously, they simply don't fit the facts If you’ve ever been close to a peloton going past they make a hell of a racket. Enough to cover up any slight noise, and these motors may be designed to be silent. As I posted earlier, the tiny in-frame batteries are too small to be used all the time and there'd be little point in a typical peleton on the flat at well in excess of the EU assist limit these motors limit at. The greatest use would be on tough climb sections when not surrounded by bunches of riders but bunches of spectators, and when the hard working motor makes the most noise. Tiny diameter high rated motors fundamentally make more noise, as the RC model motors show. And anyway, how can the rider on/off control for the motor be hidden from view or use? Chris Froome takes it seriously and he says he wants more bikes stripped and checked at events. Again not in keeping with the facts, like the earlier comment from someone about needing X rays of bikes. All that's need is to use the seatpost quick release and lift out saddle and stem. The first giveaway then will be the seat stem cut off short. Then a glance into the frame seat tube will show the battery and it's tag/loop for withdrawing it to charge. Pull that up and the connector and the motor below in the tube is seen. All this is true of both these systems to date, so easy to detect that the idea that anyone is trying their use is laughable. So let's say someone has invested a huge sum to start again to design and produce a motor and battery system that sits in the down tube instead. The same applies, lift out the saddle and seat stem, peep down the frame seat tube with an LED light and you'd see the bevel gears on the pedal shaft in the bottom bracket. No tools needed, instant detection either way. And there's a third and even easier way to check when walking past the bike, just stoop and try to turn the pedals backwards. That's against the motor freewheel so instead of spinning freely, the stiff motor resistance is instantly felt. . Edited February 4, 201610 yr by flecc
February 4, 201610 yr As I said Chris Froome is reported on the Beeb as taking it seriously, and so have the scrutineers been when they stripped his bikes down. Personally I had no idea how technically possible it is but we wouldn’t be talking off the shelf motors and switches here. Modern racing bikes are very sophisticated and the technical back up at the big teams is approaching F 1 standards. There is a huge amount of money made too of course. Twenty years ago Benneton ran a whole F1 season with an illegal traction control system. The FIA scrutineers stripped the cars and turned everything upside down at every race and never found it. So is it possible? Probably. But could they get away with it at a major race? Probably not.
February 4, 201610 yr As I said Chris Froome is reported on the Beeb as taking it seriously, and so have the scrutineers been when they stripped his bikes down. Personally I had no idea how technically possible it is but we wouldn’t be talking off the shelf motors and switches here. Modern racing bikes are very sophisticated and the technical back up at the big teams is approaching F 1 standards. There is a huge amount of money made too of course. There's only two tubes that can hide such systems, so these "frame hidden" systems all drive the pedal shaft. Therefore instantly and easily detectable exactly as I posted. .
February 5, 201610 yr It gets weirder!! http://grit.cx/news/2016/02/mechanical-fraud-the-fallout-continues-with-parakeets
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