SCOTT TINLEY’S 1985 KONA BIKE
It’s the hugely-influential bike that Scott Tinley rode to Hawaii glory in 1985. But how did the ground-breaking design come about?
Before Hawaii 1985, I’d been deeply involved with advancing technology within multisport since the late 1970s. And after I had the opportunity over the next decade to work with such forward-thinkingminds as Jim Jannard (Oakley), Jim Gentes (Giro), Brian Maxwell (PowerBar), Richard Bryne (SpeedPlay), Steve Hed (Hed wheels), Bill Goldfoos (AeroLite), Gary Hooker (AeroSports), and Jim Riley (Tinley Performance Wear). I knew that a better mouse trap could and should be built.
Hooker built the bars out of aircraft-quality aluminium. Gary is one of those people who never asked for credit and is largely unheralded in the history of triathlon. Just a lovely, smart, and selfless man. The frame was a carbon fibre Peugeot that was gifted to me through some random sponsorship that I can’t recall. I decided it was the best frame at the time (for me, anyway) and went with it. After the race I gave the bike to a friend who needed a bike for riding to work.
This was pre-wind tunnel days and much of the testing in existence was comprised of a very simple algorithm: how fast you could ride two miles along San Dieguito Road in San Diego (assuming there were no red lights) if the wind didn’t shift and you thought your heart rate was relatively the same. Those AeroSport bars were tested for three days before the event. They felt comfortable, looked good, and allowed me to stop the bike with the (spirit of) brakes. What could go wrong?!
I played around with the booties – I had them pre-connected to my shoes – and the helmet (which I still have) was just a little plastic shell that kept the heat in and the mosquitos out. There was no protection or safety whatsoever. I went to pick up my bike the morning after the race [which Tinley won in 8:50:54] and noticed a large crack in the bars. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. And I do remember shaving off my moustache the night before the race and my wife not recognising me as we sat down for dinner.
“After the race, I gave the bike to a friend who needed to ride to work”
Has triathlon bike technology changed enough since that 1985 race? I don’t know what ‘enough’ means anymore. And I have no horse in that race as I’ve only been back to the Ironman World Championships in Kona once since retiring from racing that monolith in 1999. But, honestly, I haven’t seen any real advances in cycling technology in some years. It seems the digital wars of cyberspace have infiltrated triathlon and now it’s all about measurement as opposed to organic creativity. The last truly original thought I can remember was hiding a tiny electronic booster in the bottom bracket of your bike. F***ing brilliant!