36 YEARS OF CYCLING INNOVATION
The years between the Ti-Raleigh and Lapierre Aircode DRS has brought many changes to road technology. Here are some of the cutting-edge highlights…
1984 French ski-binding maker Look adapted its system to be used in pedals. This allowed riders to easily clip in and out rather than use strapped toe-clips. The main benefit was improved pedalling efficiency (allowing to power through a full pedal stroke) and it was also a safety improvement.
1989 The Tour de France saw Greg LeMond trail Laurent Fignon by 50secs going into the final day’s time trial. Commentators had Fignon pencilled in for victory. LeMond, however, had other plans. He used revolutionary aero bars and an aero helmet, won the stage and made up the deficit to win the Tour.
1989 This Tour also marked the debut of full carbon frames, ridden by LeMond – a rider known for his penchant for new tech. The Frenchmade TVT frame didn’t look too different from the steel machines around it but under the thick 1980s paint were composites rather than metal alloys.
1989 Power meters are the pro rider’s best training and racing tool today, but they’ve been around since 1989 when SRM made its crank-based meter available. They were first raced by – you guessed it – LeMond.
1990 Shimano changed road riding forever in 1990 by integrating gear shifting into the brake lever with its radical STI shifting. Campag followed with Ergopower in 1992. SRAM’s alternative arrived in 2005 with its take on shifting at the brake lever with DoubleTap.
1995 Though carbon made its Tour debut in 1989, the race remained dominated by steel until 1994. Then brands that made their names in skinny steel switched over to oversized aluminium. Its reign was short lived, however, with the last aluminium Tour winner coming just four years later thanks to Marco Pantani.
1997 The first production Giant TCR made its debut and was the first bike to forgo a traditional straight top tube for a sloping/compact design. It was available in three frame sizes (S, M, L) and had an angleadjustable quill stem available in three lengths (105mm, 120mm, 135mm) to navigate any fit issues.
1999 While aluminium still made up most of the pro peloton, it was Trek’s innovative OCLV carbon 5500 that won the Tour. Although revelations have scratched a certain Texan’s record from history, there’s no doubt that Trek’s carbon chassis changed the game forever.
2001 The Canadian brand Cervélo brought the Soloist to racing in the 2001 Tour, launching the aero-road bike in the process. Aero had previously been limited to the track, time trial and triathlon. Cervélo used the same aerofoil tube shapes to create the bike and Team CSC rode it on flat stages in this year’s edition.
2009 Mavic may have created the first electronic groupset with the Zap, and then Mektronic in 1992, but reliability issues killed any commercial success. It wasn’t until 17 years later that Shimano got it right with the original Di2. Campag followed with EPS in 2011 and SRAM changed the game further in 2015 with the wireless eTap.
2018 Disc brakes had already been adopted wholesale in mountain biking and for a large proportion of nonracing roadies. The UCI finally approved discs in 2018. Even though rim brakes are still seen in the peloton, we expect that to continue to reduce year by year.
2020 The glue-on tubular tyre has been a stalwart in racing since way before the original Ti-Raleigh. But they may have seen their marching orders as laboratory tests and on-road testing have shown modern tubeless tyres to offer less rolling resistance and lower weights than sewn-up and gluedon rubber.