The Japanese nationwide biking staff is utilizing a brand new monitor bike on the Paris Olympics, which retails at £108,000 and has an uncommon left-sided drivetrain.
The V-Izu TCM-2, made by Japanese carbon producer Toray, was unveiled again in Could on the Japan Observe Cup competitors in Tokyo. It had beforehand been noticed ultimately August’s UCI World Championships in Glasgow, the place it was ridden for homologation forward of the Video games.
The bike is characterised by its broad entrance forks, aerodynamic design and, most notably, a drivetrain put in on the left aspect of the body.
Although unusual, this isn’t a brand new phenomenon in monitor biking. In 2016, USA Biking revealed a pursuit bike with a left-sided drivetrain, produced by bike model Felt. The model’s designers mentioned inserting the chainring on the within improved aerodynamics and dealing with, and combatted the affect of yaw.
As UCI guidelines state that each one gear should be commercially out there, the V-Izu TCM-2’s body alone is on sale for €126,555 (£108,000), a prohibitive price ticket that successfully takes it off the market.
It’s the most costly monitor bike on the 2024 Olympics, costing considerably greater than Crew GB’s Hope x Lotus HB.T, priced at £25,000 for the body, and Australia’s Issue bike, at £47,000 for the complete set-up.
(Picture credit score: SWPix)
The V-Izu TCM-2 was debuted on the Olympics on Monday by the boys’s staff pursuit squad, who clocked a time of three:53.489 in qualifying.
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Benoît Bétoux, technical director of Japan’s excessive efficiency centre, mentioned he was “moved” by his expertise using the monitor bike earlier this 12 months. “It provides you a way of pace and stability for the primary time in your life,” he mentioned.
The bike’s pace was additionally famous by Koichi Nakano of the Japanese Biking Federation. “The very first thing that athletes say about this bike is that after you rise up to hurry, it is arduous to decelerate,” he mentioned. “Driving on inertia, the bike picks up pace quicker than the individual using the bike thinks.
“However, it appears to really feel heavy at sluggish speeds. However I believe it’s a bike that may exhibit its efficiency when utilized in high-level competitions.”
The bike sparked controversy when it was used on the World Championships final 12 months for its resemblance to the patented broad fork design of Crew GB’s Hope x Lotus bike. Talking in August, British Biking’s head of efficiency Stephen Park mentioned there “may effectively be” trigger for authorized motion, though Biking Weekly understands none has been taken.
