[matchmaker]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nd13ARuvVE&feature=player_embedded

I don't know what to think of it, it seems to ridiculous to be true, but it would indeed be an incredible way to cheat.

 

[filtersweep]

No less ridiculous than taking a crazy, untested combination of drugs, and re-using your own blood, etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nd13ARuvVE&feature=player_embedded

I don't know what to think of it, it seems to ridiculous to be true, but it would indeed be an incredible way to cheat.

 

[Wookiebiker]

I agree...It seems to be a crazy way to cheat, but in this day and age...nothing would surprise me. However, looking at those accelerations when they played them it was amazing to see him pull away like that while seated, no out of the saddle accelerations at all.

If this is true....WOW, just WOW!!!

 

[foofighter]

didnt the UCI get told that there are riders using this and that they're looking into it. The video does look pretty unbelievable to see him accelerate seated like that. Fabian is such a cool guy and if it is true that just blows

 

[izzyfly]

his acceleration (while seated mind you) on the flats and hills was jaw-dropping! Hope it's not true, he's one of the last nice guys (who finishes first!

 

[moabbiker]

Seems pretty simple to detect for top finishers. Have one of those airport xray machines hooked up, put live video stream at the finish line where all spectators are at, so anyone caught gets ridiculed, insulted, and maybe even attacked by outraged fans (rightly so).

 

[MG537]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Nd13ARuvVE&feature=player_embedded

I don't know what to think of it, it seems to ridiculous to be true, but it would indeed be an incredible way to cheat.

Your title should've been:Motorized bike associated with Fabian Cancellara brought to you by You Tube.

Seriously at this point seems pretty far fetched, doesn't mean it would surprise me if this turned out to be true. Cyclists have already tried all kinds of invasive drugs, why not this? However Cancellara has displayed this kind of acceleration in the past. In his 2006 PR win he just rode Leif Hoste, I believe it was, off his wheel in a similar fashion.
Also at E3 Prijs this year he was alone up front with Flecha and Boonen and just timed his acceleration perfectly to win that race. Far lesser crowds at that race which would increase the risk of his two opponents hearing the mechanism kick in.

I would also suspect that the Saxo Bank mechanics would want to help the Schlecks take in at least one win at the Ardennes, which they didn't.

One last comment. I noticed someone say that Fabian is/seems like a nice guy. Well nice or bad guy has nothing to do with doping, chemical, mechanical or otherwise. Tyler Hamilton was and probably still is a nice guy. We all know that story, don't we?

 

[rydbyk]

Wow...hope that is fake, but seems very possible with a battery that can stay charged and do that much work....hmm?

Cancelara did stay seated for nearly the entire race...kinda strange. He was asked about that post race too..

 

[PlatyPius]

The battery life isn't really an issue, because you'd only need to use the motor (not engine, as they translated) a couple of times in a race to achieve the desired result. Road cycling is about tactics as well as speed/endurance. How demoralizing would it be to see your opponent effortlessly pull away from you?

All of the parts required for this already exist, as was shown in the video. The motor only has to turn the cranks, so the motor's power is multiplied by the gear choices just as a rider's is. A human puts out what? 1-1.5 horsepower at the most (1 hp = 745-ish watts)? 1/2 horsepower mini electric motors are available. You wouldn't want the motor to do all of the driving; you would want it to be an "assist". A "free" 325 watts of power would definitely help you pull away from your competitors.

 

[Don Duende]

Very interesting video. Is it an expose or a hoax? The way he pulled away from Boonen is remarkable.

I would not put just Cancellara under the microscope, because of Bjarne Riis' past history. The fact that the video displays a prototype indicates there are probably more units in existence. Does Ritchie Porte or the Schlecks have them?

Where can I get one? I need that kind of extra acceleration, too.

 

[atimido]

Seems pretty simple to detect for top finishers. Have one of those airport xray machines hooked up, put live video stream at the finish line where all spectators are at, so anyone caught gets ridiculed, insulted, and maybe even attacked by outraged fans (rightly so).

A bike change towards the end of the race would replace the "dirty" bike with a "clean" one. The rider would just need to claim a tire puncture...:idea:

 

[Nimitz]

Seems pretty simple to detect for top finishers. Have one of those airport xray machines hooked up, put live video stream at the finish line where all spectators are at, so anyone caught gets ridiculed, insulted, and maybe even attacked by outraged fans (rightly so).

and when they change back to the normal bike?

Chad

 

[Nimitz]

A bike change towards the end of the race would replace the "dirty" bike with a "clean" one. The rider would just need to claim a tire puncture...:idea:

and didn't fabian have bike chances at both races?

Chad

 

[MG537]

Very interesting video. Is it an expose or a hoax? The way he pulled away from Boonen is remarkable.

I would not put just Cancellara under the microscope, because of Bjarne Riis' past history. The fact that the video displays a prototype indicates there are probably more units in existence. Does Ritchie Porte or the Schlecks have them?

Where can I get one? I need that kind of extra acceleration, too.

Like I said a little further above. Andy Schleck was there with the leaders at the final climb up the Mur de Huy. If there was ever a time time to use such a contraption it would've been there. Unless eventual winner Cadel Evans also had one.

 

[atimido]

Another viewpoint...

http://cozybeehive.blogspot.com/2010/05/did-cancellara-use-illegal-motor-power.html

 

[iliveonnitro]

Another viewpoint...

http://cozybeehive.blogspot.com/2010/05/did-cancellara-use-illegal-motor-power.html

This.

 

[rydbyk]

The battery life isn't really an issue, because you'd only need to use the motor (not engine, as they translated) a couple of times in a race to achieve the desired result. Road cycling is about tactics as well as speed/endurance. How demoralizing would it be to see your opponent effortlessly pull away from you?

All of the parts required for this already exist, as was shown in the video. The motor only has to turn the cranks, so the motor's power is multiplied by the gear choices just as a rider's is. A human puts out what? 1-1.5 horsepower at the most (1 hp = 745-ish watts)? 1/2 horsepower mini electric motors are available. You wouldn't want the motor to do all of the driving; you would want it to be an "assist". A "free" 325 watts of power would definitely help you pull away from your competitors.

Actually, it appears as though the battery output is one of the main talking points when analyzing the practicality of this mechanism in a pro tour race. When I questioned whether or not the tiny hidden in seat tube battery could "do that much work", I was implying that a small battery hidden away in a seat tube would most likely not produce that much power.

Maybe they did re-work the battery and shove it into the seat tube. Also, maybe they figured out a way to silence the "buzz" that the motor makes also..who knows?

 

[PlatyPius]

Actually, it appears as though the battery output is one of the main talking points when analyzing the practicality of this mechanism in a pro tour race. When I questioned whether or not the tiny hidden in seat tube battery could "do that much work", I was implying that a small battery hidden away in a seat tube would most likely not produce that much power.

Maybe they did re-work the battery and shove it into the seat tube. Also, maybe they figured out a way to silence the "buzz" that the motor makes also..who knows?

Considering the sound level at the typical bike race, I don't think they need to worry about the sound the motor makes...

 

[rydbyk]

Considering the sound level at the typical bike race, I don't think they need to worry about the sound the motor makes...

Uhh...it sounds like a buzz saw...pretty sure we would all hear that if we were standing in a crowd of cheering fans within feet of the guy using it...

I was totally able to hear Lance's disc wheel as he screamed past cheering fans back in 2001 TDF....just sayin'.

If I was on Cancellara's rear wheel and all of a sudden a screaming motor sound came from his bike, I might be a little bit suspicious.

It is loud L O U D. Even the people on the dirt trail are startled by it as the man "pedals" past them....funny actually.

 

[vandalbob]

I so hope the pros (especially Cancellara as he's one of my faves) aren't using a motor to cheat. Maybe it's just best to put my head back in the sand?