Cycle Revolution at Design Museum (17th April 2016)
Under £10 to get in and got to see the Lotus 108 time trial machine. It’s like the Formula 1 of bicycles, from the early 1990’s.
Before entering the Design Museum we had a delicious lunch and dessert looking over the Thames. There was live piano playing, much like a cruise ship. It was called Browns Butlers Wharf. About £20 a head with sharing a half litre of cider.
50 Bicycles which Changed the World
Sadly the UCI are stuck in the 1890’s. The regulations make modern bicycles more closely resemble the Rover Safety Cycle from that time. Which was also at the show!
Recumbents and enclosed pedal vehicles are like the Le Man prototypes of the cycling world. The Lotus 108 has exposed wheels and no canopy, which is very light but higher drag. Just as with Formula 1. No enclosed cycles were present in the show and only a couple of recumbents that I recall. Those are a bigger revolution than the abundance of Time Trial and track cycles, imho.
Follw Up
There were a number of video excerpts from documentaries. Several from Bicycle. Maybe we could find it on a streaming service.
We cycled all the way there and back. It was a breezy day but bright and dry.
(Photos to follow.)