93 tooth front chainring, your legs rub against the derailleur and the inside of a carbon fibre teardrop fairing, oh, and you can’t see where you’re going. Nothing about the Aerovelo Eta is particularly practical but everything about it is impressive, especially its world record-setting speed—139.45 km/hr (86.65 mph), without drafting on 100% human power. And it doesn’t require legs like tree trunks. This bike can reach 100 km/h at 258 watts— a power level within reach of most fit amateur cyclists. Such is the wonder of aerodynamics.
Canadian company Aerovelo developed the bike and it is piloted by co-founder Todd Reichert. Since setting the world record in 2015, Todd and Eta have broken it four times and hold the current record at 144.17 km/hr (89.59 mph). The video is nothing special but the bike certainly is. And I’m kind of chuffed it’s a Canadian that holds the record—for now. As they say near the end of this video “This is certainly not the limit”. Even if it’s already well over the speed limit.
