What would the 1992 Lotus 108 world hour track bike look like today? If tomorrow the UCI were to change the rules and allow technology and innovation to advance bicycle design in the way that it used to, what differences might we see?II have been sketching on and off and developing my idea of what that bike might be. I try to understand the influence that the original bike had and why it was designed the way it was. I look for inspiration in Formula 1 race cars as Lotus was heavily involved in racing. I don't get bogged down with details at this stage. I develop the idea little by little until the bike is what I imagine lotus would make if they were to attempt to break the world hour record in 2018.
I built everything in CAD using Fusion360. I model everything from bearings to bottom brackets. I'm sure to measure everything to make sure that my CAD model is as accurate and close to real life as possible. I make sure that all the parts that I model work well together. I feel like this step can really take a lot of time but needs care and attention so that the product can easily be made real when that time comes.
This bike was an experiment in the unknown. I think that it is aways interesting, and usually produces innovative results to ask myself, “What if?” There is always more to learn, to understand. Asking “What if?” gives answers that surprise and delight.
