Essex, UK - One of the two bikes Graeme Obree used to break the hour record in 1993 and 1994 has been sold on ebay for £10,000. The bike, known as 'Old Faithful' is one of the most famous in British and possibly worldwide cycling.
The anonymous seller, who is based in Westcliff on Sea in Essex and used the moniker 'hainesace', posted the following brief description: "One of the 2 bikes used in the historic hour record ride, used in Hamar Oslo beating the legendary Francesco Moser's record of 51-15. Back in 1993 as the photos show the bike is in very good order having only been ridden in training and once for 1 hour,it has been on my boardroom wall for 10 yrs and then in secure storage facility."
The bike attracted 63 bids from its starting price of 99p and bidding close at 1.40pm today, with the final two bids of £8,200 and £10,000 coming within three seconds of each other.
Obree, nicknamed The Flying Scotsman (also the title of the film about his attempts on the hour record), designed his own bike and had a unique riding style, using straight bars which were much closer to the saddle than a standard racing bik.e. He rode with his arms under his chest and his elbows bent, increasing his aerodynamic shape and mimicking the poise of a downhill skier. He famously told reporters that he has used washing machine parts in the construction of his bike, something he later regretted as lazy journalists continually focussed on this minor detail. In fact, he has only used the ball bearings from a washing machine, figuring they must be high quality if they could endure the frequency and high spin cylce of a wash.
Obree first attempted to break Moser's record on 16 July 1993 at the Vikingskipet velodrome in Norway but he was well off the mark, falling short by over 900 metres. However having booked the track for 24 hours he decided to go for another attempt the next morning, having drunk huge amoutns of water and barely slept. His attempt beat Moser's mark by 445 metres to set a new record of 51.596 kilometres.
Obree only held the record for a week; on 23 July Chris Boardman bettered Obree 674 metres. Then Moser retook the record at altitude in Mexico City (considered easier for riding at speed) in January 1994.
Obree regained the record on 19 April 1994 at Bordeaux, riding 52.713 kilometres and held the record untl2 September 1994 when Miguel Indurain took the Hour record.
The original 'Old Faithful' bike is on display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.
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