Can We Beat A Bike So Fast It Was Banned? | Lotus 110 Vs Modern Superbike

You asked and we listened, and we've got the Lotus 110 timetrial bike made famous by being the the fastest bike ever - so fast that every bike like it was BANNED by the UCI! But is it actually that fast? We pit it against our Superbike to see just how far aero tech has come since the dawn of space-age carbon fibre bikes!

Big thanks to Steve Grimwood for helping this video dream become a reality!

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Did the results surprise you? Let us know in the comments!👇

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#gcn #cycling #roadbike #BikeRace #RetroVsModern #BikeTech

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[J.S.A.]

The prolonged look by the random cyclist when he realises it’s a lotus 😂 - a “remember the moment” moment

[almerindaromeira]

It deserves an updated version with electronic shifters, new tires, lighter weight, internally routed cables and optimised ergonomics

[bruuhhhh]

7:51 I love how that other cyclist turns his head like 'wait is that a f*cking lotus?'

[georgeslammin]

Ollie: "This bike... technically still holds the hour record"
Ganna: "Hold my beer"

[VIEultimate]

The owner saying "we'll talk" when they jokingly asked if they could borrow the Lotus again just gives me something to look forward to.

[EMCScotia]

One of the coolest GCN videos ever. We are all that cyclist who turned their heads at around the 7:54 mark.

[Alan_Hans__]

A road legal (without that extra aero aid) versus a top quality triathlon legal bike would be a decent contest. It may show how much the UCI is holding back cyclists. An equal dollar value road and tri bike would also be interesting.

[johnkinder]

Thank you to Steve. I have never seen Si and Ollie look so excited and happy for a whole video before. Brilliant!

[appa]

Honestly I bet the main thing holding back the older bikes is probably the tires. The fastest road tires available today produce under half the rolling resistance of the best tubulars of the 90's. At these weights and speeds, I reckon the difference is up to 20-25W in rolling resistance.

[finestjosh]

7:50 the cyclist staring at the lotus 🤣🤣

[aarondangelo]

THANK YOU STEVE! I am not a TT guy but this is such an Iconic bike. Watching Ollie and Si so genuinely excited to ride this bike, and the cyclist turning and looking. This is perhaps the best video done so far.

[swites]

Just goes to show how good Boardman's hour record was on it's sister track bike. And how good his fastest ever prologue win was on this one.

[EvySpaghetti]

I don’t know how I ended up here. I know nothing about bike racing so I only understood like half the words in this video but I love the passion you guys have for bikes! Great video!

[roberttell]

Si jumping around excited to try the Lotus like it’s his first bike on Christmas morning is just beautiful.

[jonglass]

That cyclist rubber-necking Olly at 7:51--Priceless!

And I seriously almost had goosebumps watching this video! I can't imagine how Olly and Si felt riding that thing!

[awhite]

Si dancing around like an excited toddler at 8:25 😂

[antonlvdm]

I had a Lotus back in 99 and it was an absolutely amazing bike!! Fastest by far in its time. Well, Eddy Merckx and Pinarello also had some awesome TT bikes that I never rode, so maybe a bit biased from my side. That said, I stopped riding for many years, and then a few years back I rode a Venge Vias with Zipp 808 wheels for a couple of weeks and it was flying too. So not too surprised by the results, but still think they should move their elbows inwards on the Lotus.

[Max-etck]

Thanks Steve!! What a fantastic way to showcase an icon.

Ollie looked uncomfortable in that position on the Lotus. Maybe that was the difference? I'm surprised there was no adjustment made on that multi-position Look stem 😉

Either way, very cool video. Amazing to see how far modern road bikes have come.

[Baz]

Great video, and thanks Steve for borrowing the bike to let this happen 💪

[stephennidds]

Its a bike that has made a place in cycling history. This thing gave birth to the evolution of modern TT bikes. Love it.