Everyone has a dream bike, don’t they? What that bike is will change over the years as new models, new heroes and new technology come along. Or your personal budget changes. But there is always a bike that gets into your head.
When I was young, it was a metallic pale blue Raleigh Elan in a local shop window. Ever the pragmatist, it wasn’t the most expensive bike on display, but it was the one I could – with a bit of birthday money – one day afford. The fact it was just about within my reach was part of the attraction. I got that bike too. And riding it around as a teenager with Phil Liggett’s commentary playing in my head is an enduring memory of my summers and helped fuel my love of cycling.
Now there’s another bike that’s in my head. It’s a bike I can’t buy, or call in for test. Perhaps the fact I can’t have it is what makes me want it more. It’s not the most beautiful bike, nothing of the sort, but it is decorated and ridden by only a chosen few who were good enough.
I still remember the first time I saw the UKSI bike. It was late 2001 or early 2002 and I’d travelled to Peter Keen’s office at the Manchester velodrome to interview him about it for a feature in Cycle Sport magazine. There was no launch or fanfare, it was just leant against the whitewashed breeze-block wall by his desk.
It was exceptionally average looking, like something out of a design project. There was no name on the down tube, no stylish additions, no fancy componentry.
But it was about as good a bike frame as you can get.
Denne historien er fra May 28, 2020-utgaven av CYCLING WEEKLY.
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Denne historien er fra May 28, 2020-utgaven av CYCLING WEEKLY.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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CLASSIC BIKE COLNAGO SUPER
A trailblazing bike immortalised by Merckx and Saronni
"Strava activities are the only way I know some of my friends are still alive"
...or that Bernard is doing his weekly shop
AN EXPERT'S TAKE ON... SADDLE SELECTION
Crucial advice to guide your next purchase
JUST A NUMB#R?
Approaching a landmark birthday, Charlie Graham-Dixon explores how ageing affects cycling performance and what can be done to stay ahead of the curve
RURAL PERIL
More UK cyclists are killed on rural lanes than on busy city streets. Rob Kemp investigates why and what can be done to keep us safe while riding in the countryside
A BLESSED RIDE THROUGH THE FOREST OF BOWLAND
Forgoing cloak, cassock and cross, Trevor Ward goes in search of the holy roads that helped make a Tour winner
Dame Sarah Storey claims road and 19th gold double
More success for Team GB's Paralympians in Paris, but Storey slams women's time trial course
Roglič matches Vuelta win record
Slovenian takes fourth Tour of Spain title after hunting down O'Connor's lead, writes Adam Becket
Williams crowned Tour of Britain champion
Welshman leads home resurgence at the stage race to crown an Israel-Premier Tech clean sweep, reports Tom Davidson in Felixstowe
CLASSIC BIKE CLAUD BUTLER OLYMPIC ROAD
Iconic British brand's Holdsworth-era road bike