With the 2021 Tokyo Olympics less than a month away, Great Britain Cycling Team riders are getting a boost in the form of the Hope Technology/Lotus track bike in the quest for gold. Rio 2016 Olympic gold-medal winner Katie Archibald, Ethan Vernon, and Jack Carlin are all featured in a new film created by Lotus.
Carlin explains how, when fractions of a second are the difference between winning and losing, this innovative new bike could give him an edge. Vernon notes that it’s so different from anything else on the track and that it feels special when he’s riding it. Archibald speaks about how thrilled she was when she saw the uniquely wide fork design and how the Lotus name—with its successful history in Olympic track cycling—resonates with people.
Also riding it in Tokyo will be husband-and-wife team Jason and Laura Kenny who are hoping to make history by confirming themselves as the most successful female and male British Olympic track cyclists ever. Rider Ed Clancy is aiming to win his fourth consecutive team pursuit gold medal.
The bike’s design is based on optimizing the aerodynamics of the bike and the rider. It’s the innovative front end that Lotus and its partners on the project believe will make the difference at Tokyo’s Izu Velodrome when the track cycling competition takes place August 2-8. The position of the forks means they are directly in front of the rider’s knees, helping air to flow around the rider. The seat stays are wider than usual to assist with the reattachment of the airflow.
The bike is a true Lotus tradition in many ways—with optimized aerodynamics, lightweight, advanced materials, and exceptional handling combining to deliver outstanding performance. The company has helped to develop two designs of lightweight handlebars—for sprint and pursuit races. Titanium and aluminum, both 3D-printed, as well as carbon fiber, are at the heart of these components.
Lotus worked with Hope Technology, which supplies the bike’s frame and wheels, and engineering partner Renishaw. Hope Technology was founded in 1989 by Ian Weatherill and Simon Sharp to push the biking industry forward through designing, testing, and manufacturing virtually all products in-house at its factory in Barnoldswick, United Kingdom. Renishaw is a high precision metrology and healthcare technology group also known as a world leader in additive manufacturing, especially metal 3D printing from metal powder.
“When we started making innovative, highly-specced disc brakes, back in the late Eighties, we didn’t imagine that Hope Technology would evolve into what it is today—a company with more than 150 employees hand-crafting components for both mountain and road bikes, 24-7,” said Ian Weatherill, Managing Director, Hope Technology. “To be partnering with Lotus is certainly a great place to find ourselves in 2019, and it’s an exciting time for us all.”
While Lotus is best known as a car company, it has a history in cycling through its Lotus Engineering division. The company helped design and develop bikes for cycling legend Chris Boardman at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, where he won gold, and in the 1994 Tour de France, where he won the prologue time trial. His Lotus Sport Pursuit Bicycle (aka Type 108)—recognizable for its aerodynamic design—is one of the most famous bikes ever made, with an example held by the Science Museum in London.
