Mike Burrows: cycling innovator

Mike Burrows, bike, innovator, uci, banned

Cycling is being let down by modern bikes which aren't modern enough. This is the radical verdict of Mike Burrows, the man behind Chris Boardman's 1992 gold-medal-winning Lotus pursuit bike and the world's first compact road frame, the Giant TCR.



And he lays the blame squarely at the feet of the UCI."It's very frustrating," Burrows tells CW. "The UCI won't let manufacturers make the bikes better, so they have to make them different for commercial reasons.

They tend to alternate, getting worse for a couple of seasons, then better for a couple of seasons. "Manufacturers are making funny-shaped tubes because they have to. Round is the shape for a down tube. Aerodynamics for a time trial bike and a bit of ovality makes sense, but square and triangle? It's a load of nonsense, but that's marketing.

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