Yashujiro Speed Bike

by Paul Horta-Hopkins · 10/10/2012

Video

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Yashujiro Speed Bike

Posted 10th October 2012

Forget climbing; forget gears; forget lightweight – its gravity racing! Its the Yashujiro Speed Bike!

At first glance the Yashujiro Speed Bike seems to pay homage to the cyclists we largely ignore on the mountain stages of the Grand Tours; those riders that cannot climb with the leaders but rely on breakneck descending to get back onto the group or stay within the time limit. As we all know if you cannot climb you have to be able to descend – fast.

Its a skill that can be improved with practice but also seems to be inherent in some riders and not in others. Most sprinters are also good descenders. They have to be out of necessity and get better through continual practice in just about every race they do! Even I recall one particularly tough stage of a race where I was dropped every time up the main climb, only to get back on every time after a hard, dangerous chase down the fast, twisty descent and then still come through, albeit on my last legs, to win the bunch sprint at the end of it all.

I therefore find it quite appealing that the makers of the Yashujiro Speed Bike reckon they have invented a new genre – Asphalt Gravity. Apparently there are competitive events now and a growing following.

However, the bike itself is inspired by the 50cc racing motorcycles that existed between the 1960’s and the 1980’s and to be honest doesn’t look much like a bicycle. It is more motorcycle frame with engine removed, so perhaps the homage is not directed towards our unsung mountains’ heroes from the great Tours…

Yashujiro are the frame building arm of Tange Tubing and the bike was designed to showcase their skills by their European rep, Frenchman Jean Christophe Charrier, known as Jaycee (not to be mistaken with Beyonce’s Jay-Z). The bike was ridden – piloted? – by Serge Nuques, a French enduro and rally driver, and he gets up to around 70 mph.

Now before I throw out the lycra and get myself some new leathers, and I’m not sure what you think, but after watching the video, I can’t help thinking that there’s a few talented ‘pilots’ in the pro peloton that could give this a run for its money on their everyday workhorse racing bicycles (and that’s after climbing for over an hour as well). That notwithstanding, its a cool project and there’s some good footage of descending mountain roads at speed in this well produced video.

And that’s the point isn’t it? Its all about enjoying all aspects of ‘cycling’. After all, if you slog it up some horrible great mountain there has to be some reward awaiting you at the top…so this is for all the non-climbers! Enjoy the descent! And let us know what you think.