Mythos Wind Tunnel Test

Pro track rider Francesca Selva shows shows how she’s perfecting her position with the Mythos TX-1.1 handlebar.

Francesca rides for Team Torelli, competing at the top level on the road, but her real passion is for riding around in circles – track racing! While she has competed successfully on the road and cyclo-cross – she won the Italian Fixed Gear Crit championship – the velodrome is where she is happiest. This year sees her stepping up to compete at the UCI Track Champions League with the first race in Mallorca on the 21st October. As we all know when you’re competing at the top of your sport, every detail matters, so Francesca has gone to the master of slippery bike design, Dimitris Katsanis, to see how his company, Mythos, can help her on race day.

Mythos

Katsanis is a former track cyclist and coach, who became an engineer. He built his own bikes, originally from steel, then carbon. His bikes and parts were used by Olympic and road pros to gain hundreds of medals and victories. He was also a member of British Cycling’s ‘Secret Squirrel Club’, behind many of their record braking bikes. Always looking for new methods and materials, Katsanis started Metron Advanced Equipment, a 3D printing company and Mythos, which specialises in bike components.

Interesting side-note: Katsanis also re-designed the cranks for children’s bike brand Frog. By narrowing the Q-factor on the pedals, he made it easier and more comfortable for children to ride. Marginal gains making pedalling easier for the next generation of cyclists!

TX-1.1 handlebars

It’s to Mythos that Francesca has turned to fine tune her aerodynamics for the coming season. The Mythos TX-1.1 handlebar has been designed to take advantage of recent UCI rule changes. It’s an evolution of the original TX-1, the shape changing slightly after input from riders. The TX-1.1 is printed from Aerospace grade Titanium (Ti6Al4V) and is registered for use at the 2024 Olympics. Designed for use in mass-start track events, it allows riders to adopt a sustainable aero position in a variety of disciplines. In fact the bars are shaped in such a way as to give riders six different ways to hold them.

The bars have already been ridden to victory by Jan Willem Van Schipp in the Madison at the 2023 UCI World Champs. Mythos have also designed an adjustable stem that will allow Francesca to achieve her most efficient position on her Handsling TR3evo, whatever the event. In the video you can see the detail that the Mythos team employ as they prepare a measuring jig for her. This is to ensure that they can record and replicate her position later. It’s these small details that allow top athletes like Francesca to perform at the top level.

Watch Francesca’s videos as she travels to Mythos’ UK headquarters to correct her set-up. Then follow her as she fine-tunes her position at the Silverstone wind tunnel.