November 26, 2025
By Michael Barry
Before the 1980’s, it would be easy to think that racers didn’t consider the effects of air resistance on their performance. Bicycles and clothing hadn't changed much in 80 years and little of the aerodynamic technology we see used in the peloton today existed. Looking at a photo of the team pursuit from the 1976 Olympics, a friend asked if there had been any consideration of aerodynamics. Riders had anecdotal knowledge of how influential it was on their speed but it was limited by the tools they had to study those effects. Nobody realized that a jersey fabric and fit could determine the winner and even when they began to, many riders were dubious of the any new technology and were scared of looking out of place in a homogenous peloton.
The US men's team pursuit team in the 2025 World Championships.
Aerodynamics now influences every element of racing from how the cyclist sits on their bicycle, to their clothing, to how they ride in a paceline, and to how the components and frame cut through the air. Some racers, many of whom deeply understand the importance of each element on their performance, will refuse to compete in a time trial if they don’t feel their equipment is aerodynamically competitive. Regardless of how physically fit and mentally prepared they are, racers know they can’t win without comparative equipment.
The Canadian Team Pursuit team preparing for the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games
Even in a sport steeped in history and lore, it’s hard to refute data, which is why it has only been in the last 15 years that riders have started racing on the road in mass start events with narrower handlebars, skin-tight fitting jerseys with aerodynamic fabrics and aero road race helmets. Generations raced with baggy jerseys which fluttered in the wind, handlebars wider than their shoulders and large helmets with maximal ventilation. In the peloton there was often resistance to using faster equipment as it didn’t follow the traditional style. The first riders who raced on the road in skinsuits were laughed at. When they started winning, trends changed and the laughing stopped, but it took a few generations for everyone to realize that to compete for the win they needed to consider every watt of energy that could be saved.
Powermeters and wind tunnels have put numbers to what cyclists have felt but weren’t able to quantify. Racers have always worked to become more efficient but nobody really knew how much slower a fluttering number was. Now, it can be measured.
Historically, riders made changes to equipment based on sensations and common sense and applied those changes to events where they thought aerodynamics would have the greatest impact, mostly in individual time events on the road and track. Now, riders seek an aerodynamic advantage whether alone in a time event or in a peloton of a hundred riders or on single track in a mountain bike race.
Since the first track races, riders understood that a low position was quicker as the wind is the cyclist’s nemesis and sheltering or shrinking from it decreases the required effort. In a velodrome, because tracks are a fairly stable environment with fewer variables it was easier to quantify changes in equipment by looking at times.
In the early 1900’s track events, paced races, where racers drafted in the slipstream of four and five rider tandems, were common. With the advent of the motorcycle, the tandems were swapped for motorbikes (large machines which thundered around the bankings, sometimes with flames coming out of the tailpipes) and racers began to use bikes specifically designed for the event. Understanding the advantage of being as close as possible to the motorbike to maximize efficiency to attain the highest speed possible, the forks were reversed, the front wheel of the bike was smaller than the rear and the wheelbase of the frame was shorter than a traditional track bike.
This 1934 CCM Pace Follower designed for Motor Paced Racing so that racers could ride closer behind the motorcycles to receive maximum drafting effect.
In the 1950’s racers swapped their wool jerseys for silk on the track and in time trials, which were tucked into their wool shorts: they sensed silk not only looked better under the lights but also caught less wind. After its invention in 1958 and its use in swimming and skiing in the 60’s, lycra started to be used in cycling clothing in the mid to late 70’s. Lycra was not only more comfortable but also faster so quickly replaced wool shorts and jerseys. Next came skinsuits which integrated the shorts and the jerseys into a one piece tight fitting outfit.
Positions on the bicycle remained relatively similar and static until the early 1980’s when riders started to adopt lower positions on aerodynamic ‘funny’ bikes, or as the Spanish call them “cabras” due to their handlebars that look like goats’ horns. Prior to this the emphasis was on weight and decreasing friction in tires and bearings.
Dede Barry wearing a rubber coated skin suit and riding a low profile frame at the 1988 World Championships.
When my father was the mechanic for the Canadian team at the World Championships in Montreal in 1974, he spent the days before the race repacking all the riders’ bicycle’s bearings. He removed all the grease from the hubs, and bottom brackets and replaced it with oil to improve efficiency. At the time, time trial bikes and track bikes were designed and modified to be as light as possible, as the thought was weight was most important, which we now know is less significant than aerodynamics on flat surfaces. To lighten the bicycles, components were drilled wherever possible and steel was replaced with titanium or aluminium. The best tires were made of silk and pumped to maximal pressure (something we now know is slower). Famously, Eddy Merckx’s tires on the bicycle he used to break the hour record, were pumped up with helium which is a lighter gas than a standard air mixture. Aside from the weight of the bike being maximally shaved, Merckx rode a track bike with standard geometry and sat in a position similar to what he used on the road.
Through the years there have been a number of mavericks who, to go faster, pushed the limits of what equipment was allowed within the rules. In 1984, Franceco Moser used a disc wheeled ‘funny’ bike and wore a lycra skinsuit, an aero lycra helmet cover, and lycra aero shoe covers to break Eddy Merckx’s hour record. Merckx had been the stronger cyclist, and his record seemed unbeatable but with a team of scientists Moser broke the record numerous times.
Jeannie Longo breaking the hour record in 1986.
Multiple world champion and women’s hour record holder, Jeannie Longo, was not only the dominant rider in the women’s peloton through the 80’s and 90’s but was also an innovator, testing new technology to improve performance. She raced on the road in a skinsuit when the rest of the peloton wore baggy jerseys, she rode a specifically designed aerodynamic road bicycle long before others even considered them, she used narrow handlebars when wider was the norm, and she rode lower gears in the mountains while her competitors slogged at low cadence. The lower gears not only decreased torque improving her pedalling efficiency but also allowed her to stay seated which is far more efficient aerodynamically.
Throughout her career Longo was constantly innovating but few took notice. This was likely because she was a woman in a misogynistic and male dominated sport. It took the rest of the peloton years to adopt the technology she pioneered.
Greg Lemond shocked the cycling world, when he won the 1989 Tour de France by less than ten seconds. The margin of victory was attributed to his use of aero bars, a revolutionary new handlebar which put him in an alpine skier's tucked position narrowing his frontal surface area so he could cut through the air. We now know that the advantage the bars give is so great that it would be futile to start a time trial without them. Through his career he tried other innovations, some which stuck and others which were banned or forgotten.
In the 1990’s Graham Obree and Chris Boardman, two British racers, beat the best professionals in the world with their unique aerodynamic positions. As they battled each other to be faster, they revolutionized the sport. They may not have been physical beasts like some of their competitors but through an astute understanding of biomechanics and aerodynamics they were the fastest in most individual time events.
Jocelyn Lovell riding a custom frame he built. Note the double drive train which allowed him to use two gear ratios. The frame had an integrated seat post which was unique at the time.
Lesser known was Jocelyn Lovell, a Canadian road and track champion who was also a frame builder who competed in the 70’s and early 80’s. Always innovating he was the first to braze his handlebars to his forks to lower his position on his track bike in an effort to reduce drag. Soon after, known European frame builders were copying him. He also designed a double chainwheel, two geared track bike which was banned immediately after he used it in competition. His wife at the time, Sylvia Burka, who was a champion speed skater and cyclist, made their clothing out of lycra and sewed some of the first skinsuits.
Many of these iconoclasts were a thorn in the side of the governing bodies, who worked to protect the status quo of the sport, and the champions who ruled it. Due to the innovations in technology and position many of them pioneered cyclists are going faster now than they ever have.
Although the bicycle is still the most efficient form of transport, the innovation and the evolution of the bicycle will persist as the rider is in a constant battle against air resistance, and is always looking for marginal gains. As the tools to measure aerodynamics improve and artificial intelligence learns to quickly compile and analyze data, cyclists will only go faster.