If you’re following this year’s Tour de France, you’ve probably heard the term ‘mechanical doping’, which refers to the idea of a rider hiding a small motor inside their bike for an extra boost. Doping normally means performance-enhancing drugs, but as you might imagine, boosting your performance with a motor in competition is always banned. But is anyone actually trying to do this?
Motors for bikes certainly exist, but primarily for commuter- and utility-type bikes where the electrified boost can greatly ease a rider’s daily commute or lessen the load of a few days’ worth of groceries. Most of these ‘e-assist’ systems are built around either the crank or rear hub, with bulbous motor housings and big rechargeable batteries – neither of which are exactly conducive to clandestine operation.
However, there’s one design called the Vivax Assist (formerly known as Gruber Assist) that is nearly completely hidden inside the frame. It’s this concept (or something like it) that ‘mechanical doping’ alarmists claim is possibly being used at the highest levels of the sport.
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In its current form, the Vivax Assist comprises a small cylindrical motor drive unit that slides down inside the frame’s seat tube, tucked away from prying eyes, plus a small external battery. At the bottom of the motor unit is a small bevel gear that drives a retrofitted crank spindle. With a simple push of a handlebar-mounted button, the rider can summon up to 200 watts of extra pedaling power, essentially transforming an average cyclist into Chris Froome.
Claimed weight for the entire system is 1.8kg (3.97lb, complete, claimed) but even though that’s already relatively svelte, such a system wouldn’t be used in standard form.
Professional road racing today is a game of increasingly miniscule advantages and a smaller system with even a small fraction of the Vivax Assist’s output would be plenty effective on a critical climb. A smaller system would be much lighter and more compact, too, so as to fit into a wider range of bicycle frame types than the stock unit currently allows.
You can read more at BikeRadar.com
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