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The simplest answer to your question is that 1) speeds have increased; but 2) speeds would have increased even more except Tour organizers have been consciously making the Tour harder in order to increase the drama, suspense, and entertainment value of the race. That makes comparisons of overall winner's speed quite complex when combined with normal ...

There are a few "pseudo-facts" I think might be at play in this graphic: You mentioned 10% of increase, say from 35km/h to 40km/h average speed. That is a VERY significant increase. Anyone well trained can sustain 35km/h average for some time even in a mountain bike, but FORTY km/h is MUCH HARDER to sustain, and that's because aerodynamic drag is ...

The Tour de France is primarily an endurance event, where team strategy is more important than outright speed. In addition there are UCI rules for racing bicycles. This includes a 6.8kg weight restriction that has been in place since 2000. If you want to compare outright speeds it would be more interesting to look at how the average speed of the time ...

It's likely a matter of convention, dating back to the first "safety bicycles" introduced in the 19th century. Drivetrains are on the right today because that's what bicycle builders decided to do in the late 1800s. As to why they originally decided to put drivetrains on the right, it's probably because rear cogs used to be screwed on (some still are). ...

I am not a bike expert, but a computer programmer. The problem with this question is that there is no control to compare it to. Each year the TDF changes. They visit different parts of Europe, yes it is not 100% in France. This means you can't compare times between years. Weather (not climate) is a concern. The temperature, wind and humidity will impact ...

This is a "penny-farthing" bike. You mount it by putting a foot on the step above the back wheel, you push off, then climb up it towards the pedals as it moves away. (Like this video shows.) The front wheel was so large for a couple of reasons: Since the pedals were connected directly to the wheel, the bike could go faster if the wheel were larger; and ...

Last year I plotted average speed versus race distance and there's an incredibly accurate inverse relationship. http:///www.32sixteen.com/2011/07/25/correlation-does-not-equal-causality/ But to add to my chart and flesh out the reason I think it hasn't increased so greatly. The Tour is a stage race. The average speed we have presented is the average ...

This question makes a category mistake, I reckon. In that the Tour de France is not a competition done to finish an enormous amounts of kilometers as fast as possible -- as would be the case with a marathon for runners; where they athletes do indeed go faster and faster. The only aim the winner of the Tour has, is to be faster than the number two in the GC. ...

It is a little known fact that the Wright Brothers invented the left-hand thread for the left-hand pedal in 1900. Therefore, up until then it is highly unlikely that bicycles used any left-hand threads on them at all. Therefore, as noted by @Eric Silva the chainset could have been on the right because that is the simplest way for the sprocket to have been ...

There are multiple terms for those: Penny-farthing (after two coins of different sizes) High-wheel or High-wheeler Ordinary (contrasted to the "safety" bicycle that came after it) Bicycle is what they were called during their heyday velocipede or vélocipède is a term for any human-powered vehicle and would often have been used to refer to them when they ...

To the best of my knowledge, and my ability to find reference in any old catalog or tech manual, no, that concept has not been tried on a commercial scale at least. It may have been tried on a local scale. I don't have the math to prove it, but I suspect the balance point between how thin the spokes would need to be to reduce the weight enough to offset the ...

As others have pointed out, The TdF is an endurance race. It's not about all out speed. For a better idea of how bike technology has increased, check out the list of Hour record holders. This is done on an indoor velodrome, with no other people on the track to the person can't draft. The premise is to ride as far as you can in a single hour. The ...

Besides all technical aspects race speed is also a question of racing strategy. As long as there is no escape group no team might feel responsible for making pace, so the peleton might ride "slowly". Once there's an escape group the peleton might decide to keep some distance so they can catch up later, while the escapers might safe energy for a final sprint ...

Amongst the other factors, the TDF is an outdoor event and therefore subject to climate change. A few kph change in average wind speeds can cause a few kph difference in the achieved average speeds. It is known that wind speeds have been rising by 5-10% over the last quarter-century (thanks to Colin Pickard for the link), and France's climate is dominated ...

Norco and Nishiki of this era were really the same bike. The company that imported them in the U.S. and Canada did so under two different names so that they could manipulate the market more effectively. Many of these frames were manufactured by Kawamura of Japan. The serial numbering schema has been worked out by some bicycle geeks. If you can find the ...

What really struck me though was that the average speeds really haven't changed much The chart ranges from about 25km/h to over 40km/h, and that is a big change. As others have mentioned, increasing your average speed requires a non-linear increase in power applied to the pedals. In other words, to increase average speed from 25km/h to 26km/h is easier ...

In the light of Lance Armstrong's revelations clearly the answer is that doping has played a significant part in race speeds over the last two decades when it was widespread throughout the sport. None of the data during they period can be relied on and indeed the tour has a long history of doping.So much for cyclings healthy reputation.

This has been a really good discussion! As for bike technology being better today than in the past. I disagree somewhat. I have two high end bikes, one from 1998 and one from 2011. My time over my training course is almost identical. The weight diffence is about 3lbs and one is carbon while the other is steel. The note about looking at TT times. This ...

Among the other good points mentioned, races at the elite/pro level (that aren't short track) are not won by solely through achieving the highest average speed. The difference is whether the competitor can produce the best power output, at the most opportune time. To make a vast generalisation, you ride at the same average speed as you competitors, except ...

Another thing to consider in the question of weight of a bicycle wheel is the distribution of the weight and the effect it has on its rotational inertia. A wheel with fewer spokes and deeper rim profile (typically necessary to handle having fewer spokes) will be more efficient in terms of aerodynamics, but will be more difficult for the rider to accelerate. ...

Why did early manufacturers of safety bicycles put the drivetrain on the right? I have no evidence for this, but it's always struck me that a large part of the reason is surely that the safety bicycle originated in a country where you drive on the left. When you're pushing your bicycle, or mounting or dismounting it, you're less likely to get chain oil on ...