# Pro Cycling cheats



## RIPPERTON (Jan 26, 2010)

http://cyclingtips.com/2015/04/hidden-motors-for-road-bikes-exist-heres-how-they-work/

http://cyclingtips.com/2015/07/hidden-motor-demonstration-with-greg-lemond/

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jan/30/hidden-motor-bike-world-cyclo-cross-championships


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## Karter2 (Nov 17, 2011)

RIPPERTON said:


> Heres how Cancellara powers up hills. Brilliant micro motor and bevel gears drive crank axle. The only problem is the motor is too powerful and is easy to detect.
> ]


Yep, when that extra 100W kicks in and the front wheel pops up, it's so obvious 
..but an extra 100W or even 50W is a serious advantage on a long climb !
This gear is so well known now, only a really dumb rider (and team) would be stupid enough to try it in serious competition
...I think they are using IR temp guns now, to do quick checks during stages to detect the heat from motors ?


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## okashira (Mar 1, 2015)

Karter2 said:


> Yep, when that extra 100W kicks in and the front wheel pops up, it's so obvious
> ..but an extra 100W or even 50W is a serious advantage on a long climb !
> This gear is so well known now, only a really dumb rider (and team) would be stupid enough to try it in serious competition
> ...I think they are using IR temp guns now, to do quick checks during stages to detect the heat from motors ?


Pretty sure even 25W would put a guy from middle of the pack to the front on a high level.


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## PhantomPholly (Aug 20, 2008)

Yeah, oftentimes the difference between victory and also-ran is less than 1%. There was a big brouhaha a few years ago when a swimmer was the first one to use a new swimsuit based on the science behind shark skin, which reduced his overall drag by some crazy amount like 5%. Personally I think it was brilliant since it was passive use of technology, but all of the losers whined so loud you could hear it on the moon.

Time is fast approaching when contestants will have to be strip searched, fluoroscoped, and sequestered for weeks before a competition to insure no cheating. They will still find a way, however...


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## RIPPERTON (Jan 26, 2010)

A cyclist could run a motor at 20W for all the flat and uphill sections of the whole race and be undetectable. You could even make a cheater bike go the same speed as a legit bike just by putting less leg power into it and thereby reducing fatigue across the whole Tour.
Also theres the problem of noise. Most cyclists are not very astute when it comes to mechanical things but if a cheater was next to me when he engaged the motor at 250W I would pick the gear whine straight away.
In the first video at 5m55s when Cancellara powers up the cobbled hill the guy next to him would definitely have been able to hear something if it wasnt for the roar of the crowd.
Even with helical gears there is that unmistakable whirring plus I think there are also planetarys between the motor and bevel gear.


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## Karter2 (Nov 17, 2011)

At those low power levels (25-50W), couldn't they find some other "passive" power system other than motors and gears etc ?
Thinking some kind of induction drive direct to the wheel rim ?


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## PhantomPholly (Aug 20, 2008)

Karter2 said:


> At those low power levels (25-50W), couldn't they find some other "passive" power system other than motors and gears etc ?
> Thinking some kind of induction drive direct to the wheel rim ?


Induction wouldn't work too well on an aluminum rim; nor on a composite one...


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