The bar at the front of the bike was also used to tow the bike up to a speed, something that is necessary because of the incredibly high gear ratios involved
This Shimano Deore mechanical brake lever has been repurposed to work as a release for the tow connection at the front of the bike
The tow release cable is in the form of a repurposed rear brake lever
Hope Tech Evo lever for the M4 Evo front disc brake
Guy’s name sits proudly next to the wrap-over seatstay design – a signature feature of many Brian Rourke frames
The second of Hope’s two custom 60-tooth chainrings used on this bike – notice that power is transferred to the left side of the bike from the right
Hope also provided the wheel build for the bike
Fi’zi:k Gobi XM saddle and Hope seatpost combo
Two bottom brackets, two chainrings and one fixed hub
Continental’s balloon-like 50mm Top Contact tyres were used
The tyres still have their sprues from the manufacturing process!
The final drive figures for the gearing mean that the rear wheel would turn 15 times for every complete revolution of the one-off Hope cranks
The Rourke logo sits below his signature wrap-over seatstays
Hope have a good relationship with Guy and were responsible for nearly all of the components on the build
The record breaking machine is still covered in sand – that’s because Guy asked for it not to be cleaned
Both the crankset and chainrings are custom parts produced by Hope
The driveside chainstay featurings a cutout to allow for the correct chainline
It’s funny to think that this machine has been used at speeds higher than most motorcycles will ever reach
The eccentric bottom bracket shell can be used to fine-tune chain tension for one of the sets of gears
The tow-release system is simple if not pretty
We don’t have exact figures but the Rourke’s head angle looks as slack as we’d expect it to be considering the speeds involved!
The 26in Mavic EN521 rims wear 50mm Continental Top Contact rubber
The Hope Pro 2 Evo front hub is laced to a 26in Mavic EN521 rim
The left-hand drive fixed hub is a one off
The chainstay, seatstay and additional tube all connect neatly at the horizontal rear drop-outs
Cable ties and an old inner tube can solve most problems. Fact
Exhibited among products from Hope Technology at this year’s Core Bike Show was this record-breaking land speed bike. Still dirty from its record-breaking venture on the sands of Pendine, this is officially the fastest bike in Britain. We take a closer look at Guy Martin’s custom Rourke.
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For those who aren’t already familiar with this machine, this was the bike that Isle of Man TT racer Guy Martin pedalled to 112.94mph while travelling in the slipstream of a 1,000hp racing truck, breaking the British record for outright speed on a bicycle in the process.
The frame is the work of UK-based custom builder Jason Rourke of Rourke Handbuilt Cycles, constructed from Reynolds 853 tubing it features a unique fixed, twin-chain drivetrain complete with two custom 60-tooth chainrings.
The succesful record attempt took place at Pendine Sands, South Wales, and was one of several that Guy attempted to break during his Speed television series that recently aired on Channel 4. Take a flick through our image gallery for more details on this record-breaking rig.
Spec list:
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Frame: Custom Rourke Reynolds 853
Fork: Rourke custom disc
Headset: Hope
Stem: Hope XC
Handlebars: Easton flat alloy
Grips: Funn
Front brake: Hope M4 Evo front disc brake and floating rotor
Rear brake: None
Brake levers: Hope Tech Evo / Shimano Deore Mechanical
Chain: 2x SRAM
Crankset: Hope custom with 2x 60T chainrings
Bottom bracket: Hope X2
Wheelset: Mavic EN521 rims on Hope Pro 2 Evo / Hope custom left hand drive fixed rear hub
