Bruce Bursford was a British sportsman who broke the record for the fastest speed on a bicycle at 334.6 km/h in 1995.. He designed the bicycles Ultimate and Millennium which were made aerodynamically efficient to cut down wind resistance.

History

Bruce Bursford was a schoolboy cycling champion and claimed nine speed records.

The idea for a bicycle to be made using the advanced materials and techniques usually found in aerospace

Aerospace

Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...

 and Formula 1 came from Bursford himself. In 1995 he achieved 334.6 km/h breaking the record by 88 km/h on a roller in the Malcolm Campbell building in Surrey

Surrey

Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. To achieve the speed, conditions were simulated whereby Burford was "towed" until he reached 100 mi/h. The towline was then "released", and he was left to pedal.

Bursford's speed was attained during a half-minute interval with him reaching 60 mi/h in two seconds at the start of the attempt. This feat was achieved on his specially built bike called the Millennium Cycle. The record-breaking machine used silica tyres filled with helium and ceramic bearings designed to revolve with minimum friction.

Bursford's 'Ultimate' bike won him a Millennium Product Award.

Uri Geller

Uri Geller

Uri Geller is a self-proclaimed psychic known for his trademark television performances of spoon bending and other supposed psychic effects. Throughout the years, Geller has been accused of using simple conjuring tricks to achieve the effects of psychokinesis and telepathy...

helped him train his mind during record bids.

Bursford died in an collision with a van while training.