The Aussie super bike that will drop from $97,979 to $10,000 after the games

Dubbed “the fastest bike in the world,’’ the Australian cycling pursuit team will use a super bike that was placed on the market at a deliberately inflated price so rival teams copy its groundbreaking secrets.

The secrets of Australia’s $97,979 Olympic super bike have been kept away from the rest of the world following a cagey sales plan that foiled rival nations.

But will the much-anticipated reveal of the radical investment join Ben Lexcen’s Winged Keel in Australian sporting folklore, or prove to be an expensive and embarrassing flop?

Dubbed “the fastest bike in the world,’’ the newly minted Hanso track bike was placed on the market at a deliberately inflated price so rival teams didn’t buy it and copy its groundbreaking secrets.

The plan worked because no rival nation was prepared to pay the big bucks, meaning Australia’s pursuit team in Paris will have the benefit of a bike which has been the result of several years of research which explored the boundaries of how far technology can legally be pushed.

The bike was constructed after forensic testing by Taiwanese-based firm Factor in collaboration with Cycling Australian researchers,

The super bike will be on show at the Paris Games. Picture: Sarah Reed/Getty Images

After the Games the price of the bike will drop from $97,979 to around $10,000 but, for the moment, Australia gets to keep the secrets.

Under Games rules, all bikes used in Paris have to be ridden in international competition a year out from the Games (which this bike was at last year’s World Championships) and be available to be purchased by the general public.

So Australia put it on the market at the same price you would pay for a new Mercedes.

“It is really a game of cat and mouse for one year and one day,’’ Factor owner Rob Gitelis told this masthead.

“No-one ordered the bike. If they had we would have had to deliver it in two months based on the official rules. And we would have taken that two months.

“We think it is the fastest bike in the world. Bikes are confirmed by certain rules how they have to look and the shape of them. It is like Formula One.

“It is how you manipulate those rules in your favour. We had a lot of back and forth with the governing body. We presented some ideas to them which had never been done.

“We settled on the design we took to the computers. We did hundreds of runs and scans on the computer and compared our bike to the bikes used in previous Olympics.

“We knew right away our bike was quite a bit faster than the previous bikes and met the goals set by the Aussie cycling team.

“We measure the amount of drag in the product and we found there was a reduction of around 7 per cent which is good.’’

Australia's $97k Olympic track bike designed by Factor. Picture: Supplied

Like any new sporting innovation, there is also an element of risk and importantly do the riders have belief and confidence that it will perform when it matters most?

AusCycling chief engineer Paul Collins has been pivotal to the delivery of the bike, calling on the aerodynamic expertise of two Australian-based companies Sync Ergonomics and Laminar2 Turbulent.

“Probably the highest value that Paul has brought in is actually developing standards around equipment requirements and safety in manufacturing and testing procedures,’’ Aus Cycling GM of performance Jesse Kori said.

“In particular on the track where there’s a lot of custom development.

“You can get something that is fast, but at the end of the day, if it fails or it’s not safe, then we’ve failed.

“Paul has been driving that side of the fence.

“That’s in terms of the lay-up and the manufacturing and prototyping where we looked after the design of the aerodynamics.

“We partnered with some Australian brands (Sync Ergonomics and Laminar2 Turbulent) who have experience in cockpit design and worked with Formula One teams.

“Together with them we did all the aero design that went into the bike.

“It really is an Australian endeavour to see what the best of Australia could look like if we bring it together.’’

Originally published as The Aussie super bike that will drop from $97,979 to $10,000 after the games