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The Competition Bicycle: A Photographic History by Jan Heine

By Angela Sucich

Any book depicting a photographic history aims to provide its readers with a window into time — a distinct viewpoint — and also to be a key for understanding its subject matter in the scope of history. Jan Heine’s The Competition Bicycle does just that, building its narrative around 34 bicycles and constructing a general impression of their historical context. Photographer Jean-Pierre Pradères’ high glossy photos offer a virtual window into the bicycle’s evolving technology, while author Heine’s instructive chapters set bicycle design amid the culture of competitive cycling.

The Competition Bicycle is Heine’s second book (his first was The Golden Age of Handbuilt Bicycles), and here again he pays loving attention to the function and artistry of the bike. Beginning with the big front-wheeled racing machines of the 1880s, the author chronicles over a century’s worth of bicycle innovation, up to 1994, when Tony Rominger broke the hour record on his aerodynamic Colnago track bike. The book’s scope is international, spanning Europe and America, with a logical emphasis on France and Italy.

Helping impart order on its historical sweep is an index at the beginning and a bike specifications page at the back of the book. The latter identifies such details as the parts that are not original to each photographed bike, parts Heine is unsure about, whether and to what extent the bike was restored (like the complete restoration of a René Herse Tandem) and whether the bike is a replica of an original.

Most chapters are organized around important cycling moments, like the introduction of a new frame design. For example, the “Safety” bikes of the 1890s, which introduced the chain-and-cog drive system, signaling a dramatic shift away from the more dangerous High Wheeler design, or the outlandish Dursley-Pedersen model bike of 1903, with its triangulated frame and woven bicycle seat suspended like a hammock.

In some chapters, it is a type of racing that is emphasized to suggest the spirit of the time: “Six Day” track races were all the rage in the roaring ‘20s; women’s racing was recognized at the 1937 National Championships; courier or “porteur” racing was popular in Paris in the 1950s, as was cyclotouring competition (randonneuring).

In other sections the spotlight is on people — famous racers and influential builders. Heine provides a riveting account of rivals Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi’s grudging collaboration that won them top finishes in the 1949 Tour de France, and he gives a no less exciting report of Geneviève Gambillon’s sprint to victory in the 1972 World Championships in Montréal, Canada. Her winning René Herse racing bike is also featured in the book.

The bicycles of some of the most recognized competitors are also included — beautifully photographed bikes once raced by Eddy Merckx, Peter Weigle, Greg Lemond, Francesco Moser, Andy Hampsten and others.

Readers fascinated with “old-school” technology will love the photo detailing, from close-ups of the Safety’s cloth-covered wooden rims and pneumatic tire valves, to the 1927 Alcyon’s seatpost-fitted oil reservoir (for lubing the chain on the fly), to the numerous weight-saving holes drilled into the rear derailleur and saddle of Peter Weigle’s 1975 time trial bike. Readers who are new to bicycle mechanics will appreciate these pictorial details, which helpfully illustrate what Heine discusses in his chapters.

Given the gear-centric focus of The Competition Bicycle, the author is just as interested in the human element of bike racing, and the book approaches the one through the other. In his preface Heine writes: “As far as possible, I have selected original machines with competition histories, which tell their stories through sweat-stained handlebar tape and well-worn saddles.” Throughout, the author reveals a curiosity about the signs of wear-and-tear and the personalized details that riders have left on their racing machines, from the scrawled gear ratios that Bruce Waddell taped to the stem on his 1965 Cinelli Supercorsa, to the dents that Frank Bartell left on his Six-Day racer bike (ouch). Like an archeologist, Heine looks to these minute details for insight into the bikes’ competition histories. The “Cycles Barret, Champion de France” inscription on the High Wheeler’s head tube records for posterity an otherwise unknown frame maker. An engraving on the head badge of French manufacturer Labor’s 1910 “Tour de France” frame reveals the inspiration for its top tube design (a railroad bridge). Readers can view these details up close in Pradères’ excellent photos, a view enhanced by the book’s larger format (9.5” x 12”).

In his closing words, Heine concedes that, in some cases, “It is impossible to prove that the bikes were ridden by the famous racers in specific events.” This disclaimer may raise a flag for some readers, though others may appreciate the transparency. Heine concludes: “Overall, I am confident that most bikes in these pages are what they purport to be.” What is certain is this: seeing these bicycles in all their photographic glory will undoubtedly captivate readers and inspire in them a sense of wonder about bike racing history.

The Competition Bicycle: A Photographic History

Jan Heine, hardcover, 76 pages, Vintage Bicycle Press, $60