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Bruce Bursford (29 April 1958 – 9 February 2000) was a British sportsman from Dereham, Norfolk who broke the record for the fastest speed on a bicycle on a treadmill at 334.6 km/h in 1995.[1] He designed the bicycles Ultimate and Millennium.
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 and Formula 1 came from Bursford himself. In 1995 he achieved 334.6 km/h breaking the record by 88 km/h[2] on a rolling road in the Malcolm Campbell building[3] at Brooklands Museum in Surrey, England. To achieve the speed, conditions were simulated whereby Burford was "towed" until he reached 100 mph (160 km/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 mph (97 km/h) in two seconds at the start of the attempt.[4] 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.[5]
Bursford's 'Ultimate' bike won him a Millennium Product Award.[6]
Uri Geller helped him train his mind during record bids.[6]
Bursford died in a collision with a truck while training on the A47 at Easton near his home in Dereham, Norfolk.[6]
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