An inside look at the 1991 Motorola Cycling Team as they prepare and race the major Spring Classics. Gent-Wevelgem - Paris Roubaix - La Fleche Wallonne - Leige Bastogne Liege
I worked for Motorola outside of Chicago back then and was a casual roadie. It was such a treat when they visited and we got them to sign our posters. I had the same Motorola shorts as they wore and we started our own bicycle club, the Motorola Bicycle Club of Libertyville. MBCL, "The imbeciles". Eventually I rode from London to Paris via Amsterdam on a vacation. Great times, for sure.
Like many of the comments here, the 80's and 90's were my era for racing and seeing all the gear, riders and races brings back so many memories. It really was a treat!
I have no nostalgic attachment to this era, but early 90s and older cycling is just so fascinating. The equipment, colors, individuals, style, etc. makes me love older bikes. It just was more genuine it seems like. Can't believe now bikes have hydraulic disk brakes, electronic shifting, no cables, computers, it's almost like its becoming motorcycles without the motors, but at HIGHER prices than actual motorcycles!!
If you watch footage of the '90 Tour, you can see the 7-Eleven team using STI on their bikes. Pretty common to see the pros using stuff a year or two before it goes on sale to the public. I remember, though, when 8-speed came out: it was a big deal! Different frame spacing for one thing.
you are right-it changed from 126 to 130 mm,and the whole shimano groupset 7400 was a revolution! They also changed the brake from monoplaner to a 2 axis brake,the STI‘s made it possible to change gears without your hand leaving the handlebars,the stem was a closed model like cinelli style. The next step was even better with the 7700 9-speed drive train,that was the time when Shimano had it’s 25th anniversary, and therefore tuned up the groupset with titanium screws and axles,giving the whole groupset a handpolished finish! Til today this is my favorite groupset,i just mixed it with 7800 Sti shifters to have a 10 speed cassette behind. The rear derailleur you could get with 3 different cage lenghts,they had a short cage with BIG 40 mm pulleys(less friction), and not to forget the octalink bottom bracket,in my experience the best one you could possibly get,with alltogether 4 bearings- I never had any issues with that,once correctly installed this bottom bracket runs and runs and runs!No annoying noises!
My first racing-bike had 52/42-16. I used to envy my older bro, who run as a professional for Brooklyn, because he was free to set 53 or 54x13!!! If I don't get wrong, there was no 12 yet. Technology at the time seemed have reached its best... I was a Campagnolo fan: Shimano had just shown up, and I simply hated it!
So lucky that these cycling documentaries were shown i was 16 in 91 and in South Africa we did not have shows like this.We had a big cycling following too.
I'd not seen the crash of Lauritzen in the '90 worlds before watching this (thank you for posting!). No wonder he was furious for so long afterwards! So stupid by de Wolf
Ha love this, I was living and racing in kortrijk just above Roubaix in 91 I even saw madiot win as I was on the sidelines on the course. Used to see the team walking around town even gave Yates etc a tip on where to eat.
when i raced in 1990's in Los Angeles as a 16 years of age. we would train & race with Jr Gears that were governed by the USCF...we have come along way today... there was also rumors in the peleton of a Super Jr named Frankie Andreu who would be hailed as the New Greg Lemond. i met frankie andreu at the Kern's Classic he was always kind,respectful and just a great Human Being.
A superb production all-around. Some of these guys were with 7-Eleven, and that team really looked cool. Eddy Merckx advise to Andy Hampsten to train and get stronger while actually racing made sense to me.
Holy christ... these guys were using 8 speed, 12-23 cassettes to climb the french hills in Liege Baston Liege.... with a got damn 39 tooth small ring in the front.... My knees can feel that shit... ahahahaha... 1:11:20
this brings back a memory of having 7 speed state of the art shimano shifters only to find out 8 speed is the new standard. what a relief to find out the secret which was rhe 7 speed shifters had 1 extra click so you could use them with an 8 speed cassette!!
and when Campy tried to duplicate Shimanos index shifters it was a complete clusterf*@k with those tiny plastic rings that NEVER duplicated Shimano. Campy sponsored teams just went back to using friction mode. Though they were bragging about the aero-looking C-Record components.. In 1990 Shimano introduced STI brifters and took two years for Ergopower brifters to come out and had flaws! WTF! The rest was history...
great video , I love it , and bring up a true in the cycling world , the true is that once up on the time a cyclist namaded Bob Roll had hair in the top of his head , , Bob is a great guy
We got two of these for our daughters th-cam.com/users/postUgkxHL1v1R3NE5x4KiYfyt8dnQmyNYz7qi5L the same size for age 6 and 9. It works very well for both girls. Gears were very easy for them to learn. Changing gears up takes some hand strength and is a bit hard, but they are learning. They did not come with water bottle holders- we actually got confused and thought the Derailler Guard was the bottle holder!! Regardless of these details, the bikes are fantastic- even our six year old who only just learned to ride bikes caught on within an hour of practice and loves it. Lightweight and easy for them to handle. All the parts are in excellent condition and the bikes are easy to assemble and very well packaged. Great choice for kids!
My naked bike riding club is called Shell Riders. We enjoy the freedom and feeling of riding 'nakey'. Is there anyone else in Diamontina that would like to join us?
Michael Zaug no,they weren‘t clean at that time. They have never been clean.No Tour de france ever was ridden without help. In the beginnings they used alcohol,then amphetamin/cocaine,painkillers of all sort,ephedrine, steroids,morphins,growth hormons and cortison,to name a few. The thing about doping is that it is not only for the race but also to recover faster as they have many race days in the year. Especially in the grand tours it is essential to recover, because one weak day can cost you everything! So in cycling as the riders get older and retire they might find a new job inside this business,in the team as a caregiver So they will pass their „experience“ down to the younger riders,some kind of a vicious circle,a secret society within the sport.You can’t perform races like the grand tours with water and bread,the enormous effort of more than 20 one day classics in a row is just too much
Lance wasn't on the team in 1991.... Frankie Andreau who worked his ass for him and was loyal only to receive death threats from the ass was. Every single person on the 1991 team has more integrity in their little toe than Lance.
@@elbob248 says: "Really?" == Yes, I'm pretty sure. It is a word to separate single stage from multiple stage races. The latter are called "Tour" as in Tour de France.
@@elbob248 says: "There is a thing called a sense of irony. Get one.@allgoo19" == The topic here is about bicycle racing not English. I'm curious, "irony" because?
Your bitter witch hunt Liberal mentality is spot on even with a two word liner. and the Captain Obvious award goes to... BTW not all of them were. If you were in contention to place REALLY high in the overall standings in a race as a rider in the peloton then yeah.
I worked for Motorola outside of Chicago back then and was a casual roadie. It was such a treat when they visited and we got them to sign our posters. I had the same Motorola shorts as they wore and we started our own bicycle club, the Motorola Bicycle Club of Libertyville. MBCL, "The imbeciles".
Eventually I rode from London to Paris via Amsterdam on a vacation.
Great times, for sure.
Like many of the comments here, the 80's and 90's were my era for racing and seeing all the gear, riders and races brings back so many memories. It really was a treat!
I have no nostalgic attachment to this era, but early 90s and older cycling is just so fascinating. The equipment, colors, individuals, style, etc. makes me love older bikes. It just was more genuine it seems like. Can't believe now bikes have hydraulic disk brakes, electronic shifting, no cables, computers, it's almost like its becoming motorcycles without the motors, but at HIGHER prices than actual motorcycles!!
Never mind the team. Phil Liggott is the best commentator and should live forever
I like watching these older documentaries. Just seeing how things were and where certain people ended up.
This is a historical must for all roadies, with 'new' innovations such as 8-speed cassettes, radial spokes and lever shifters!
If you watch footage of the '90 Tour, you can see the 7-Eleven team using STI on their bikes. Pretty common to see the pros using stuff a year or two before it goes on sale to the public. I remember, though, when 8-speed came out: it was a big deal! Different frame spacing for one thing.
you are right-it changed from 126 to 130 mm,and the whole shimano groupset 7400 was a revolution!
They also changed the brake from monoplaner to a 2 axis brake,the STI‘s made it possible to change gears without
your hand leaving the handlebars,the stem was a closed model like cinelli style.
The next step was even better with the 7700 9-speed drive train,that was the time when Shimano had it’s 25th anniversary,
and therefore tuned up the groupset with titanium screws and axles,giving the whole groupset a handpolished finish!
Til today this is my favorite groupset,i just mixed it with 7800 Sti shifters to have a 10 speed cassette behind.
The rear derailleur you could get with 3 different cage lenghts,they had a short cage with BIG 40 mm pulleys(less friction),
and not to forget the octalink bottom bracket,in my experience the best one you could possibly get,with alltogether 4 bearings-
I never had any issues with that,once correctly installed this bottom bracket runs and runs and runs!No annoying noises!
Chapeau for the Merckx interview as any time with him and Phil is to be cherished.
39x23 for Liege. Humans where just tougher back then. No spin to win in 91
My first racing-bike had 52/42-16. I used to envy my older bro, who run as a professional for Brooklyn, because he was free to set 53 or 54x13!!! If I don't get wrong, there was no 12 yet. Technology at the time seemed have reached its best... I was a Campagnolo fan: Shimano had just shown up, and I simply hated it!
So lucky that these cycling documentaries were shown i was 16 in 91 and in South Africa we did not have shows like this.We had a big cycling following too.
in the year 1991 I was 15 years old being from July 11... almost 16 years old, a wonderful time
What a great find, thanks four posting it, Kendrick.
Thanks for uploading. This is great!
I have a 1991 Team RMO Gitane Vitus triple butted steel with Time Carbon composite forks, it also came with Dura Ace 8 speed groupset :o)
massive respect for posting this
Wow ! Treating a bleeding cut with no gloves! Folks were tough back then
Thanks for uploading! Love it
Great documentary. Cycling is so different today. I don't think it's better. It will be interesting to see what it's like in ten years.
7 years but disc brakes suck and they are most likely still all doping
I'd not seen the crash of Lauritzen in the '90 worlds before watching this (thank you for posting!). No wonder he was furious for so long afterwards! So stupid by de Wolf
And that was his second crash of the day too
1:07:00 Hampsten talking to Merckx has a kid in front of the headmaster dynamic to it
Ha love this, I was living and racing in kortrijk just above Roubaix in 91 I even saw madiot win as I was on the sidelines on the course. Used to see the team walking around town even gave Yates etc a tip on where to eat.
Love that explanation of STI shifters.😅
LOL, i Have this on VHS....Love it! A young John Tomack!
Thanks for uploading!
when i raced in 1990's in Los Angeles as a 16 years of age. we would train & race with Jr Gears that were governed by the USCF...we have come along way today... there was also rumors in the peleton of a Super Jr named Frankie Andreu who would be hailed as the New Greg Lemond. i met frankie andreu at the Kern's Classic he was always kind,respectful and just a great Human Being.
Gracias
Buen documental. Suban más de la misma época.
A superb production all-around. Some of these guys were with 7-Eleven, and that team really looked cool. Eddy Merckx advise to Andy Hampsten to train and get stronger while actually racing made sense to me.
De company
Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for this one!
+Simone white You are welcome. I'm glad I get to share it. It's a lost gem
I just love these epic races,there is nothing to compare with,only
the strongest will survive and see the finish line
Holy christ... these guys were using 8 speed, 12-23 cassettes to climb the french hills in Liege Baston Liege.... with a got damn 39 tooth small ring in the front.... My knees can feel that shit... ahahahaha... 1:11:20
Yeah, back when real men climbed on the big ring, especially the Italians. It led to a lot of short careers.
I picked up on that, too. Not too many people staying in the saddle for those climbs....
28* wheels were just for time trials in the years prior, nice Paul Sherwen cameo , too!
Had to dig into my suitcase of courage to watch all this!!!! (And I can’t remember if that was Phil or Paul)
Thank you for this. 👍🏻
You are welcome Jesus
Thanks for the upload
My pleasure
Great video thanks
Holy crap...he has hair 😯😮😯😮
Merckx naming off those races to Hampsten, in his mind he’s like won that one, won that one etc
Greg LeMond, tech pioneer. Awesome 👏🏻 ! Love those Rock Shox.
this brings back a memory of having 7 speed state of the art shimano shifters only to find out 8 speed is the new standard. what a relief to find out the secret which was rhe 7 speed shifters had 1 extra click so you could use them with an 8 speed cassette!!
and when Campy tried to duplicate Shimanos index shifters it was a complete clusterf*@k with those tiny plastic rings that NEVER duplicated Shimano.
Campy sponsored teams just went back to using friction mode. Though they were bragging about the aero-looking C-Record components..
In 1990 Shimano introduced STI brifters and took two years for Ergopower brifters to come out and had flaws! WTF! The rest was history...
this is awesome
Steve Bauer! The Fenwick flyer!!
I love the mechanical feel of the old 8 and 9 speed Dura-Ace compared to newer 11 speed Dura-Ace.
"Cobblestone" is Flemish for "Ow my balls."
joynthis "he interrupted me when I was watching 'ow my balls' "
Joe Smith III
Brawndo! It’s got what plants crave. It has electrolytes!
Wow I never knew John Tomac went road cycling. For anyone who doesn't know, He's the father of pro motocross racer Eli Tomac...
yep, he rode a season or two with 7-Eleven and Motorola... and still doing some MTB
Thank you
24:37 "Do you want to hit that TV?" Ha.
During the Eddy Merckx interview, alI can hear is Matt Stephens as Kenny Van Vlamink
haha bob roll!!! 3:05
thanks
great video , I love it , and bring up a true in the cycling world , the true is that once up on the time a cyclist namaded Bob Roll had hair in the top of his head , , Bob is a great guy
We got two of these for our daughters th-cam.com/users/postUgkxHL1v1R3NE5x4KiYfyt8dnQmyNYz7qi5L the same size for age 6 and 9. It works very well for both girls. Gears were very easy for them to learn. Changing gears up takes some hand strength and is a bit hard, but they are learning. They did not come with water bottle holders- we actually got confused and thought the Derailler Guard was the bottle holder!! Regardless of these details, the bikes are fantastic- even our six year old who only just learned to ride bikes caught on within an hour of practice and loves it. Lightweight and easy for them to handle. All the parts are in excellent condition and the bikes are easy to assemble and very well packaged. Great choice for kids!
good video, realistic impression of pro cyclist life
My naked bike riding club is called Shell Riders. We enjoy the freedom and feeling of riding 'nakey'. Is there anyone else in Diamontina that would like to join us?
23:30 Explains the “latest” in technology...early STI.
I have in 2022 9speed-sora! I happi
PLATES of pasta the night before!..🤣
CB Radio Mic rare these days and
The words Steve Bauer say pic
Your guts up off the ground
At 16:10, as Bauer is interviewed, a reporter’s mic nearly bumps the glasses off his face. Bauer remains cool 😎, does not even react.
44.52 There's also the EPO "medical shelf," but we can't show that on camera...
That`s old!
Bradley Wggins at 1:14:28
Andy Bishop
BMXer Tomac !
How much food do they eat.😅😅
Fignon has lemond's old TDF number 😂
So did they suck because they were clean?
Michael Zaug no,they weren‘t clean at that time.
They have never been clean.No Tour de france ever was ridden without help.
In the beginnings they used alcohol,then amphetamin/cocaine,painkillers of all sort,ephedrine,
steroids,morphins,growth hormons and cortison,to name a few.
The thing about doping is that it is not only for the race but also to recover faster as they have many
race days in the year.
Especially in the grand tours it is essential to recover, because one weak day can cost you everything!
So in cycling as the riders get older and retire they might find a new job inside this business,in the team as a caregiver
So they will pass their „experience“ down to the younger riders,some kind of a vicious circle,a secret society within the
sport.You can’t perform races like the grand tours with water and bread,the enormous effort of more than 20 one day classics
in a row is just too much
Michael Zaug Hardly sucked 4th in Paris Rubaix is probably not clean either.
Lance ❤
Lance wasn't on the team in 1991.... Frankie Andreau who worked his ass for him and was loyal only to receive death threats from the ass was. Every single person on the 1991 team has more integrity in their little toe than Lance.
@@johngaller278 Lance gave victories next years
@@johngaller278 Lance will be Motorola Icon forever
@@johngaller278BETSY FOR PRESIDENT!!!!! (Frankie married way above his chainring)
"Classic" means one day one stage race in cycling lingo.
Really?
@@elbob248 says:
"Really?"
==
Yes, I'm pretty sure.
It is a word to separate single stage from multiple stage races.
The latter are called "Tour" as in Tour de France.
There is a thing called a sense of irony. Get one.@@allgoo1964
@@elbob248 says:
"There is a thing called a sense of irony. Get one.@allgoo19"
==
The topic here is about bicycle racing not English.
I'm curious, "irony" because?
Wooooow this i doping YEAR 1.... Rolf Sørensen exploding... Arioste dope, Gewis dope etc...
Y
All dopers
Your bitter witch hunt Liberal mentality is spot on even with a two word liner.
and the Captain Obvious award goes to...
BTW not all of them were. If you were in contention to place REALLY high in the overall standings in a race as a rider in the peloton then yeah.
We don’t care it’s pro sport a show a man sport watch curling instead
testosteron and epo approved...hehehehe...
i think even phil was on the juice at that time! for that matter i think it was in the water!!! haha
All on drugs
We don’t care it’s pro sport a show a man sport watch curling instead
Pudgy club cyclists. No difference.
massive respect for posting this
massive respect for posting this
Thank you very much