Founded And Designed By John Aldridge And Is The World's Fastest Racing Bike Thanks To Its One Of A Kind Aerodynamic Design
The Bird Of Prey looks downright fast. And that's because it is. Known as the world's fastest racing bike, the Bird Of Prey is all about aerodynamic design. When it comes to a triathlon course – the curves, the hills – the Bird Of Prey is nearly unstoppable, leaving even professional riders on traditional triathlon bikes in the dust.
Sixty-nine year old John Aldridge is the founder and designer of Bird Of Prey. He is also an avid Bird Of Prey user. Noting that there's nobody that can touch him in a downhill race, Aldridge has ridden the Bird Of Prey into first place for his age group in Long Beach and Riverside, third place in Apple Valley and fourth place in Solana Beach (his first ever triathlon).
So what makes the Bird Of Prey so aerodynamic? Architect Aldridge said it's all in the frontal area, the part of the bike exposed to wind. He explained: “If you look straight on at the Bird Of Prey, it's a very small frontal area. With a regular bike, the rider is in a sitting position with their legs straight down, clipped to the pedals. That creates a parachute effect, making a normal bike very slow.”
To make up for this disadvantage, triathletes and cyclists will bend over at the waist, getting their head and back as straight with the ground as they can. But this causes the rider to lift their knees to their chest, a sort of “trade off,” said Aldridge, “because now they put out less power.”
With the Bird Of Prey, the rider is stretched out in a “swimming position” at all times. But despite appearances, the rider isn't laying on their stomach. There are two pads the rider lays on, causing them to lay on the front protrusions of their hip…the iliac crest. The aluminum Bird Of Prey is also a semi-prone bike, which means the riders' heads are in a “heads-up position” so they don't have to hold their heads up, hurting their necks.
It's no surprise that Aldridge has thought of everything and created the ultimate racing bike. To Aldridge, bicycles are a “strange form of architecture” in their form and function. He is used to taking a concept and turning it into reality, similar to a building.
An avid bike rider since 1990, Aldridge began to realize that the wind was pushing him back as he went down really steep hills. He wanted to go faster. He wanted to get down lower, flatter. He wanted more speed.
So after he came back from riding one day he made a sketch, which took him all of 15 minutes. “I conceived it in those 15 minutes,” he explains. “Over time you take in data and your brain digests it all. All of a sudden it just comes together. All great architects will tell you that they spend a lot of time talking to the client, looking at all of the information. They'll sit down and start designing and it just comes out of nowhere. It took only 15 minutes to come up with the design but it took over 20 years to plan it.”
Bird Of Prey started selling bikes almost a year ago. Aldridge has already received orders all over the world, including Singapore, France, England and United Arab Emirates. He started selling the bike to continue with innovation, but also to keep riding and entering races.
“That's my nature,” said Aldridge, who grew up in a small town called Kokomo in Indiana. “My fingers tingle when I get out here on the coastal highway and see a bunch of bike riders. Because I know I can catch them. I just have fun with it. There are some fast, professional riders that give me trouble. If they got on the Bird, there's no way I can keep up with them. But on the Bird, I can keep up with them, or pass them downhill.”
While growing up, Aldridge was always riding bikes. He still remembers the first time he rode a bike at four years old. To Aldridge, bikes had given him the freedom to go where he wanted as a kid in a small town. He never thought he'd soon create a bike that was featured in National Geographic and on Dr. Phil.
“It's amazing how excited people are about the bike,” he said. As interest in the Bird Of Prey continues growing, so has the company. Up until this date, Aldridge had every bike built by a “very skilled craftsman” Russ Benny, who has built bikes for the past 35 years.
“He helped make my vision a reality,” said Aldridge. “But Russ is retiring and I have to go to a manufacturing process [with] a company in Huntington Beach. I'm in the beginnings of doing that. It will cut the cost and increase my ability to produce the bikes.”
More bikes sold equals more funds to come up with ways to make the Bird Of Prey even more aerodynamic…a seemingly impossible task. And meanwhile, it also allows Aldridge to keep entering triathlons, to keep chasing his dreams.
Olivia Richman
A graduate of East Connecticut State University in Journalism, Olivia has written for Stonebridge Press & Antiques Marketplace among others. She enjoys writing, running and video games.
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Bird Of Prey, a semi-prone bike that allows you to keep your head up and see the road in front and is labeled the world's fastest racing bicycle. No longer worry about lower back pain or discomfort.