New Bike for Egg: Inside the Fastest Bike on Earth at 89.6 Mph

A practical guide to the new bike for egg-shaped speed records: aerodynamics, gearing, and what the fastest bike in the world teaches builders.

Why the New Bike for Egg Rewrote the Record Books

Eighty-nine miles per hour on leg power alone sounds like a typo until you see the shell. The new bike for egg-shaped speed runs is the clearest proof that aerodynamics, not raw wattage, decides how fast a pedal machine can travel. If you want to understand what separates the fastest bike in the world from everything else on two wheels, the new bike for egg is the machine to study.

The record came from Aerovelo, a Canadian engineering team that treats human-powered vehicles as a design problem rather than a weekend hobby. Their bike, Eta — named after the engineering symbol for efficiency — reached 89.59 mph, adding nearly 3 mph to the team's own previous mark. Popular Mechanics' coverage of the egg-shaped record bike walks through the run, and the details are worth unpacking piece by piece.

What Makes the New Bike for Egg So Fast

Every component answers one question: how do you convert a few hundred watts of pedaling into highway-level speed? The answer is a stack of small advantages that compound.

Design element	What it does	Why it matters
Egg-shaped composite shell	Encloses the rider in a smooth, low-drag body	Cuts aerodynamic drag, the dominant force at speed
Carbon-fiber weave frame	Transmits pedaling force with minimal flex	Sends power to the wheel instead of flexing the body
Reclined recumbent position	Lets the rider push back against a seat	Improves leverage and fits the body inside the shell
93-tooth chainring	Massive front gear for very tall gearing	Turns a modest cadence into high wheel speed
Two-stage drivetrain (39:18)	Steps the gear ratio up a second time	Packs an extreme final drive into a small space
Onboard computer with HUD	Displays sprint timing during the run	Removes guesswork from the decisive acceleration
Twin cameras	Give the rider a view outside a sealed cockpit	Makes a fully enclosed shell practical to pilot

The Egg Is the Whole Trick

At record speeds, most of a rider's energy goes into pushing air aside. A shell that keeps airflow attached and frontal area tiny changes the math entirely. The pilot cannot see over the nose of the machine, so the cockpit stays sealed and vision comes from cameras feeding displays inside — a design choice that exists purely to protect the aerodynamic shape.

Gearing Built for Exactly One Job

The 93-tooth chainring is the visual signature of the new bike for egg-style engineering. Paired with a second-stage 39:18 ratio, it lets a trained rider spin the rear wheel to speeds that would be unrideable with ordinary gearing. The tradeoff is acceleration: the machine takes a long time to build speed, so the rider must hit a precise sprint window. That is exactly what the onboard heads-up display is for.

The Numbers Behind the Fastest Bike

Metric	Figure	Context
Top speed, solo run	89.59 mph	Fastest human-powered land vehicle at the time
Gain over the team's prior record	About 3 mph	Same team, same rider, refined machine
Front chainring	93 teeth	Far larger than a typical road chainring
Second-stage ratio	39:18	Compounds the final drive
Women's bicycle land speed record	147 mph	Set at Bonneville with a pace car providing a slipstream
Pilot	Todd Reichert	Aerovelo engineer and rider

One important caveat: those two headline figures measure different things. The Bonneville number relies on a pace car punching a hole in the air, so it is not a like-for-like comparison. Running on its own, with no vehicle sheltering it, Eta stands as the fastest bicycle in the world.

How a Record Run Actually Works

Step	What happens	Why it matters
1. Course setup	A straight, smooth strip is prepared and measured	A record needs a repeatable, timed distance
2. Rider fit	The pilot is positioned for leverage and visibility	Power output and control both depend on fit
3. Warm-up laps	Long, steady laps build familiarity	The machine is awkward at low speed
4. Acceleration	Speed is built gradually, not in one surge	Tall gearing punishes sudden efforts
5. Sprint window	A timed all-out effort across the measured strip	The HUD tells the rider precisely when to go
6. Recovery and repeat	Runs are repeated and the best one counts	Records are earned across multiple attempts

Builders in the human-powered vehicle community report the same lesson repeatedly: preparation, tire choice, and line discipline matter as much as the hardware. A perfect machine with a sloppy run plan still goes home without a record.

New Bike for Egg vs. Other Fast Bicycles

Type	Rider position	Aero protection	Practicality	Best use
Record streamliner (new bike for egg class)	Reclined, fully enclosed	Complete shell	Very low — needs a crew and a closed course	Record attempts
Velomobile	Reclined, partly enclosed	Partial shell	Moderate — usable on roads in many regions	Fast commuting and touring
Aero road bike	Upright, aggressive	None	High	Racing and fast group rides
Standard road bike	Upright	None	High	Everyday riding

The gap between rows is not really about fitness. It is about how much air the rider has to move. That is why the new bike for egg approach wins: it removes the rider from the wind almost completely, then engineers everything else around that single decision.

What Builders Can Steal From the New Bike for Egg

You will probably never ride a fully enclosed streamliner, but the design logic transfers to ordinary bikes and to anyone chasing personal speed goals.

Fix fit before buying parts. The rider's position inside the shell was optimized for leverage first, visibility second. On a normal bike, a professional fit delivers more free speed than most component upgrades.
Attack frontal area early. Narrower bars, a lower stem, tighter clothing, and a tucked helmet all reduce the hole you punch in the air.
Keep the power path stiff. The carbon-fiber frame exists to stop flex from eating watts. Stiff shoes and a well-supported pedaling platform do the same job on a road bike.
Match gearing to the course. A 93-tooth ring makes sense on a flat salt strip and nowhere else. Choose chainrings for the terrain you actually ride.
Rehearse the effort. The pilot knew the exact second to sprint. Practice your own decisive efforts — a climb, a town-line sprint, a Strava segment — so the timing is automatic.
Never trade control for speed. Cameras and a sealed cockpit were a deliberate safety decision, not a gimmick.

Lesson from the record machine	Everyday version
Frontal area beats brute force	Tuck lower, narrow the bars, smooth the clothing
A stiff frame transfers power	Prioritize frame, shoe, and pedal stiffness
Gearing should match the course	Pick chainrings for your terrain, not for bragging rights
Vision and control come first	Never sacrifice braking or sightlines for speed

The Bottom Line on the New Bike for Egg

The new bike for egg is a reminder that speed records are engineering projects, not fitness contests. Aerovelo took a rider, a shell shaped like an egg, an enormous chainring, and a two-stage drivetrain, then refined the combination until it produced 89.59 mph from human legs. Most riders will never touch that number, but the priorities behind it — position, drag, stiffness, gearing, and rehearsal — apply to every bike in your garage.

FAQ

What exactly is the new bike for egg?

It is the nickname for the fully enclosed, egg-shaped human-powered streamliner built by Aerovelo. The shell houses the rider in a reclined position and is designed so that airflow stays smooth around the body at very high speed.

How fast is the fastest bike in the world?

The Aerovelo Eta reached 89.59 mph on a solo run, beating the team's own previous record by almost 3 mph. Faster bicycle figures exist, but those runs used a pace car for shelter from the wind and are not directly comparable.

Can you buy a bike like this?

No. The new bike for egg is a one-off record machine that needs a closed course, a support crew, and a highly trained pilot. Riders who want similar aerodynamics on public roads usually look at velomobiles, which offer a partial shell and far more practicality.

Why does the rider lie down instead of sitting upright?

Two reasons. A reclined position lets the rider push against a seat back for more leverage, and it lowers the body enough to fit inside the small aerodynamic shell. Both advantages only matter because the shell itself removes so much drag.