"Long after the derailleur had been invented, that mechanism which allows gears to be shifted with just the flick of a lever, and long after they had been adopted by tourists, ol' Henri forbade their use in the Tour. "Real bike racers don't need such gimmicks" he (Henri Desgrange) declared."
"As though the Tours weren't hard enough in myriad ways, riders had to be constantly mindful of the best moment to change gear. To do this they had to dismount, loosen the rear wheel, and flip it around to place the chain on another cog. Only in 1937, with Henri too ill to run the race, were derailleurs finally allowed."
Eoinc is right....I've read about the famous Ug Armstrong....he took 2 weeks off the best time the following year with the revolutionary 'round' wheel. He would of been disqualified but the scrutineers were eaten by a feral T-rex whilst deliberating. Ug didn't go on to great things as a cyclist, having disappeared off the edge of the world...having failed to invent the brake!,
