The Athlet

The athlete and his bike

Walter Rutt was 174 cm tall and weighed 76.5 kg in competition.

Journalist Charles Ravaud described the athlete's physique as follows: "He has a unique anatomy, with no unnecessary fat. His muscles protrude beneath the skin covering them and seem ready to burst through. His legs are lean and nervous like those of a greyhound. Unlike other riders, his massive, short arms pull enormously on the handlebars."

At the height of his career, he preferred a gear ratio of 25 x 7 = 96 inches for sprint races, which gave him a gain of 7.68 meters per crank revolution. The crank length was 170 millimeters, and the fastest time for the last 200 meters was 11.3 seconds = 63.71 km/h.

Walter Rutt achieved his greatest successes on bikes from the “Torpedo” brand. The image of the world champion's bike shown below is taken from a catalog from 1914. The words “Torpedo Modell Rutt” were emblazoned on the down tube.

The track racer was also available in a simpler version under the same name. In this version, the frame was manufactured with internal soldering and painted black. The add-on parts were of lower quality.

The sales price at the time is unknown.

Catalog illustration of Walter Rutt's racing machine

The bike sponsors

During his 25-year career, he changed the equipment suppliers for his racing bikes several times. The table below shows the year in which contracts were signed and the brand used.

In his first year as a professional, the wheels were fitted with tires from the French brand “Paris,” after which he used exclusively tires from “Continental.”

Comparison of seating positions in 1901 and 1912

Breach of contract in Australia?

During their track tours in Australia, Walter Rutt and all other riders from Europe and the USA used Massey Harris bikes, even though they were under contract with other companies. The manufacturer advertised with the slogan: “Do you want to be at the top with the best, or are you happy to follow the herd?” It is not known whether there were separate clauses for races on the fifth continent or whether agreements with equipment suppliers were violated.

In 1904, an advertisement by the bicycle manufacturer Corona appeared in "Illus", accusing Walter Rutt of breach of contract because he was now riding Panther bicycles even though his contract with Corona was still valid.