Before turning to competitive cycling, Jack Lauterwasser, the son of a Bavarian immigrant, was a talented swimmer in his age group. He took up serious cycling as a teenager, however, and joined the Finsbury Park Cycling Club and, before he was 14, had won his first 25-mile time trial. He later enjoyed participating in longer distance, and 12-hour, races and was part of the Great Britain team that won the Olympic road race team silver medal in 1928. It was a memorable year for Lauterwasser, as he broke the Road Records Association’s (RRA) 50-mile and 100-mile records by almost three and 18 minutes respectively. The country’s leading 12-hour racer, he won the Polytechnic Club’s Gayler Trophy in 1928, originally with a new British record of 237.8 miles. It was first thought that he had become the first man to cover the 12 hours in a speed of 20 mph. An appeal was lodged and dismissed but, in 1932, the course was re-measured, and it was agreed that Lauterwasser had covered 240 miles and 76 yards, thus recording that elusive first 20 mph 12-hour race.
As a skilled mechanic, Lauterwasser opened a cycle shop in London in 1929 and produced bikes to individual specifications that incorporated the famous Lauterwasser handlebar. The financial implications of running his own business took its toll, and he ended up working for some of the best known British cycle manufacturers of the day, and in 1965, joined Alex Moulton and helped with the design of the famous ”Moulton” small-wheeled cycles. He carried on working for Moulton until he was 90, when a fall at home resulted in a broken leg, which ended his working career. Lauterwasser was the president of the Pedal Club in 1974, and his son Alan was also a successful cyclist.
Great Britain