MiloFrance

I'm trying to sell a couple of smaller frames and I've just been messaged with a possible swap. The LENNOZ name was just the shop, no idea who built it. With that paint job it looks pretty genuine to me, mid 80s all the way with 600 tricolor. Anything glaringly obvious that doesnt fit ?

Piff 

Yea. What the hell is going on with the seatpost? Is that normal for funny bikes?

Spaghetti Legs 

AngryFrankie

That's so cool. There was a time before wind tunnels and employing physics to bike design, when, if it look aero, it was aero! If you can acquire that on easy terms, get it!

MiloFrance

Hes trading down to a smaller frame so I suspect that's how he got a reasonable riding position!

delbiker1 

Just my opinion, but that is one Fugly bike!

Random Tandem

Unless you are an Orangutan, you will never reach the shifters where they are located in the photo (extreme aero)! Also, may get caught in the spokes!

Chuckk

The shop? They might know who built it. I'd guess late 80's.
https://www.infogreffe.com/entrepris...herretour=true

Andrew R Stewart 

Nothing funny about the bike. That's a Tri bike. Pretty tall one with lots of lens distortion in the shot.

The post is a set forward, I forget which brand (I was never much of a Tri shop but did see our fair share). Given the far forward Tri position of the hands/arms the seat needed to move forward too, especially for the masses who weren't super flexible.

I question if all the tubes are KL. .5mm walls are not known for their ease to bend. Also this light weight a tube set would make for a real flexible flyer, just what a tall Tri guy wants Andy

repechage

Styling by S. Dali.

MiloFrance

So he's looking for a pretty straight swap for this. By coincidence he's about 70km from where I'll be working on Monday. As I've said in other threads, I like different tube sets in my collection, so I'm inclined to go for it if it's easy to meet up with him.

Chombi1 

I don't get it,...... Does the bent top tube sort of shorten the wheelbase on the bike? what is the purpose of the bent TT??

Lascauxcaveman 

I swear, Milo - you come up some of the weirdest sh*t on this forum. Please do not stop.

Chombi1 

Hmmmm....... I personally prefer the JV, but then the curvy framed bike could be a very interesting conversational piece on most rides too.....

MiloFrance

TBH so do I, but I cant ride a 54cm

Pompiere

I would get the bike just for the uniqueness. I doubt I would ride it much.

Besides the aero advantage, another reason for the forward positioning is to engage different muscles than for the run to spread the fatigue around. At least that was the theory.

T-Mar

Bent top tubes on time trial frames were very common in the late 1980s. Using a straight but sloping top tube resulted in non-traditional angles between the shorter head tube and top tube. By curving the top tube, it could engage the head tube horizontally, permitting the use of a standard head lug, as opposed to the TIG welding or fillet brazing required with a straight, sloping top tube.


It wasn't used to this effect on the subject frame, but if you look at other Italian TT frames of the era (see scan), you'll see standard head lugs. Using a lug would save time over building up a fillet and a preserved the conventional lugged aesthetic preferred by Italians. The other alternative, tooling custom lugs, would have been even more expensive. A fillet braze or (perish the thought!) TIG weld, was still necessary at the seat lug junction.

T-Mar

That style of post is typically called a (fast) forward seat post, after the model name of the original post in this style, sold by Profile Design. When aero bars became popular circa 1990, triathletes found that in order to take full aerodynamic advantage, the torso was lowered to where it constricted the angle between the torso and thigh, affecting power output. To preserve power output while maintaining maximum aerodynamic drag reduction, dedicated triathlon frames moved the seat forward by steepening the seat tube angle. This allowed a low torso for optimum aerodynamic benefit, while preserving a traditional angle with the thighs to provide full power output.


Triathletes installing aero bars on older frames could not fully exploit the potential, so Profile introduced their curved Fast Forward seat post, which created a steeper effective seat tube angle, allowing the rider to have the same position as a dedicated time trial bicycle but on a budget. Older time trial frames, designed prior to shift to ultra steep seat tube angles also benefited from forward seat posts when aero bars were installed.


Based on the Columbus decal, relatively slack seat tube angle and 600 Ultegra components, the subject frame is likely circa 1988 and therefore from the pre-aero bar era. Consequently, it would have benefited from this style of seat post when aero bars were installed.

JohnDThompson 

I wonder about that as well. That's a tall frame for KL, and I don't recall if Columbus even offered KL in "C" length sets. If it is KL tubing, it's likely to be quite "whippy" riding it.

Chombi1 

Thanks for the explanation, that makes a lot of sense......

Reynolds 531 

Rule 42:

1. Rule #42//
   A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.If it’s preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run, it is not called a bike race, it is called duathlon or a triathlon. Neither of which is a bike race. Also keep in mind that one should only swim in order to prevent drowning, and should only run if being chased. And even then, one should only run fast enough to prevent capture.

T-Mar

Columbus KL was only offered in A & B sets, but that still provided a 62cm seat tube. During the era that KL was introduced, the prime criteria for time trial was light weight and KL was specifically designed for time trials. Time trial specialists typically had a very smooth pedaling style, so stiffness was not as much of a concern as weight. If some extra stiffness was desirable, the frame builder could always resort to mixing KL with some heavier gauge tubes,which would generally be the down tube and chain stays.

CliffordK

What are the wheel sizes? Frame size (length?)

The front and rear wheels look to be both the same size to me, which would mean it technically might not be a "funny bike".

That looks like the largest frame I've ever seen on a funny bike.

Those look more like clinchers than sewups... which surprises me a bit.

MiloFrance

It's 700c front and rear, so not very funny...

CliffordK

So, probably about a 64 cm seat tube?

I suppose there is a reason why they don't put 24" front wheels and short head tubes on 70 cm bikes.

I would probably flip the brake levers around the opposite direction. Where are the shifters supposed to be mounted?