SvenMN 

The late 80s Schwinn Prologue TT frame was Japanese produced from Tange Prestige tubing, and used a 700c rear wheel with a small 24" front. I have a spare wheel set so attached a picture of the front tubular. Was amazed again at how light the front wheel (with tubular and skewer) is at 960 grams.

SvenMN 

Others that time-trialed these machines back in the day can surely provide a better description of the riding experience.

My single race on the Prologue TT was back in 2014. I chose to ride the vintage Schwinn on a whim, as on the weekend several days prior I had done two hard endurance races, and had done a hard speed workout 6 hours before the TT start. I just thought the bike should be raced again before going back on the wall.

My time over the 13 mile (21 km) "lumpy" course was ~ 4 minutes slower than what I had done several weeks prior on my "modern" TT bike. I was happy with the result as I averaged 20.7 mph (33 kph) despite being extremely fatigued.

Without aero bars it was very difficult to stay tucked in and relax my upper body. A pair of spinaci bars would have made a vast improvement. And climbing out of the saddle was an adventure. Unusual with virtually no view of a cockpit or wheel in front of you. Overall a very memorable experience :-)

There were other participants who thought I was crazy to ride a 27 year old bike, and some who appreciated seeing it out there as they used to race them.

robbyville

My wife would definitely hide the Amex if we had that bike in our neighborhood!

notgr

This thread reflects my interests. I raced a vintage Marinoni TT bike, at a low level (cat 5), last month.

I will return once I've reached the requisite 10 posts with pictures a couple of my bikes.

martl

One favourite has to go here, the infamous "perfume flacon". Let me explain:
At one time, a cosmetics grocery chain by the name of "Lancome" comissioned a few 100 (?) TT bike lookalikes as store decoration with "Schauff" (i think theyx could also be won in some kind of lottery), which was a respected bike maker at the time and was connected to german cycling legend Rudi Altig. They were never meant to be ridden in a competition, but still Schauff did what the could with the budget at hand, so they look like 50% legit
The fun started when, long after Lancome and the campaign were gone, these bikes ended up everywhere and started to pop up on Ebay or craiglist; Often listed by people with no clue about cycling or the history of the bike, so the discriptions given made for some amusing reads...

P!N20

One of these (in black) is for sale in Australia at the moment: https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/pasc...ial/1230267240

It's like an Alter stem that grew legs!

79pmooney

My favorite? Easy.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...RecordBike.jpg

Probably the most dominant time trial ever by a rider who was not a time trial specialist. (He won two three week stage races and three one day Monuments+ that year also.)

Ben

P!N20

Reynolds 

Takhion from Russia

Reynolds 

notgr

A Belarusian national team Takhion pursuit bike is probably my ultimate dream bike. There are two on e-bay right now, and it is actual torture that I can't afford them. (Ok, not actual torture.)

Also, per the earlier discussion of Cinelli Angel TT bars, I have silver ones on my Marinoni. They complement the Shamal front wheel quite well.

P!N20

It would be remiss of me not to include some Australian examples.

Clamont by Geoff Scott:



Euro by Brian Hayes:



Perkins:

Reynolds 

Yes, it's a Laser. There were different models I think, but this is the most iconic.

Reynolds 

This Bianchi was made for Evgueni Berzin in 1997.

Reynolds 

And this one for Marco Pantani.

Reynolds 

About the wide, bulging front wheel, I vaguely recall the famed Pino Morroni experimented with a bike like that

P!N20

Nice one. I was looking for a particular Kenevans but couldn't find it - that one is just as good.

More Aussies! Kypo built by Rob Kypriotis:



Jim Bundy:

Reynolds 

As a side note, I remember Bernard Hinault saying that at his first TTs, they just put on thin lightweight tubulars, lowered the stem about 2 cms and used motor oil as hubs and BB lube...

Rocket-Sauce 

Lotus 108


Looks fast even by today's standards.

Reynolds 

Sugino originally made them, but they were later marketed by Tioga for MTBs as the Disk Drive, IIRC:

https://www.bikemag.com/gear-feature...-tension-disc/

Reynolds 

Some cool graphics IMO (plus C-Record).

P!N20

That's right. While there were Australian made production frames, they typically weren't high end and certainly didn't offer time trial frames.

Back in the day frame builders serviced their areas; for instance if you lived in Gippsland you would most likely have (or want) a Kypo, if you lived in Sydney you might have a Bundy (Jim or his son, Peter) if you lived on the Gold Coast you had a few choices - Van Werkhoven, Soren Son, Beretto...

Here's a Berretto track machine owned by forum member @Gary Fountain

P!N20

Somec wheels on a Colner? How could you sleep at night?

P!N20

Well, aside from being from the country in question, Australia has a rich history of cycling and frame building - especially during the 80's when all these crazy TT bikes were popular. I guess I just do my bit to keep that history from being forgotten.

If you've seen Gary's collection that won't surprise you one little bit!

P!N20

I hope you don’t mean the cranks, because they can f right off!