P!N20

1982 Shimano AX equipped 3Rensho time trial bike.

P!N20

Yoshi Konno

P!N20

Oh, right. Koichi Yamaguchi.

Johno59

Johno59 since you worked in the industry that designed a bike like this ...can you chime in on the question of where to buy such a bike? Thanks.

These CF bikes were normally used by folks who were very fit and strong. The early fabrication techniques were pretty rough and the woven carbon matrixes not as slick as today.

I doubt whether any of these old CF bikes are still fit for use. The resin detaches from the carbon weave and you are left with a matrix of soft fabric and crumbled resin dust. Heavy usage you can do this in a few years. Time and UV light will do it eventually to all of them , no matter what level of use.

In response to another thread alluring to the infinite design possibilities of carbon

The intricate possibilities of carbon shaped frames come at enormous cost. A top of the range bespoke custom 853 framed bike costs 5000 bucks. A bespoke custom carbon framed bike would cost 10 times that much. Chris Froome's custom TdF TT handle bars cost 22,000 US dollars. The old Lotus 108 bike cost £15000 in 1986!!!
If memory serves me correctly, McClaren make a 4.5 kg road bike, fully carbon, fully geared and brifters (even the ball bearings are ceramic) for £15,000. Why?.....same as the Lotus 108 - it's a marketing tool - for selling expensive cars.
ki

T-Mar

Yes, the tooling cost sfor carbon monocque are very expensive. However, when amortized over the course of a production run, the vastly diminished amount passed on to each individual consumer is reasonable. The vast majority of consumers do not need a custom bicycle. While monocoque frames provide fixed geometries, the versatility of carbon fibre still allows designers to tailor the design characteristcs to provide a vast array of ride characteristics. Despite the tooling cost of carbon fibre, monocoques dominate the mid and upper range market with with a diversity of frame styles that makes the heyday of steel pale in comparison.

True custom carbon fibre monocoque frames are the realm of record attempts. In that, carbon fibre excels. When was the last time there was an abosolute hour record set on a steel frame? There will always be a niche market for custom metal frames. for those who truly need a custom geometry due to their physiology. There will also be those who will buy one just to say that they have something which is unique, even though a stock frame would have worked just as well.

Johno59

"True custom carbon fibre monocoque frames are the realm of record attempts. In that, carbon fibre excels."
The Lotus people came to where I work coz we manufactured the blades that went on the helicopter that holds the world airspeed record. It was genuinely custom-made and God knows how expensive.
Today's fantastic CF bikes are mass produced - they are not custom made in the way a steel custom made bike is a one-off genuine original. Needless to say custom steel has no chance speed-wise at the elite level when competing against their plastic rivals.

Reynolds 

That Bianchi reminds me of a Zipp 2001.

Johno59

One of the primary aims of a triathlon bike is when you dismount and start the final run leg, your leg muscles are much less likely to cramp. If you have been rotated around the BB - as these Tri bikes are designed to do , you are less likely to cramp than if you were ridiing a frame that had the more traditional slack angles of a road bike.
BITD folks used to ease off in the last few miles of the cycle leg so as not to cramp at the start of the run leg. The bikes pictured above are designed with the running leg very much in mind.
On a TT bike you are expected to pass out when you cross the finish line. Any expectation you need to be in a state to immediately run a half marathon flat out is out of the question.
On these triathlon bikes a 25 mile ride in less than an hour is an impressive target. In a T T bike race an average speed of 25 mph would place u dead last.

P!N20

Love the brifters on the aero bars.

crank_addict

Sortly surprised no one has mentioned the '1981' Gitane used by the Badger Heeno! Arguably the first true dedicated single purpose TT bike from the French maker.

(BTW: Contrary to Eroica event snobbery, aero brake cable levers were elusive but did exist in 1981. Search pro level race photos and do some zooming in. Possibly modified or concept by makers in race tested usage.)

T-Mar

While the subject photo may be frame 1981, the Gitane Profil was introduced in 1979, being used by Hinault to win that year's Grand Prix des Nations. It even had modified Campagnolo levers with aero cable routing. Shimano introduced standard production aero levers in late 1980 for the 1981 model year, with its various AX groups and never looked back, though it gave bicycle companies the choice or traditional or aero levers. Of course, L'Eroica isn't going to recognize anything until adopted by the Italians.

P!N20

Campy Strada Super Record no flute arm. Which is interesting: did the no flute Strada Super Record cranks come in a pista version?

Not 100% on the headset, but I think it’s a Campy Record HS-01RE.

Seatpost looks like a Campy C-Record

T-Mar

Losa is probably Giovanni Losa,a very highly respected Milan area builder who built for a number of brands including Cinelli and Magni.

T-Mar

Here's an interesting and obscure piece of TT lore. At the 1987 UCI World Championships, the Italians won the 100km Team Trial by erasing a 44 second deficit over the last 25km, to beat the Russians by 12 seconds. Media attention focused on an innovative piece of equipment used by the Italian squad. The riders were tethered to the bicycle by a cable extending from a waist belt under their skinsuits, to the handlebar stem. The cable counteracted the legs pushing the upper body off the saddle and consequently, the need for the rider use upper body strength to counteract this in order to apply full force to the pedals.

After the event, a commercial version was marketed, dubbed the Turbo Tether. Road tests in cycling periodicals subjectively corroborated the advantage, adding that, "the extra support the tether affords is also conducive to a nice, round spin and full use of the quadricep muscles, in addition to an aerodynamic posture". Testers reported being able to produce "impressive surges of power". The tether sounded all set for becoming a hot seller but was squashed by quick UCI ban.

The tether was actually nothing new. The concept of using a harness to counteract the tendency of the legs to unweight the upper body and thereby reduce driving force was employed as early as the very late 1890s and periodically resurrected thereafter.

The attached photo shows the winning Italian team near the finish, having dropped the 4th rider. The lead rider has disconnected his tether and tucked the handlebar stem clip into the leg of his skinsuit. The 2nd rider has come forward off his saddle, so the tether has slackened. The 3rd rider is using the taught tether to apply full driving force.

Rocket-Sauce 

VintageTTfan i think you will love this Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/1798...412/?ref=share

RobbieTunes

Same ring I'm using on mine.

RobbieTunes

Thank you for the kind words. Here you go, all I have for now, in steel, anyway. I did built a pair of carbons (1996 and 1998) over time, but never really TT'd them, just triathlons.

RobbieTunes

Hot Tubes is frame builder Toby Stanton, in Massachusetts. Also one heck of a painter. He fabricated the bars using parts from various TT/Tri setups. That is a quill stem, by the way. It took a while to get all the parts together, especially the tubular wheels. I sold that bike to @sloar, who also sold it. I'd love to have it back.

clubman 

That's Canadian Cheddar...Bloor Cycle skinsuit with Maple leaf gfx.

Edit. Winter Cheddar after TT bikes are put away. Love the tufted jacket!

bulgie 

Long thread, maybe this has been posted already?


Sorry the view of the TT bike is obscured by some chick, wish she'd move!

Rocket-Sauce 

Another Facebook group with similar taste
https://www.facebook.com/groups/569310833866182/

T-Mar

Yes, those are from the 1986 Bloor Cycle catalogue. The Cinelli Laser made four appearances in that catalogue. Two were in the clothing section, one in the bicycle section and a repeat of one photo on the front cover.

m_sasso

martl

Pretty sure she moves faster than most here, especcially on that white thing. "That chick" is Hanka Kupfernagel, 2007 TT world champion, 4x XC world champion.

bulgie 

Oops, I fear my lighthearted words may have implied a lack of respect for Ms. Kupfernagel, which I definitely did not intend. I know who is in the pictures and followed her exploits at the time. I'm a fan.