canklecat

Fascinating. I wonder if that Lotus influenced the Univega Bi-Axial Power Oval frames a decade later? Although being a sorta-hybrid/MTB-lite weighing 30 lbs, there's nothing aero about my Univega Via Carisma. I've never seen the Univega road bike that used that frame design.

Bibi001

Amazing bike

pastorbobnlnh 

Kurt, thanks for the feedback on the transition at the back of the hood and onto the bar wrap. I might keep the more circular look over trying to achieve a more traditional concave look. While I didn't think "Klan" I did think "Spock" when looking at the pointy top! The rounded dome follows the curve and contour of the lever's body. I'll take a picture of it before I mount the left hood.

Last night I made significant progress on the left hood (cut, glued together, front seam stitched together with stacked connecting Xs, and a third of the perimeter side stitching completed). I used the old Weinmann hood that was originally on one of the levers to see if I could use it as a pattern for a more traditional transition, and did not find a satisfying solution--- so I made no changes. I've left the transition area long at the moment and will complete the remaining pre-installation work before making a decision.

canklecat I have no idea and I'm not familiar with the Univega model you mention. Feel free to post a picture.

Bibi001 Thanks for noticing. I agree as well. Welcome to Bike Forums and to C&V.

repechage

I doubt an auto parts store.
Amazon maybe.
Auto trim shop more likely.

pastorbobnlnh 

A quick update on my Leather AX hood project. This is the 5th iteration and I believe other than some adjustments in the size of the under leather glued to the interior, I've achieved what I was hoping for. I plan to ride these and see how they hold up before making a final pair which addresses the dimples and the shortness of the under lever lace-up panels on the right side. Sorry about the poor focus. I'll take better pics when I begin to build the bike later this week.




As a bonus, I used the remainder of the goatskin and repurposed an old brown leather purse to make an aero shaped handle bar bag. I've also started on a saddle bag from the same combination of leathers.



Feedback is always appreciated!

stardognine

Quite snazzy! 👍 I knew you could do it. 😎

cudak888 

That's starting to look like something straight off a fully-bespoke Alex Signer, Bob!

Stunning.

-Kurt

Miele Man

Very nice! Well done.

Cheers

pastorbobnlnh 

Thank you all for your kind comments. I have the perfect Brooks Saddle to use, the brown Team Pro Alpe d'Huez.

Chr0m0ly 

I was searching for a Lotus eclair and I found another Pro Aero for sale in NYC, he’s asking 950.00






https://longisland.craigslist.org/bi...103186673.html

pastorbobnlnh 

Update: Finally completed this project.

Notice any issues with the crank arms? Dang Octalink BBs! Sorted out after pictures.

Thanks to the Totally Tubular thread I'm running Vittoria Corsa Speed G2s tubulars. Normally $100+ each for about $35 each, shipped.


If you can't find "W-Cut" vintage Shimano chainrings--- find chainrings with "Ws" cut into them.

This Lotus was not original spec in the first place, so I didn't feel obliged to do the same. Brooks Pro Saddle (Alpe de Huez edition), Profil aero bottle, homemade leather bar wrap and leather hoods for the cockpit.



Weather and Christmas travel will keep me from a test ride until after December 26th.

jdawginsc 

Looks great! Unique group for sure!

noobinsf 

Beautiful result!

pastorbobnlnh 

Looks great on the rack you provided! Here's a view with its rack-mate.

A Campagnoloed '71 Schwinn Super Sport and '82 Lotus Super Pro hang out together.

madpogue 

^^^^^ Saddle looks like it could serve as a topographical map of Moab UT.

pastorbobnlnh 

I need to take a picture of the top view, but for now, a photo from the web will need to do.

cudak888 

You've done that machine proud, Bob. That 7700 crank fits in so well that I had to look twice to realize it wasn't from the same group. Perfectly picked!

-Kurt

jethin

Neat. I saw a guy riding one of those once and I confess that multiple sins crossed my mind.

jdawginsc 

That's awesome! Glad I could help the effort!

I thought you custom did the saddle until you posted the online version. Very interesting saddle. The home-made bar and lever wraps are cool. I am guessing you are stuck with that cable housing in perpetuity!

Are those the Mavic skewers?

SwimmerMike 

Wow, just read the full thread. Great backstory. The bike is beautiful. Reading the journey you undertaken to get the brake hoods done was great. I’ve seen other bikes with leather hoods but I had no appreciation for the work required to achieve them.

pastorbobnlnh 

Dave, those are the skewers which came with the original wheels, which are Flamme Ergal rims and Dura Ace AX hubs. I'm saving the Mavic QR skewers for the Roval wheelset. Those are going to run wider tires. Hopefully I'll have them ready by mid-January.

The blue cable housing is official Shimano DA (not certain which era). I picked it to complement the blue in the decals.
Thank you for these kind words. Can't wait to ride it after Christmas.
Thanks Kurt! I'm glad I caught the misaligned crank arms in the photo. It had been on the stand for a couple of weeks while I was waiting for tires to arrive and I never noticed. The original owner installed the 7700 cranks at some point, he couldn't remember when and what happened to the original AX cranks. I picked up a DA AX crankset w/o rings. But for now, I'm going to ride it with the 7700s.
Hahaha! I felt really fortunate to find this on CL back in 2019.

BTW, I just came from CVS where I found a really close match in nail polish for this big chunk of missing original paint. The original owner had covered it with Testors that didn't match and was glopped on and looked lousy.

jdawginsc 

Great bike.

I am trying to recall a pink similar aero-bike from around the same era, and it is killing me what it was. It may have been a Lotus, but I don't think so...SR, Araya...definitely Japanese.

pastorbobnlnh 

The last year the Super Pro Aero was offered by Lotus it came in pink.

(Borrowed from a Bing search)

jdawginsc 

That might be the one...I am also having snippets of memory saying it was an Araya...hmmm...that's what 40 years will do I guess. With my memory, it's probably a mixture of bikes I saw that melded together. The reason I am leaing away from the Lotus is because my dream bike was a Lotus Supreme in pearl pink.

genejockey 

I got a Lotus Supreme with the EX cranks, which as far as I can tell are the same as the AX. I even spent a bit to get a nice pair of the DynaDrive pedals, in good working order, with original blue velcro strap. I tried them for a bit, but I, too prefer clipless and I didn't have any slot-cleat shoes anyway, so I got the adapters and installed those and a pair of PD-7401 Dura Ace clipless pedals (so I can use my Look delta cleats).

AX/EX cranks aren't that hard to come by, so you can always give them a try if you felt like it.

Thanks for posting this thread, BTW! I was thinking about building an aero bike with AX kit, but now I don't have to!