Origins
A Collection of modern road racing bicycles - as close to the original model in every material and technology of which they have been constructed (or at least that I have been able to acquire).
1972 Allegro - a classic Reynolds 531 steel road bike with all original Campy Nuovo Record parts. There are so many steel frames to choose from, but this happens to be one of the bikes I would lust after at a local bike shop when I was a kid.
1972 Allegro - Details of the Campy 1010A long rear dropouts, 1972 Nuovo Record derailleurs, pedals and crankset.
1972 Allegro - Cloth handlebar tape as was the norm till shimmery-plastic Benotto tape took over in the late seventies.
1972 Allegro - Classic Reynolds 531 double-butted tubing decal in French and the Allegro logo, showing their Swiss pedigree.
1973 Teledyne Titan - Designed by Canadian cyclist Barry Harvey and built by aerospace company Teledyne Linair. Teledyne needed titanium for other projects, and because of the Cold War, importing titanium from the largest source, the Soviet Union, was tough because of their concern of its use in defense projects. Requesting Ti for bikes, helped overcome that obstacle.
1973 Teledyne Titan - Vertical dropouts for improved frame stiffness and a unique Campy Rally long-cage touring derailleur.
1973 Teledyne Titan - A hodge podge of components, the bottom half of the headset and the brakes are likely original equipment, since many of the Titans were sold with first-generation Dura-Ace groups.
1973 Teledyne Titan - Knowing that the lower-density titanium would require larger diameter tubing in order to meet accepted steel strength and stiffness standards, Teledyne had to crimp the down tube back to the steel-standard 1 1/8" to fit conventional shifter bosses. Also, Teledyne is, to this day, one of the few titanium frame manufacturers to actually build a titanium fork.
1973 Teledyne Titan - This external sleeve was utilized to improve strength around the seat cluster.
1975 Klein, SN 103 - Klein's very first production frame. Klein, arguably, was the bike most instrumental in pushing frame technology into the modern era. By embracing the use of a low-density material like aluminum with large tubing diameters, Klein was able to significantly reduce frame weights while actually increasing strength and stiffness.
1975 Klein - Campy Nuovo Record components typical of the time and note the original Fiamme Red Label sew-up rims.
1975 Klein - Classic Cinelli bars and stem with Campy Nuovo Record brakes and levers.
1973 Klein - On this original Klein, a steel seat tube sleeve was bonded into the aluminum frame, presumably to avoid fatigue issues that might have resulted with an aluminum seat binder.
1977 Exxon Graftek G1 - The first production carbon bike used carbon fibers wrapped around thin-walled aluminum tubes, bonded to stainless steel lugs. This Graftek is a complete NOS Campy Super record build - neither the frame nor any of the components have ever been used.
1977 Exxon Graftek G1 - Original Campy Super Record cranks derailleurs and pedals with titanium rear derailleur bolts and pedal axles.
1977 Exxon Graftek G1 - Campy Super Record headset, brakes and levers.
1977 Exxon Graftek G1 - Ridden by Indy Cool Gear Exxon, the dominant racing team in the US in the '70s. This bike has the Cool Gear saddle that would have been team issue at the time. Also, note the Custom-milled Campy seatpost to fit the narrower inner-diameter seat tube.
1987 Kirk Precision Limited First Edition - Frank Kirk utilized CAD/CAM to help design this I-beam-style, one-piece cast magnesium frame. Even though magnesium is one fifth the density of steel, these frames weighed several pounds more than their steel counterparts, mainly due to the Kirk's large sections of solid magnesium compared to the hollow tubes of a steel frame.
1987 Kirk Precision - Note the butted or reinforced shaping on the head tube. Casting these frames, allowed a level of detail and customization impossible on bonded or brazed tubular frames.
1987 Kirk Precision - Detail of the I-beam structure of the "top tube" and the bulge in the "seat tube" to perfectly incorporate the seat post.
1987 Kestrel 4000 - The bike that brought us in to the modern era of bicycles. Designed by Brent Trimble, Kestrels were the first all carbon monocoque production frames, taking advantage of finite element analysis to determine how much fiber and in which orientation was best in order to provide the desired ride characteristics and durability.
1987 Kestrel 4000 - The Mavic Cosmic Carbone wheels may be one generation too new for this bike, but they just look so right with the Kestrel's tear-drop aero cross-sections.
1987 Kestrel 4000 - First generation Shimano Integrated SIS brake shift levers.
1987 Kestrel 4000 - showcasing the beautiful aerodynamic lines made possible by carbon fiber monocoque layup in a mold.
1987 Kestrel 4000 - While the EMS fork wasn't original on this bike, it was added when the frame was sent into the factory for a warranty repair and repaint.
1995 BeYOND Be401 - These bikes were developed by triathlete Chris Hinshaw. The Be401 is a metal matrix composite made up of 40% beryllium, 55% aluminum and 5% magnesium. tubes are bonded and screwed to aluminum lugs, brake bridge, bottom bracket and dropouts.
1995 BeYOND Be401 - with track style rear facing dropouts bolted and bonded to the stays.
1995 BeYOND Be401 - Beryllium frame, but equipped with Kestrel's EMS carbon bars, Easton's Carbon seatpost and Ritchey's carbon fork.
1995 BeYOND Be401 - Mono seat stay and machined-out brake yoke.
1995 BeYOND Be401 - Aluminum lug bolted and bonded to the mono seat stay.
As my example of wood (technically bamboo is a grass, but close enough) as a bicycle construction material, I built this frame during an amazing week-long workshop hosted and taught by John Climaco at Bambu Technologies (click on image to learn more).
To showcase the bamboo, I chose not to have derailleurs or rim brakes, but to keep the look of the bike simple with disc brakes and a Shimano Alfine 11-speed internal rear hub.
To allow for a press-in headset, the head tube is aluminum with abacá fibers wrapping both it, the top tube, and the down tube joining them as a lug. The laminated bamboo handlebars are from Passchiers in New Zealand.
The whole frame is bamboo, except for the head tube, and all the lugs are made from abacá, a Philippine banana-palm fiber. The fibers are impregnated with epoxy, wrapped around the tubes and then compressed with tightly-stretched recycled inner tubes to force out excess epoxy (or as Trek used to say, Optimum Compaction Low Void).
The saddle, which just happens to match the look of the bike, is a special commemorative Schwinn Paramount 60th Anniversary edition.
1985 Columbine Track - Columbine created some of the most beautiful steel frames ever made. This frame was custom built for me as a member of the Columbine-sponsored RMC team in Colorado. While this bike is an example of the very clean "custom" series, Columbine was also known for their ultra-ornate and decorative frames (click on the image to see more).
While not quite vintage appropriate for this bike, Shimano's 1976 Dura-Ace 10 is one of those ideas that really was an improvement over the existing standard. The chain has a 10 mm pitch instead of 1/2", reducing the weight of the components by 20 percent and increasing the rigidity as well. This drivetrain was raced to the World Sprint Championship by Australian John Nicholson in 1976.
1985 Columbine Track - Columbine USA decals on the forks for increased visibility in race photos.
1999 RVT Svir - With the Cold War over, the Russian defense industry needed outside projects to pay the bills. RVT, an American company contracted with Russian titanium specialists to build bikes to their exacting specs. This frame is a completely custom build. It features butted 5/2 Ti tubes, an increasing-diameter down tube, ovalized seat tube, curved stays and a 100% Ti fork.
1999 RVT Svir - This bike is equipped with the limited-edition (5,000 made) Dura-Ace 25th Anniversary Group, featuring the liberal use of titanium hardware, and of course came with a matching Seiko divers watch.
1999 RVT Svir - Detail of 25th Anniversary Dura-Ace brakes and levers.
1999 RVT Svir - Hard to see in a photo, but these tubes are externally butted, so that the first 100 mm has full wall thickness and the next 100 mm tapers down to the minimum wall thickness. For those familiar with the typical American 3/2.5 Ti alloy, the Russian 5/2 alloy is roughly 20% stronger. Note the Russian flag, giving credit to the factory where the frames were built.
1992 Kestrel 500 SCi - Showcasing the full potential of a carbon monocoque layup, Kestrel introduced the 500 SCi with smaller 26" wheels for reduced drag, and a seat tube-less frame, not only to provide vertical compliance, but also to improve aerodynamics. The wheels are built with custom drilled Velocity aero rims with Rolf-style paired spoking.
1992 Kestrel 500 SCi - These cranks were built by Magic Motorcycle for Cannondale's Coda brand and were constructed out of two interlocking machined aluminum shells bonded together for each crank arm. Note the 56/42-tooth chainrings, needed to compensate for the smaller wheels.
1992 Kestrel 500 SCi - Aside from the Coda cranks, the bike is equipped with a Dura-Ace 7700 9-speed group.
1992 Kestrel 500 SCi - To match the frame style - the Mike Burrows designed, Giant manufactured EXT Pro aero seatpost.
1987 Greg Lemond Coors Light TT Bike - This was Roy Knickman's Coors Light Team TT bike, painted with team-sponsor Greg Lemond's signage, was actually a Tommaso, which itself was merely the name applied by importer Ten Speed Drive to the bikes they contracted with Billato of Italy to manufacture for the US market. How's that for a convoluted provenance?!
Campy Record cranks and the unique link-actuated Croce d'Aune rear derailleur. Also, Mavic's early disc wheels, including rear disc with slots to add "momentum" weights and a lenticular front disc.
1987 Greg Lemond Coors Light TT Bike - Bullhorn bars and disc wheels were already the norm in 1987, but the Scott Clip-on aero bars were probably added a few years later. Note also the Campy Chorus monoplanar brakes.