Those particular ones in the pic above measure 28cm outside to outside as you have the line drawn. I don't know if there were variations on width or not for the bars... http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/
How about John Cobbs (I think) Speed Wing skinsuit? Remember that? It had batman wings under the arms. Still want to see Hamiltons and Joel Thomsons 24" Holland. It had a crazy custom aero bar/stem combo that came up high off the super short front end.
Speaking of 24" wheel bikes, does anyone have a picture of Nick Taylor on his double 24" Sommer? Scary aero. Shoulders below hips (at least in my memory). Anybody?
About 15 years ago there was a masters guy in my area that had one- Bob Brooks? He could roll a 53 something 40k when he was close to 60. I remember the bike. Dual 24", super downward sloping toptube-
There was once an invention where you would hold a strap - IN YOUR MOUTH - that would then attach to the handle bars. This would enable you to use your arms to push down on your legs and steer with your chin...honest to god it was real.
Then there was the parachute that went behind the bike. I did a few rides on Via De Luna Dr on Santa Rosa island with the parachute...it was dayglo green, my bike was a splatter finish GT with a hot pink J-Disk.... ----------------------------------------------------------
I was only 17 and listening to a few pro's at the time and what not...sure did look queer as hell with that damn parachute going down the coast.... ----------------------------------------------------------
"There was once an invention where you would hold a strap - IN YOUR MOUTH - that would then attach to the handle bars. This would enable you to use your arms to push down on your legs and steer with your chin...honest to god it was real"
why i actually remember this is a mystery to me, but i think i had the issue of bicycling where they reviewed it. italian cyclist giovanni jiboffo invented it/the "jiboffo technique". he designed a device which consisted of surgical tubing attached to each side of the handle bars, in the middle of the surgical tubing was a mouthpiece with a hole of the middle of it. when the gradient got steep he would sit more upright in the saddle, insert the mouthpiece, and place his hands on his thighs just above the knees to assist in pushing down on the pedals. he claimed something in the neighborhood of a 12 to 15% increase in speed climbing the hills. HORRIBLE idea! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Michael in Fresno "Do you spend time with your family? Good. Because a man that doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man" V. Corleone
you should sell this to pro cyclists. I only ever have the typewriter problem in the last mile of short TTs when my power to weight ratio gets within 50% of a pro
they have it much worse!
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I built a strap that hooked to the rear of the seat to keep me from sliding foward,still have it,used it a few times.
It was a great time,we were just coming out from under a few decades of died in the wool shorts roadie conservatism, triathletes mostly didnt come from that background and didnt have the preconceptions and people were trying all kinds of shit. Some of it worked and versions of it are still around, some was just stupid, but it took a new breed of riders, triathletes to challenge the status quo. How long had aerobars been on the bike of triathletes before Greg Lemond famously used his set of clip ons in '89?
edit: although many US based road racers and track racers should also be given credit for adopting many innovations as well.
the 1980s tech was awesome, im not talking about that
im talking about the color schemes and fashion =)
In Reply To:
It was a great time,we were just coming out from under a few decades of died in the wool shorts roadie conservatism, triathletes mostly didnt come from that background and didnt have the preconceptions and people were trying all kinds of shit. Some of it worked and versions of it are still around, some was just stupid, but it took a new breed of riders, triathletes to challenge the status quo. How long had aerobars been on the bike of triathletes before Greg Lemond famously used his set of clip ons in '89?
Will you marry me? Hell, just remembering that (and yes, you are right about the name) is enough for me to fall in love... ----------------------------------------------------------