http://outsideonline.com/gear/travel-gd-competition-bicycles-photo-gallery-sidGAL428997.html
odd, I find it hard to imagine that such an idea would be considered
feasible at the time considering how much stress that would put on a
lone dropout
And how poor the quality of the metals were as well.
Lefty front and rear, no less. Maybe the bike was designed for six
day racing and only had to turn in one direction? A pre-cambered
bike...?
R
good catch ! I had to look a couple of times just to be sure of what I
was seeing- I am even more perplexed by it's feasibility ( perhaps it
wasn't really, this was a floor model- never ridden, accounting for
it's good condition)
Think how quick wheel changes would be!
R
Lefty rear?
I know a guy down in Tucson who used to build pursuit frames just like
that. He also designed four wheel suspended off-road wheelchairs
suitable for DH racing AND had a FS mtb frame similar to the Pong
Cannondale frame a couple of years before they did.
I did a double-take, too.
R
It's a "righty" rear. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the wheels
are interchangable front to rear, like a Cinelli bivalent hub.
Of course you are left...err...I mean right. I apologize for my
ambidextrous ambiguity and your lack of it, Carl. Those Cinelli
Bivalent hubs are extremely interesting. Never saw those before. The
idea of keeping the freewheel on the bike during a wheel change is
mind boggling.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_atrK-jBKJKY/TQa5agPvfoI/AAAAAAAAOJg/UfWY4Bf9w4o/s1600/Cin_Bival_95_B-Guide_art.gif
Here's the same picture of that Labor lefty-righty with some more
specs.
http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=67195
And a more standard frame on another Labor bicycle that shows the
second, curved top tube was standard on their bicycles.
http://oldbike.wordpress.com/1910s-labor-truss-bridge-cycle-french/
Apparently an American manufacturer totally copied Labor's design
standard frame design.
The last cartoon is priceless.
R
Then there is the Yamaguchi bike Mike McCarthy used to win the 1992
pro pursuit
That link didn't work for me. But this bike is truly weird and
wonderful.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dancingweaponofmassdestruction/5276709260/
I love that upper bottle cage carrying the flask. And the seat post
with the bent seat stem? Very odd.
That's either a very safe bike or a very dangerous one. Either it
would stop traffic so you could ride unimpeded, or people would run
you over trying to get a better look. I'm guessing the latter.
R
> Of course you are left...err...I mean right. I apologize for my
> ambidextrous ambiguity and your lack of it, Carl. Those Cinelli
> Bivalent hubs are extremely interesting. Never saw those before. The
> idea of keeping the freewheel on the bike during a wheel change is
> mind boggling.
> http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_atrK-jBKJKY/TQa5agPvfoI/AAAAAAAAOJg/UfWY4Bf9w4o/s1600/Cin_Bival_95_B-Guide_art.gif
>
> Here's the same picture of that Labor lefty-righty with some more
> specs.
> http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=67195
When derailleurs were introduced everybody knew that
a spring loaded chain tensioner reduced transmission
efficiency, so they trimmed the chain slack with a
separate hand operated linkage. More of the myth and
lore roadies just believe in the face of sound
engineering knowledge to the contrary.
--
Old Fritz
Yeah, I thought that was a really long link and I was in a rush.
Try this http://takeoverla.blogspot.com/2009/11/mike-mccarthys-yamaguchi.html
The seatpost is a standard item from Thomson:
http://www.cambriabike.com/Images/product/thompson_setback_seatpost_g.jpg
They're quite nice as you can use them interchangeably as a set forward
seatpost which is handy to convert a standard bike in a TT one.