I'm less inclined to be a weight skeptic regarding
these bikes when considering the extra bulk in a lot
of modern components; think of STI controls, dual
pivot brakes, 30mm deep aero rims--and still most
contemporary steel race bikes are under 20 lbs.
I don't have much trouble believing a 16 lb trials
rando bike.
David Feldman
Vancouver, WA
> Precious little info remains about the trials bikes
> - the builders
> didn't share much of the info with the public and
> their
> competition... Bikes for the public often were
> light, but not
> insanely so - they usually were durable. Look at
> Herse cantilever
> brakes, and you see what I mean. (A Singer or Herse
> randonneur, fully
> equipped with racks, lights, fenders, triple cranks,
> etc. in a 59 cm
> size weighs about 23-25 lbs. depending on
> specification.)
>
> The bike weight in the trials, however, was
> independently checked - I
> have a photo (to be published) of Daniel Rebour
> looking on as a bike
> is weighed at one of the trials. So what the makers
> said didn't
> matter - the scales showed the truth.
>
> The point was to advance technology by pushing the
> envelope. That
> said, very few bikes seem to have been penalized for
> breaking stuff,
> so they did last at least one grueling event. Ernest
> Csuka told me
> the bikes weren't much fun to ride, with serious
> shimmies on the
> downhills.
>
> As was pointed out earlier on the list, every part
> was modified. It
> was an insane amount of work, but the publicity from
> winning the
> trials was worth it.
>
> More recently (1970s or 80s?), Csuka/Singer built a
> racing bike that
> is still on display in the shop, with Reynold 753
> 0.4 mm tubing
> (butted thicker at the ends), CLB brakes, etc. that
> reportedly weighs
> 7.8 kgs (17.16 lbs.) - but no independent check for
> this one. This
> one has only widely available components, but of
> course no racks,
> fenders and lights.
>
> Jan Heine, who doesn't care about weight all that
> much in Seattle
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