Everything has to be viewed from the perspective of the era in which it was made...
Time trail bikes, even today, have never been necessarily light (as compared to bikes for climbing for instance). Aerodynamics are deemed to trump weight in most cases.
For example, Shimano's Dura Ace AX ((ever so slightly On Topic) are a case of weight being secondary to perceived aerodynamics. In the early 1980s, the style and focus of racing bikes rapidly moved away from that view of aerodynamics, causing Shimano to dramatically shorten AX's production life.
The Cinelli Laser bike knocked everyone's socks off in-the-day, and that was also part of their intent. Now, 25-30 years later, they should not be viewed in a modern context, but as fascinating and beautiful relics.
Dale Brown Greensboro, North Carolina USA -----Original Message----- From: biankita@comcast.net To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Sent: Wed, 9 May 2007 8:40 PM Subject: [CR]Cinelli Laser and Modolo Kronos
After Brian Baylis' review of the Cinelli, I can see why the bike ended up in the MOMA. It is a beautiful piece of art from a visual point of view. The best art however is like the best engineering: Form follows function. If the Cinelli Laser is a heavy impractical piece then it does not appeal to the sportsman in all of us. It's a show dog, not a hunter. It's a poseur. It's an all visual flow and no go item that should be hung on the wall and left to those who love to ooh and ahh and not those who love to sweat. Body filler or not, it's not a classical lightweight in that its form hinders the melding of body and machine. I sold my plastic Modolo brake levers at a pretty penny on Ebay last year. They seemed so delicate that I felt I could barely put them in the box without breaking them. I was so glad that the purchaser of those and the matching flexy Modolo shift levers said they were going in a show case and not on a bike. They belonged in the show aisle and not the pace line. The levers were so bendy that when they came off the bike I had them on, the bike seemed to let out a sigh of relief... the same sigh I let out when I shipped them off.
Garth Libre in Miami Fl USA
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