Same down here in the late 60s. Drops and a dérailleur, presumably to distinguish it from the prevalent Sturmey Archer 3- and occasional 4-speed.I should have put a smiley smiley at the end of my post, I wasn't wanting to be taken too seriously.
Perhaps it's a regional thing, but a bike with drop bars was referred to as a racer in my early days, in the 50s.
Still happens! My tourer/commuter is heavier than my pal's hardtail, but our colleagues still refer to my bike as "a racer" due to its drop bars.
Yeahbut, a racer wasn't usually a real racing (race) bike was it. My Raleigh and my Carlton racers looked like race bikes but when I turned up to race and TT on 'em the serious boys pointed and laughed.
Try searching for 'racer' on Ebay if you want to see loads of old......racers!Ah thanks, so I'm not going doolally after all.
No, it was just a marketing ploy, like 'mountain bike'. There's a disconnect between form and function, brought about by the need to conform to the current fashion. Bicycles seem peculiarly prone to this. Another example is the current trend away from mudguards (in Britain, for goodness sake!) . Who cares if you have a wet arse, and a muddy stripe right up your back, so long as your bike looks just like Sir Bradley's!
I've got one of them. I think it might be called something else though and it's not that fast but that's not it's fault.
Exactly! Just like CX bikes aren't real CycloCross bikes - it's all marketing. In my club in the early 60's bikes used for racing were 'race bikes' (or 'track bikes' of course). Don't forget that we now have to buy 'winter bikes' and 'summer bikes' tooYeahbut, a racer wasn't usually a real racing (race) bike was it. My Raleigh and my Carlton racers looked like race bikes but when I turned up to race and TT on 'em the serious boys pointed and laughed.
Your link didn't work for me. Anyhow, I reckon Cannondale are right to continue doing what they already do well instead of chasing the newest niche. (Do well by reputation, that is, I've never even sat on one.)
Yer, the engine on mine is shockingly under-powered.
We're only just back to the 32mm width of the old 27x1¼" racing bikes, aren't we?
The wheels of marketing just keep on spinning round and round...
We had racers in London 70s/80s
The perfect definition of a racer imo, versus a race bike.
