Odd ball bikes ?

[midlife]

The Flying Gate (a disparaging nickname which Baines, the original makers, hated) must be one of the ugliest frames ever designed, but a friend says his is a dream to ride (though his is made by Trevor Jarvis, who revived the design).

But the Gate was not designed especially for time-trials, unlike the lo-pros featured in the first post.

Yep, the Baines was often called the "birdcage" and was quite beloved by tourers...

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I think this thread proves that there have always been some rather weird and ugly looking designs out there at the margins, but mercifully the vast majority of riders opted for conventional and much more aesthetically pleasing, triangulated frames.
The oddball ones look like a lot of pain for very little gain, and some of them must have been heavier than a standard frame because of the extra tubes. The fact that these designs died a death seems to suggest that the extra 1/4" wheelbase reduction they probably offered wasn't worth having an extra couple of feet of steel tube to propel around.

 

[Ian H]

Condor still offer a Paris Galibier-style frame. Curly Hetchins are sought-after to the extent that there have been numerous different builders copying them, officially and unofficially (and at least one court case resulting).

Many of the odd designs were to promote brand-recognition in the days when amateur riders were allowed no advertising, not even on their bikes.

 

[Nibor]

@Nibor would love to know more about that Ian may , do you know the owner or rider at all ?

I don’t I am afraid if I go again when it is on I will try to find out

 

[Nibor]

Maybe a little off topic but here is a link to a drop box with my other pictures from the show including a rather unique Hetchins https://www.dropbox.com/sh/el5b2hn3d2t4v2o/AACGitkq-cr6jhL00Tmfp8M6a?dl=0

 

[biggs682]

Maybe a little off topic but here is a link to a drop box with my other pictures from the show including a rather unique Hetchins https://www.dropbox.com/sh/el5b2hn3d2t4v2o/AACGitkq-cr6jhL00Tmfp8M6a?dl=0

some nice bikes for sure

I don’t I am afraid if I go again when it is on I will try to find out

Hope you dont mind i posted a pic of the Ian May on my In Appreciation Of Merseyside Bikes face book page and when of the regulars reckons it might well have been one he used himself at one stage

 

[Nibor]

Hope you dont mind i posted a pic of the Ian May on my In Appreciation Of Merseyside Bikes face book page and when of the regulars reckons it might well have been one he used himself at one stage

Not in the slightest feel free to use the pictures however you wish.

 

[Specialeyes]

Maybe a little off topic but here is a link to a drop box with my other pictures from the show including a rather unique Hetchins https://www.dropbox.com/sh/el5b2hn3d2t4v2o/AACGitkq-cr6jhL00Tmfp8M6a?dl=0

Some lovely bikes there and I'm all for a bit of sympathetic modernisation but I'm not sure about making a Curl-e-Hetchins!

 

[Smokin Joe]

The bikes in the OP were a common sight in time trials in the late eighties and early nineties.

If you want "Odd", try this -

 

[rogerzilla]

It didn't do Steve much good...he never used it again!

 

[Nibor]

some nice bikes for sure



Hope you dont mind i posted a pic of the Ian May on my In Appreciation Of Merseyside Bikes face book page and when of the regulars reckons it might well have been one he used himself at one stage

Did you spot the "unusual" Hetchins?

 

[woodbutcher]

The bikes in the OP were a common sight in time trials in the late eighties and early nineties.

If you want "Odd", try this -

View attachment 435110

Man you'd need quads the size of watermelons to push that thing !

 

[biggs682]

Did you spot the "unusual" Hetchins?

Yes very nice indeed

 

[Nibor]

Yes very nice indeed

Did you spot the "upgrades"?

 

[biggs682]

Did you spot the "upgrades"?

Will check