Here is a question I have not seen nor could I find.
What bicycles have won the tdf?I know that the last 7 were Treks and there was one Huffy but what others?
Do any of you know?I wouldn't even know how to find out.
Rick G

Here is a question I have not seen nor could I find.
What bicycles have won the tdf?I know that the last 7 were Treks and there was one Huffy but what others?
Do any of you know?I wouldn't even know how to find out.
Rick G
Peugeot, Alcyon, Automoto, Bianchi, Pinarello, Lemond, Bottecchia, Carrera, Gitane, Raleigh, Merckx...
Help please...

and there was one Huffy

No Huffy ever won the Tour De France...

Andy Hampsten won the 1988 Giro d'Italia on a Huffy-labelled Serotta.

Look

The #1 bike maker to win the TDF over history is Peugeot. Just goes to show what that means.

It never won the tour...but a Mondonico built Carrera podiumed....and won the giro, with Chiapucchi.

Trek is the only winning bike since I've been watching.

It never won the tour...but a Mondonico built Carrera podiumed....and won the giro, with Chiapucchi.


If you mean Claudio Chiappucci, he never won the Giro. If you mean Franco Chioccioli, he won the Giro in 1991, but on a Pinarello. Chiappucci was twice 2nd (1991, 1992) once 3rd (1993)

of man, to think a huffy actualy won.....

of man, to think a huffy actualy won.....

Glad to hear it....even if it was in name only. My first bike was a huffy, only because my son wouldn't have anything to do with it. I took alot of flack for riding that bike. I had no idea why at the time. It was a bike wasn't it? If only I could have told them it was tour worthy. :lol: Laughing is good for your soul.

Between 1955 and 1985, there were many different "decals" on the winning bikes at the Tour de France. But, nine out of ten years during that period, the winner's primary bike (not necessarily his hill climbing bike or time trial bike) was pretty much the SAME bike: a bike with Reynolds 531 frame, Reynolds 531 fork, Campy hubs, Campy changers. The differences year to year were only details, such as the bars and stem (usually Cinelli) and the brakes (several companies competed with Campy on brakes).

So, Trek still has about two decades to go before carbon fiber bikes will catch up to Reynolds 531 bikes. And Shimano has about fifty years to go before the number of winners featuring Shimano components catches up with the number of winners who have used Campy components.

How many Tours were won during that same time period with 5, 6, or 7 speed freewheels rather than 10 speed cassettes? With toe clips and straps rather than clipless pedals? Friction down tube shifters rather than STI / Ergo levers? How about quill stems versus threadless? I hope these new-fangled gimmicks don't catch on!

Thank god I can still access Bike Forums through my manual typewriter and an extension cord! ;)

I thought I saw a picture of Greg lemond on a huffy.sorry but I guess I will have to find that pic again.

Regarding Lance's Treks, I believe one year, maybe the first, his "Trek" was a re-badged Litespeed Titanium. Also, Lemond won in 1989 on a Bottecchia, I believe.

Lance also competed on a bike branded as a Caloi. I have one of their mt bikes, I have no idea who actually made the LA frame.

I must be going blind or daft,

How about Colnago. Their bikes have probably won just about any race worth winning.

Regarding Lance's Treks, I believe one year, maybe the first, his "Trek" was a re-badged Litespeed Titanium. Also, Lemond won in 1989 on a Bottecchia, I believe.


Armstrong's TT frame in 1999 was a re-sprayed Litespeed Blade. Lance bought it himself. The road bikes were Trek OCLV carbon.

Lemond rode a TVT carbon road frame with Mavic components in 1989. He used a steel Bottechia with Mavic for TT stages.

Also, Lemond won in 1989 on a Bottecchia, I believe.

In 1986 on a LOOK with La Vie Claire and in 1990 on a Greg Lemond branded bike. Does anybody know who manufactured that 1990 GL model?

Lance also competed on a bike branded as a Caloi. I have one of their mt bikes, I have no idea who actually made the LA frame.

The CALOI frames ridden by Motorola were rebranded Merckx. They even said CALOI by Eddy Merckx on the decals (though the 'by Eddy Merckx' was very tiny font)

In 1986 on a LOOK with La Vie Claire and in 1990 on a Greg Lemond branded bike. Does anybody know who manufactured that 1990 GL model?


TVT.

The CALOI frames ridden by Motorola were rebranded Merckx. They even said CALOI by Eddy Merckx on the decals (though the 'by Eddy Merckx' was very tiny font)



Correct.

Caloi is Merckx for the Brazilian market.

The CALOI frames ridden by Motorola were rebranded Merckx. They even said CALOI by Eddy Merckx on the decals (though the 'by Eddy Merckx' was very tiny font)

Thanks!

Correct.

Caloi is Merckx for the Brazilian market.

Really, are they designed by the Merkx factory or is this just a bike manufacture that Merckx owns? I might have a bit more respect for my mt bike now?!

Really, are they designed by the Merkx factory or is this just a bike manufacture that Merckx owns? I might have a bit more respect for my mt bike now?!


Only the top road models are actual Merckx frames......they sponsored the Lotto team too. Tchmil won at Paris-Roubiax in 94 on a Caloi.

Similar to when Serotta made the 7-Eleven frames and Huffy paid for the branding.

i didnt even know that huffy ever made road bikes

Did everyone forget the de Rosa frames that Eddie Merkx rode?

Aren't top racing bikes for the most extent all modified or custom jobs, so it doesn't matter? Sort of like how there's nothing stock about "stock car" racing cars? (0ooh, the Pontiac Grand Am won the Daytona 500, hey I gotta get me one of those.)

Aren't top racing bikes for the most extent all modified or custom jobs, so it doesn't matter? Sort of like how there's nothing stock about "stock car" racing cars? (0ooh, the Pontiac Grand Am won the Daytona 500, hey I gotta get me one of those.)



Exactly thesame marketing theory.

Race on Sunday, buy on Monday.

Exactly thesame marketing theory.

Race on Sunday, buy on Monday.
You can buy an identical frame and components that are used by any pro cycling team. Yes, there are a few one off customs made for top bill riders, but those are an exception rather then a rule.

You can buy an identical frame and components that are used by any pro cycling team. Yes, there are a few one off customs made for top bill riders, but those are an exception rather then a rule.


are you meant to be replying to me?

You can buy an identical frame and components that are used by any pro cycling team.

Maybe, but you'll have to buy the components yourself at extra expense to get the same whole bike.

i didnt even know that huffy ever made road bikes

Huffy didn't make the bikes. They just paid to put decals on the bikes the pros were riding.

Like when Lance rode the Litespeed in the 1999 time trial that was painted with TREK on the down tube.

Didnt the posties ride Cannondales for a brief time?

Marcus at Yojimbo's Garage in Chicago has a Huffy pursuit/track thingy. It's the sexiest Huffy I have ever seen.

How many Tours were won during that same time period with 5, 6, or 7 speed freewheels rather than 10 speed cassettes? With toe clips and straps rather than clipless pedals? Friction down tube shifters rather than STI / Ergo levers? How about quill stems versus threadless? I hope these new-fangled gimmicks don't catch on!

Thank god I can still access Bike Forums through my manual typewriter and an extension cord! ;)

Here's my guess. If Merckx was 30 years old again, riding on a Reynolds 531 frame and fork, six speed freewheel, toe clips, and straps, friction downtube shifters...he would win the 2006 Tour de France. He would win because he would be the strongest rider in the race. The fact he was on the most comfortable frame in the race would help him, and he would be aided by "old school" components that are more reliable than STI...but he would win because Merckx, at age thirty, was a far stronger rider than any of the current crop.

The marketing boys would like every forty year old dentist in America to think that a fifteen pound bike with ten cogs and STI shifting is "faster" than the bikes that Merckx rode...and they also hope the dentist will fork over $3,000 to fuel that fantasy. But, only legs are fast...bikes are only what you sit on while you pedal.

You got it down perfectly, Alan. That is exactly would happen.

As someone else mentioned, the reason we have not seen Merckx like domination is because we have not seen another Merckx. He's a one in a century rider. Give it time, it will happen again.

I've never seen an STI shifter fail in competition... but okay. :rolleyes:

Ocana won on a Motobecane in '73 though it was a custom job as most of the steel frames were then. The only thing I'd add to Alan's post above is that Columbus competed with the legendary 531 especially in the 70s-80s. As noted before Merckx won on alot of bikes built by Ugo DeRosa and Ernesto Colnago that sported other decals.

Huffy made quite alot of road bikes through the later 1980s and then switched to "mountain" bikes for adult customers. None of those Huffys ver rode in the peloton however. As also noted before Huffy decals were applied to custom made frames. Serrota was one builder don't know if there were others.

"Brand" names didn't mean a whole lot when lugged steel ruled the roost as racers always had their frames made for them by a builder they trusted. "Name" manufacturers were happy to have their logo displayed. Apparently, new construction methods make it hard for modern bikes to be custom built. At least that's what I read from Trek.



:beer:

I've never seen an STI shifter fail in competition... but okay. :rolleyes:
Oh but they have. I saw one fail during warm up laps before a crit in Walterboro, SC, and a mechainic franticly replace it befre the race.

Huffy did make road bikes back in the 70s and 80s. I had an Omni-10 for my first road bike when I was 13. Damn thing was blue all over, including the tires, saddle, and handlebar padding. Heavy Hi-Ten steel frame with steel wheels.

For my 13th birthday my dad got me a Huffy road bike. They used to be sold everywhere from hardware stores to K-Mart.

Malvern Star
Repco

Between 1955 and 1985, there were many different "decals" on the winning bikes at the Tour de France. But, nine out of ten years during that period, the winner's primary bike (not necessarily his hill climbing bike or time trial bike) was pretty much the SAME bike: a bike with Reynolds 531 frame, Reynolds 531 fork, Campy hubs, Campy changers. The differences year to year were only details, such as the bars and stem (usually Cinelli) and the brakes (several companies competed with Campy on brakes).

So, Trek still has about two decades to go before carbon fiber bikes will catch up to Reynolds 531 bikes. And Shimano has about fifty years to go before the number of winners featuring Shimano components catches up with the number of winners who have used Campy components.


Stating that "...Trek still has about two decades to go before carbon fiber bikes will catch up to Reynolds 531 bikes. And Shimano has about fifty years to go before the number of winners featuring Shimano components catches up with the number of winners who have used Campy components..." is misleading because they weren't all available at the same time. You state that Reynolds 531 bikes have been around since at least 1955. When did race-worty cabon bikes become readily available? The mid to late 1980's? Of course there's going to be differences in which has been used more often in the last 50 years. Which has been used more since they were both available? The same can be said of components. Campagnolo has been making components since the early 1930's. I'm not sure exactly when the Nuovo Record and Super Record groups became available (1950's or 60's perhaps?), but Shimano didn't debut their high end Dura Ace group until sometime in the 80's, if I remember correctly. Sure, you can argue that the riders are using what their sponsors pay them to ride, but if it were a serious handicap, you can bet that the riders and team management would either be putting up a big fight, or refuse to be sponsored by that company to begin with.




Here's my guess. If Merckx was 30 years old again, riding on a Reynolds 531 frame and fork, six speed freewheel, toe clips, and straps, friction downtube shifters...he would win the 2006 Tour de France. He would win because he would be the strongest rider in the race. The fact he was on the most comfortable frame in the race would help him, and he would be aided by "old school" components that are more reliable than STI...but he would win because Merckx, at age thirty, was a far stronger rider than any of the current crop.

The marketing boys would like every forty year old dentist in America to think that a fifteen pound bike with ten cogs and STI shifting is "faster" than the bikes that Merckx rode...and they also hope the dentist will fork over $3,000 to fuel that fantasy. But, only legs are fast...bikes are only what you sit on while you pedal.

Believe it or not, I actually agree with you regarding the scenario of a 30 year old Merckx riding today. It's the "engine", not the bike, that makes the difference. If you put a Reynolds 531 bike and a carbon fiber bike against the wall, they go exactly the same speed: zero. It's not until you add the rider that you see the difference in speed. And you'd probably see the same result regardless of which bike the strongest rider is using. So, the strongest rider would win because he was the strongest, not because of the material he was riding. That does not prove that steel, carbon, aluminum, or ti is better or worse. It simply proves that the material wasn't enough of a handicap to prevent him from winning. The same reasoning can be applied to component groups, clothing, tires, etc: The winner probably would have won on something similar from another manufacturer, as long as it wasn't bad enough to slow him down or get in his way. But Merckx is an extreme example because he was so extraordinarily dominant. Didn't the Giro organizers pay him not to start the Giro one year, because they wanted some suspense as to who would ultimately win?

Just because Merckx rode a 531 frame with a 6 speed freewheel and quill stem doesn't mean that the equipment can't progress beyond that point in time. Merckx runs his own bike company and can make whatever he wants. Look at his 2006 web site. How many are the retro bikes that he used when he was racing? None. However, looking at his site reveals lots of modern bikes with modern technology. Rivendell makes lots of retro bikes, and while they do fulfill the needs of a niche market, consumers who have the choice of buying whatever they want aren't exactly beating down their doors and making Rivendell the dominant force in the market. A new, "hi tech" bike (however you chose to define that) won't make you faster, but neither will one designed 20 to 50 years ago. Newer bikes have advantages in some areas, older bikes have advantages in other areas. That, however, is a debate worthy of it's own thread. ;)

In the last 20+ years I've ridden bikes made from steel, aluminum, ti, and carbon. I liked all of them; well, most of them. I like my current carbon bike the best. But I still realize that I was "fastest" back when I was riding an aluminum Cannondale with 6 speed downtube shifters. Was it because of the bike? Of course not. I was 17 years younger, a significant number of pound lighter, and racing rather than riding recreationally. I'm slower now, but it's not the bike's fault. I'm not going to shun modern technology because I used to be in better shape when I was in college though.

As far as why I consider Merckx to be the greatest rider of all time, check out the short story titled "Roadie" by Maynard Hershon. I believe it's in his book "Tales from the Bike Shop". (If not, it is in "Half-Wheel Hell", also by Herson). :beer:

I've never seen an STI shifter fail in competition... but okay. :rolleyes:


But you haven't been in competition so SYFM.

^^and allenbikehoustan has?

Peugeot, Alcyon, Automoto, Bianchi, Pinarello, Lemond, Bottecchia, Carrera, Gitane, Raleigh, Merckx...
Help please...

Don't forget "Helyett" - Jacques Anquetil rode one for his early TDF wins before switching over to Gitane's sponsorship for his later Tour victories. His "Spéciale" (this was Helyett's top-end commercially available frameset) featured Reynolds 531 tubing & Nervex lugs.

In 1986 on a LOOK with La Vie Claire and in 1990 on a Greg Lemond branded bike. Does anybody know who manufactured that 1990 GL model?
I read somewhere that the some early LeMond bikes were made by Scapin and others by Serotta.

Don't forget "Helyett" - Jacques Anquetil rode one for his early TDF wins before switching over to Gitane's sponsorship for his later Tour victories. His "Spéciale" (this was Helyett's top-end commercially available frameset) featured Reynolds 531 tubing & Nervex lugs.
You can't slight Motobecane. Luis Ocana won the 1973 Tour de France on a Motobecane Team Champion.

You can't slight Motobecane. Luis Ocana won the 1973 Tour de France on a Motobecane Team Champion.
Wasn't a few of his Motobecanes in that Tour made from titanium?

Wasn't a few of his Motobecanes in that Tour made from titanium?I can't imagine that to be true. In the early 70s there were only a couple of frame builders starting to try working with titanium. And those first attempts, like the Teledyne Titan, were not very good.

SS

Between 1955 and 1985, there were many different "decals" on the winning bikes at the Tour de France. But, nine out of ten years during that period, the winner's primary bike (not necessarily his hill climbing bike or time trial bike) was pretty much the SAME bike: a bike with Reynolds 531 frame, Reynolds 531 fork, Campy hubs, Campy changers. The differences year to year were only details, such as the bars and stem (usually Cinelli) and the brakes (several companies competed with Campy on brakes).

So, Trek still has about two decades to go before carbon fiber bikes will catch up to Reynolds 531 bikes. And Shimano has about fifty years to go before the number of winners featuring Shimano components catches up with the number of winners who have used Campy components.

I think Columbus tubed bikes had a role in that period too.