Road Cycling - Now I've done It...

Well, I'm a two-bike owner now. I didn't mean to be. It just happened.

A friend of ours recently voiced the urge to purchase a bike and was curious about a shop called The Community Cycling Center near his home in Northeast Portland. My wife and I and two other friends joined him at The Dahlia Café for breakfast this morning, then walked over to the shop, a place about which I'd previously heard good buzz.

Oh. Boy. What a cool place!

Our friend Kevin tested an old refurbished Bridgestone and fell in love on the spot. Meanwhile Kate, another of our friends, spotted a Raleigh, test-rode it, and decided she couldn't pass it up.

Me? I was just along for the ride, so to speak. I love looking at bicycles. But I already have a quite serviceable machine, so this was just a very nice morning stroll through Northeast Portland neighborhoods, with a fine breakfast and a short stop in at a bike shop to help a friend select a good used bike and steer him away from bad buys if my limited knowledge afforded such insight. That's it and that's all.

And then I saw the Lotus. Never heard of a Lotus, but a Lotus it is, and in great condition as far as I could tell.

I now own a Lotus road bike. It's standing behind my chair as I type. Yes, I took pictures, but be warned I'm not exactly Ansel Adams with a camera. The following post(s) will include all of the info I've been able to get from examination. I'm hoping you folk can fill in the rest. And I don't care if you feel compelled to tell me I bought the worst bicycle ever manufactured (I'd much rather read an honest appraisal than "Oh, uh, yeah, nice bike there, um, Rob") because I've ridden it, it fits better than I had a right to expect, and dammit, I love the thing already.

Pictures and specs follow. By the way, the shop URL is http://www.communitycyclingcenter.org and it's very cool.

-Rob

Here it is:

Downtube shifters

Double Chainring

Suntour drivetrain

I suspect a CrMo frame but I'm not learned enough to tell.

There's a crest logo and the word 'Hsin Lung' on the handlebar.

22" frame, perhaps just a tad large for me (the stand-over is a bit 'intimate') but fits well otherwise.

This is all I can determine at this point.

The handlebar, with 'Hsin Lung' emblem.

Downtube shifters

I snapped pics of the drive-train, should anyone wish to see them. I'd just like to know how old this machine is, and anything else someone might know about the Lotus manufacturer.

Did I mention it was made in Taiwan?

For starters, do check to make sure your stem is into the steer tube far enough to hide the MAX mark... judging by your photos, either the stem is overextended, or it has a longer-than-average quill.

Looking at the bike overall, it's hard to guess the frame material. Look over the seat tube again for any telltale stickers... "1020", or "4130," or "Tange #2" or such.

I'm guessing the rims are single-walled 27", which reduces your tire choices considerably, but there are still a few respectable ones out there (Panaracer Pasela comes to mind). The drivetrain shouldn't be a problem since it's non-indexed... you can replace the freewheel with a Shimano 6-speed if/when the time comes.

That bike reminds me of my old Univega Sportour that I had in the late 80's :) I put a LOT of hours on that bike. Was it upper-end? Certainly not. But I enjoyed it for years. :)

edit: oh, and my guess is that the bike is from the early 80's

Thanks, Mech!

I suspected it was about that old and I'm glad to read a similar and more experienced opinion. I see no markings on the stem, so at this point I'll assume it's secured properly. As to frame material, I find nothing definitive at all, but I assume CrMo as I do see very small hints of rust that I'll have to address with some nail polish and some touch-up. Other than Community Cycling's sticker I find an old shop sticker evidently originating from a shop named CICLO here in Portland.

The down-tube shifters are odd. No click! Something I'll have to get used to.

Just from the test-ride and rolling up and down the parking lot here at home, I can tell this machine is way quicker than my Trek commuter beastie. The Lotus is destined to be a fair-weather ride; I don't really want to kit it out with fenders, etc. as I have my other bike.

Now I'll have to get blinkers and a headlight for this new steed, and I guess I need to experiment with a helmet mirror after all, since I don't think I can easily adapt a handlebar mirror to it. Until then, it's a bike-trail bike.

Thanks again for your input! :beer:

-Rob

Looking around the 'net, I found this site...

http://216.239.39.100/search?hl=en&q=cache:bg-J4g3RNAQJ:http://www.mybikesite.com/messages/road/messages/1662.htm+Lotus+Road+Bicycle

...that indicates Lotus was once upon a time well-respected. No pictures, unfortunately, but the posters wax rhapsodic about their old machines. Wish I knew more about mine!


-Rob

Hey MechBGon, I just sold my Univega Sportour a few months back, I was leaving the country so was forced to which was sad cause it was still going strong. I hadn't heard of any other sportours still around before.

As for dating your bike there are various codes on the parts. I believe the vintage trek website has a good listing of how to determine age. I know with my univega, I got the date of the dia compe brakes as 1980. They might be a useful site to help you date it. The bike looks like its in excellent condition

Originally posted by streners
Hey MechBGon, I just sold my Univega Sportour a few months back, I was leaving the country so was forced to which was sad cause it was still going strong. I hadn't heard of any other sportours still around before. Wow, I've never heard from any other Sportour owners either :) I got mine used as a frame/fork for $75 when I was a freshman in college and discovered a crack in my previous bike's fork. I must say, all bicycle manufacturers should use whatever paint process Univega did, because that was one tough finish they put on those. Mine was sky blue :)

We have a old sky blue Univega Sportour along with a gunmetal grey one (moms old bike). all original to.

My roadie is an 81 Lotus Excelle, the name still tickles me for us spreadsheet software fans. And it is probably older than yours. Mine has a plastic spoke protector and was originally all Shimano 600 with an early six speed freehub. The brakes are Shimano 500 center pulls. Mine was Japanese steel, not a bad thing for the early 80's.

Mine is straight tube Chrome Moly. And I suspect that yours may be also. I converted mine to a triple last year. I'm not sure that your wheels are original. The contemporary wheel reflectors were roundish things and I don't think I ever saw a Lotus with a metal spoke protector. I don't think your seat post is original either.

Mine has no bosses for a water bottle, which is the real thing I'm basing the age on.

Mine sold for $250+ in 81 and I got a $50 trade in for my old Sears five speed. It's a 25 inch frame and always was a little large for me. But it is an old friend.

I had to replace the front wheel last year when I ran over it with my car (a story I related for everyone's entertainment). Although, with an axle replacement and a little truing, the original wheel is now fine. That should tell you something about the strength of the spoked bicycle wheel.

Yup, I'm pretty sure that at least the front wheel, the QRs, the seat post, and perhaps the drive-train (Suntour; the site I referenced earlier displays posts from owners whose Lotus bikes featured Suntour, so perhaps the components have merely been pampered) are after-market. All of these appear to be just too shiny to be original. (Did they even have QR in the early '80s? Forgive my ignorance, please; I really do mean it when I say I know nothing. :rolleyes: )

This bike doesn't have a model name anywhere on it, but the manufacturer sure didn't want you to forget the company name. 'Lotus' is writ large on practically every available surface. I find this tacky, but then I'm not much of a 'brand name' guy.

I'd like to know how much a new paint job would cost. The color ('silver') is interesting but thus far I've not found a suitable match. Damnedest shade of 'silver' I've ever seen.

-Rob