Classic & Vintage - 1982'ish Lotus Legend

Grand Comp Sport (ignore the wheels for now, just borrowed from another bike). NR rear derailleur. Not sure of the stem. Only 1 h2o boss but I stuck another one in there. Can't ride with 1 bottle in sunny SoCal. Link is on google albums

1982 Champagne color Lotus Legend (https://picasaweb.google.com/103793880953397422315/Lotus?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJqt4avfhqKYBQ&feat=directlink)

Riding it at the Tour of Palm Springs in SoCal this coming weekend. Then I'll strip it and polish it up.

Nice bike. I had a Legend Compe in Hunter Green. Mine was a 58cm with SL/SP tubing. Mine had a dead feel to it, so I sold it after a year. When I ride a bike with one bottle holder, I carry the 2nd bottle in my back jersey pocket. It works fine for me.

Gorgeous Lotus!

Wow!

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-N6-UAmEfNCs/Ty3Hs1SIoKI/AAAAAAAABMI/VEfv2ib96Gk/s800/IMG_3024.JPG

Nice! Was the Campy group standard on the Legend? These bikes must be rare.

That is a cool bike! What weels did it come with?


Nice! Was the Campy group standard on the Legend? These bikes must be rare.

We attribute that model to 1984 (but could be 1985). Lotus had three Campagnolo equipped bikes that year; the Legend Compe (like in the photo) with Nuovo Gran Sport, the Competition with Nuovo Record and the Supreme with Super Record. All the frames were Columbus tubing and had engraved seat stays and fork crowns. In order to offer a Campagnolo group at a competitive price, the remaining components on the bike were Japanese, like the SR bar and stem and the Kashimax saddle. Rims were either Araya or Ukai.

The first year for the Legend Compe was 1983 and it came equipped with Sugino, Suntour and Dia Compe components. Lotus called the dark green Oxide Green and the color in the photo was just called Tan. Navy was also available.

The Legend Compe frame was slightly different than the Legend. The Compe had different geometry and did not have eyelets on the dropouts. Both bikes shared similar components in 1983, but in 1984 the Compe came Campagnolo equipped. Anecdotal evidence we've gathered suggests that the Campagnolo bicycles were only a one-shot deal, meaning they were imported from Japan in one shipment and when they were gone they were not available for re-order. The Competition sold out first, followed by the Supreme and then the Legend Compe.

In 1986 Lotus partnered with Cinelli and offered 3 models of full-blown Italian racing bikes (Record, Supreme, Triomphe) all made in Italy.

nice!

GREAT INFO Synerderman!!!! Thank you thank you!!!

We attribute that model to 1984 (but could be 1985)...

It should be a 1984. For 1985 Lotus offered four models with Columbus frames and Campagnolo groups. The Record (SLX, C-Record) made it's debut at the top of the line, while the Supreme slipped to 2nd, but was upgraded to SLX. Both the Competition and Legend Compe appear to have been dropped in favour of the Victory (SL, Victory) and Triomphe (tretubi SL, Triomphe). All 1985 models rec'd a minor upgrade by featuring Italian tertiary components (from Nisi, Regina, Cinelli, San Marco), in order to be more competitive in the marketplace.

Thank you T-Mar! We have a hole in our Lotus information for 1985, so we're uncertain where some models began/ended exactly.