Originally Posted by T-Mar

The first time I had heard of the Cosmopolitan was in a Bicycling article from the very early 1970s. I believe it stated that Harlan built the first Cosmopolitan because his son wanted a bicycle and, being an aero-engineer, he thought he could build a better bicycle using airplane technology. His son was the test rider and quashed the handlebar activated brakes. It was really light, about 16 lbs IIRC. I also recall him having a brake in development that was similar to an old spoon brake, in that it acted on the tire, as opposed to the rim. That seemed a bit outrageous to me, given the wear concerns. I probably still have the article, as I rarely throw out any of my cycling literature. If you haven't already seen it, I can try to find it.