Originally Posted by
Jeff Wills
I was fascinated by the Shimano-equipped aero bikes BITD. They stood out in a sea of otherwise cookie-cutter Campagnolo-equipped race bikes. That didn’t mean it worked any better… the racers knew what worked and didn’t feel the need for a wholesale change.
If I were in your position, I would look for a Lotus or possibly Zunow frame. The “aero” tubing frames are very very rare but putting that crank on a round-tubed frame fits within your parameters. Maybe round out your build with period Dura-Ace EX (not AX) would hit the right note… the race bike whose owner wanted to try this aero stuff but didn’t want to step up to full AX kit.
Info from that period:
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/shimano1982/
‘from a racer’s perspective, the AX crank/pedal system to be exploited required a new smaller seat tube frame, assuming the top tube was correct. The saddle was lower a bit, 12mm? I should know as I have an AX set.
‘this was also the era of the EX brake, not bad but not as easy to center as Campagnolo. The freehub was intriguing, I had a bunch of race wheels, and did not bend axles, but the design while good, did not really do much more, not like 6 cogs in a 120mm frame. Had they done that, the take up might have been noticeable. Shimano was Uniglide chain at the time, those chains stretched way too fast.