"Up for auction is a very rare vintage bicycle that was given to the USA speed skating team to train on in the off season. This bicycle was given to Kimberly Klein, who I am selling the bike for. It is a Lotus Aero Super Pro made from Tange butted chrome molly aero tubing. The frame is in very good condition with no dents or dings only a very few paint chips with the majority of them being on the seat tube which are visible in the pictures. The chrome is in excellent condition. The seat tube measures 52 cm center to top. The top tube measures 55cm center to center and the head tube measures 9.5 cm. It has a complete Shimano Dura Ace AX group, headset (very cool plastic cover over it), brake calipers(Lance Armstrong used this brake in the 2000 tour on his time trial bike because they are very aero), crankset 170 mm 52 42 chainrings, front and rear derailleur, brake levers which are the first aero levers made by Shimano, shifters which were the precursors to the index shifters, 7 speed freewheel, pedals which have an oversize spindle so your foot was at the center of the pedal spindle and aero seat post. Also very rare and unique is the stem and handle bar made by Nitto. The stem is called Crystemblue 85mm long and the handlebar called Aerodynamics and is 40 cm center to center. It has a San Marco Rolls saddle. The rims are Araya Aero 2 tubular 32 hole laced with semi bladed spokes. The tires are Wolber Neo Pro tubulars, the front holds air the rear doesn't, the glue is dried and the tires will easily come off the rims. Next is a letter sent to Kim explaining a little about the bicycle. Dear Kim, lotus bikes were designed by Sidney Star(formerly Stern German for Star) and built for his company by the Tsunuda company in Japan. This frame is made from Tange aero cro mo tubing and is all cromed and than gold painted. Is 1982 issue first full aero components Shimano Dura Ace AX aero. The design was way ahead of its time and did not catch on, as it should have been, It was like a betamax in a country of VHS. because of the use of the dyna drive pedal with the oversize hole in the pedal axel the only weak point in the serie the bearing was not very good, you did have your foot at the level of the center of the whole in the crankl arm which allowed the rider to ride 1/2 an inch smaller size frame., The bike has become quit vintage because of the small series made, the extreme aero seat post, the parapull brakes, the bladed spokes the araya teardrop rims , the nitti aero handlebar with the top blue enclosure, headset which require a special set of adjsuting tools, the aero waterbottle, The hubs with their recessed spoke settings, were all new inovative designs The light weight black aero saddle was one of the first that light and very functional. The story go's that in 86or 87 the whole yaer production on a ship from japan to the west coast went down with the ship it sailed on, you dont have insurance on maritime losses, that was the end of the comapny, The guy stern or Star is now a prof at Hofstra what I hear, I bought 6 bikes of tham when they introduced them at the reg bike show at the horizon cntr in Chicago in feb 82 or 83 can't remember anymore."