Lotus Excelle
this lotus is on the local cl. i am 70 and need to carry a bike up a flight of stairs. my current bikes are in the 26 to 29 lbs range, i would like to have a bike down in the low 20's. can a lotus excelle meet that spec?

Not sure it will be as light as you'd like but that is quite a nice bike . I haven't seen lotus love in a while.

Probably not going to reach your weight goal without major investment in wheels and tires. A complete bike with a frame made of Columbus SL has a chance, like a 1980's Peloton, which is listed at 20 lbs, but the bikes with Tenax frames are 10-20% greater weight.

i have been looking for a fuji club, which is not cr-mo but fuji valite quad butted and the specs say 22 lbs. i am currently building a fuji valite double butted mixte which rides nice but is coming in around 26.5 lbs, but the mixte is for when in have trouble swinging a leg over a diamond frame. so far most clubs have been out of my price range or the wrong size.

I can't comment on that Lotus but I can offer a few tips on getting a bike up and down stairs easily regardless of its weight. Grab the bike by the front wheel. Use whichever hand will let your other hand operate the rear brake lever - if the rear is on the bike's right grab the wheel with your right hand so your left can operate the brake. Back it down the stairs or pull it up the stairs with the bike in front of you pointed up the stairs and you facing down. Go one step at a time. I'm 66 and I regularly move our 40lb tandem in and out of the hatch to our basement by myself.

My 54cm Lotus Classique was 24.5 lbs.
A little heavy, but such pretty hips.

The bike in the CL ad is probably ~25 lbs, no matter what the seller says. So, not really an improvement on what you have, weight-wise.

Vintage steel plus low 20 pounds = relatively rare. Its the one time you will have to be model and year specific to get one that light.

I have one, a 1987 Schwinn Prologue. Tange Prestige frame, modern 2004 component group (Dura Ace); way outside the usual bike budget.

Its not just about the frame, need high end wheelset, light tires and saddle, etc.

i tried your method but i have very tight 90 degree turns on both landing making it awkward.

I hear you, but it can be done. I don't have to do that with the tandem but I also regularly bring solo bikes up from the basement into the kitchen. That staircase has a fairly tight turn at the bottom. But you have to do what ever works.

Excelle was the main attraction for Lotus. Their leading seller. It was equipped with a nice Tange frame & good quality Shimano components. Weight depends a lot on size. The smaller ones are pretty sweet at around 24 - 25 lbs. Bigger ones weigh more. Overall, very nice bikes. Comparable to Centurion, Bridgestone, & other high quality Japanese brands. Always worth checking out.