1996 Votec Porsche Bike S

[Queste]

That's why I like it so much, big pipes and a massive fork ! The fork also has an enormously rigid feeling in corners due to the double clamp stem.

I want to upgrade the wheels since the axles are still Sachs Neos, not the best around. I'm thinking of a XT wheelset ( WH-M770 ). Should look neat with the cranks...

DA-EVO, Is that Road Bike S also from the nineties ? I know the Bike R but never saw a road Bike S...

 

[MynameisCasper]

If you're from Rotterdam, maybe we can do a mini retro ride as I am from Rotterdam as well.

 

[Queste]

Yes, I live in Rotterdam, that would be cool, know some other guys with bikes too !

 

[CalaisWoodBurner]

Sorry to go the other way, but I think it is one of the ugliest bikes I have ever seen.

I had the fortune ? of sitting on one of these "back in the day" at Yeadons Porsche dealer, it was like sitting on an old superbike ! I genuinely thought the bike was just a gimic / sales aid for Porsche ?

 

[old_banger]

Hello fellow bike lovers,

This is one of my bikes. I first saw it in 1996 when I was reading a Porsche magazine in France. It featured the Bike S and Bike FS. At that time the bike was too expensive for me, but it never left my mind after I saw it... ten years later I was browsing some German marketplace website and saw it again, for sale ! One week later I drove 6 hours from Rotterdam to Stuttgart to collect it. It belonged to an employee of Porsche who bought it when it came out. He told me he used it only a few times in the last ten years ! The frame was in absolute perfect original state with no scratches at all and still had the original Sachs Neos group mounted. After riding it a few times I noticed the bottom bracket had, although still in a new state, some play in it. So I upgraded the drivetrain with these components: X-0 carbon rear derailleur, X-0 shifters, X-9 front derailleur and an XT bottom bracket/cranckset. I also turned the the "stem" (how would you call it?) upside down and mounted CODA bar ends I had from another bike.

Future plans I have for this bike are new wheels (perhaps with a disc brake in front). Hope you like it, for me it is one of the most beautiful frames around !

Hey Queste, if it's not too much trouble, could you share some pics of the top part of the fork stanchions where the end caps are, and also the top part of the fork lower legs/sliders? Seems like Votec made some subtle revisions & changes to the design after 1996 for this fork although most part remains the same. You can pm me the pics if it's not too convenient here. Much appreciated , Cheers

 

[Queste]

@CalaisWoodBurner: Very cool to see your opposite reaction, taste is a personal thing! I fully agree to the point you make about car manufacturers selling bikes as gimmicks, It's not their core business but I think Porsche did a very good job together with Votec, it's a stiff, competitive and quite light bike, not toy at all. The person I bought the bike from (general manager on information systems @ Porsche ) told me they didn't make a lot of profit on the bikes because they had to write a full manual for each bike, which was relatively expensive.

@old_banger: The fork is a GS III and has (as far as I know) elastomer internals. Votec also made the same fork with oil damping, I thought this model was called the GS 9, with a lockout on top. I'll make some detailed pictures of the fork in good daylight, you'll see them here soon.

 

[old_banger]

@old_banger: The fork is a GS III and has (as far as I know) elastomer internals. Votec also made the same fork with oil damping, I thought this model was called the GS 9, with a lockout on top. I'll make some detailed pictures of the fork in good daylight, you'll see them here soon.

Thanks in advance ! Anyway after looking at the available pics you've posted, there are indeed some changes to the fork made after 1996. Here's some pics of my fork from the same bike manufactured 1997. The fork was renamed GS97 for the Bike S. Notable differences - Fork stanchion tube end covers/ bolt nuts, lower slider tubes (top part)....basically the same fork.

And oh yes... the Bike S was actually a Votec Delta (or something like that if my memory serves me right) available in the early/mid 90s after which that frame design patent was used solely for the Bike S.

 

[Queste]

Did you mount a disc brake on your fork? This is a thing I want to do also, it's possible to remove the magura hangers and mount a disc adapter. The Bike FS had that configuration with a Sachs disc brake. From the pictures your fork indeed looks different. Do you have pictures of the Votec Delta ? I looked on the web but didn't find any...

 

[old_banger]

Did you mount a disc brake on your fork? This is a thing I want to do also, it's possible to remove the magura hangers and mount a disc adapter. The Bike FS had that configuration with a Sachs disc brake. From the pictures your fork indeed looks different. Do you have pictures of the Votec Delta ? I looked on the web but didn't find any...

Hi Queste, nope never had the intention for disc conversion as the maguras are working fine & serves the purpose well. They're pretty easy to maintain too. As for the Votec Delta, i do not have any pic unfortunately....remember seeing it in adverts by VOTEC in Mountain bike action mags back in the 90s pretty often. The only way to find out more and maybe to get parts for old Votec bikes is to contact the ex co founder of VOTEC ,a certain Mr. Voitl of VOITL engineering GmbH & Co.KG (Email: info@voitl-bikes.de) ...don't know if they still exist though and I believe language will be a barrier as their website are all in German !

Here's my Votec to share :

 

[CalaisWoodBurner]

@CalaisWoodBurner: Very cool to see your opposite reaction, taste is a personal thing! I fully agree to the point you make about car manufacturers selling bikes as gimmicks, It's not their core business but I think Porsche did a very good job together with Votec, it's a stiff, competitive and quite light bike, not toy at all. The person I bought the bike from (general manager on information systems @ Porsche ) told me they didn't make a lot of profit on the bikes because they had to write a full manual for each bike, which was relatively expensive.

@old_banger: The fork is a GS III and has (as far as I know) elastomer internals. Votec also made the same fork with oil damping, I thought this model was called the GS 9, with a lockout on top. I'll make some detailed pictures of the fork in good daylight, you'll see them here soon.

Cool, in fairness the bike was on a plinth and therefore could not pick it up / ride it !. However, your bike does look "somewhat" cooler in your recently added photos.