Lotus racer - worth restoring?

[jim haseltine]

If Chas Robrts built these for BE - then who built the top end Barry Hoban frames?

Pass, but back in the day Barry's Mercier frames were built by Woodrup.

 

[BOBU]

Just thinking here, but.......
https://pezcyclingnews.com/readersrigs/readers-rig-lotus-supreme-1985/https://frugalaveragebicyclist.com/2022/02/06/vintage-lotus-bicycles/https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-...praisals/1046524-lotus-bike-what-s-worth.htmlhttps://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/916638-show-us-your-lotus-2.html
One of these came up in the UK and I did a bit of research into them. I know a few higher end models were Columbus tubing and some were frames made in Italy. Could this bike be one of these???

 

[jchawke]

I found contact details for Roberts Cycles and sent them photos of the frame, asking if they might have built it.
They replied to say that it doesn't have the hallmarks that they would expect to see on a Roberts frame, and therefore they don't believe the frame was built by Roberts cycles. The mystery continues...

 

[BOBU]

Follow the yellow brick road..... I'm NOT saying that this is the bike you have but it's worthy of considering.

OK, I developed a slight interest in these "Lotus" bikes as there is one listed for sale [stupid price] quite close to me. It has quite elevated componentry and especially exotic Japanese wheels [UKAI] which could be donor for my WR. I was initially bamboozeled by the 'Lotus' bikes name needed to find out more. At that time I found a fairly informative thread here:

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/916638-show-us-your-lotus.html
If you look at this view thread #22, #147, #187 & #196 with attention to the seat stay/tube union. If you look at all the bikes, you'll see there is a generic similarity in the lugs on the tubes too. What is also noticeable is that later bikes lost there lotus stampings on forks and seat stays .... and everywhere... ! The high end bikes nearly all use Columbus. There's a thread out there on their "Aero" model , supreme or something, where they obviously tried to build the greatest ever bike... it's orange so it has to be good! The lore on these bikes are that they are very good, made in Japan [Tsunoda], Taiwan [Lower/mid end, some though reputedly very good] and Italy. I would guess [quite a lot of supposition in this post I should warn!!] that there might only be a very few in this country as they were USA sold only. I suspect [supposition again...] that they may have only "leaked" into the UK bike community through US bases in the country, the one here up here is close to Edzel which was a USAF base. On top of all this these bikes [IF it is one!] are well regarded over the pond with a very strong following. I think this bike just maybe have been re-logo'd from a USA Lotus... just maybe. I've tried to be objective, one striking thing again is how many different seat stay/tube unions they used across different models/era's.... the whole subject is quite interesting. Either way, I think it's a interesting and enigmatic frame you have on your hands.... best of luck with tracing it's lineage.

 

[Mandobob]

About three years ago I purchased two old run-down bikes from a charity.
I converted the first bike into a gravel bike afterwards, but that's another story.

The second bike is the subject of this post: it was an old road racer, in very poor condition.
The alu drop bars were crumbling metal, everything was covered in dirt and/or rust.
It looked like it had been left out to rot in the rain for several years.

But there was something about it that made me want to rescue it. So I did.
On removing the grime and stripping down the bike, I realised that the underlying components were actually pretty decent:
View attachment 770264
- Columbus SLX steel frame (golly)
- Full Shimano 105 (5500) 9 speed groupset, including crankset, cassette, brifters (sticking), derailleurs, headset, octalink bb and cabling for some sort of bike computer
- Mavic wheels (CXP12 622-14 v-profile) with Shimano 600 hubs

View attachment 770257
The exact model of this bike has eluded me for several years.

View attachment 770263
The label on the head tube says 'Lotus Sport'. Googling that returns a bunch of flashy cars.
I spent many hours (and search word combinations) trying to find it.
I tried using Google lens, but nothing matched, presumably due to the poor condition of the decals and paint.

I then found the 'Lotus Bikes' wikipedia page - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_(bicycles) - and looked through all of the different models they produced.
None of them matched this bike's frame, colour or decals.

Can't remember how I found them, but in the past few days I somehow finally landed on these Retrobike pages:
https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/lotus-sport-one-0-one-history-info-request.340207/https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/lotus-one-o-one-101.404116/
And I realised: that's my bike frame in the photos!

View attachment 770265
So it looks like I have purchased a rather rare Lotus Sport One-O-One.
I gather this was manufactured by British Eagle in Wales in partnership with Lotus.
Exciting!

I have two queries:
1. History
Can anyone help explain the likely year and history of this bike?
The info I found suggests early 1980's, but the ST-5500 groupset is early 1990's, so Shimano and not Campagnolo, so I'm not sure.
Perhaps the original bike was 1980's and the groupset was changed by the previous owner?
Or perhaps this bike was a different spec/model? Any ideas?

2. Is it worth restoring?
Not sure I have the budget to fully restore to original condition (whatever that was!), nor do I have a strong emotional attachment to the Lotus brand.
But I'm thinking it's probably worth doing - the underlying frame and components are good, and the bike is unusual. I like it and I think I'd enjoy riding it.
I''m tempted to change the colour (if that's not sacrilege!), but does doing so eliminate any resale value if I decided to sell it in the future?
I'd also need to get the replacement decals - assuming I can find a company to make new ones to match - to keep the spirit of the original bike.

Any thoughts or advice would be welcome.
Thanks,
J.

This has an interesting connection with Falcon Cycles. In 1981 Elswick Hopper (who owned Falcon Cycles) set up a new factory to make high grade racing bikes in Newtown Powys, thanks to a 60% grant for all plant and three years free of rent and rates. In 1982 Ernie Clements left Elswick Hopper and as part of the exit deal, he took the Newtown factory and the British Eagle name (among other things) and ran it producing British Eagle and Clemence bikes until 1998/99 when he went bust (again!).

Ernie's brother Frank had been a director and General Manager for Falcon Cycles and in the early 80's ran a company called JHF Cycle Distributors who imported bike components from south-east asia. He was approached by Lotus to advise on aspects of the Sinclair C5 project, in particular the use of cycle components. Through Orbit / Sirius Cycles, Frank designed and built a then revolutionary bike that Glen Longland used to become the first man to ride 300 miles in 12 hours. A similar 'copy' made by Lotus Cars was used by Chris Boardman to win Olympic Gold and break the world's hour record.

I do not know where the subsequent Lotus bikes were manufactured but it sounds likely that the the Newtown factory might have been contracted to manufacture them as a result of the Clemence link.

I know that is not a direct answer to your question but it highlights some of the historical links.

 

[jchawke]

This has an interesting connection with Falcon Cycles. In 1981 Elswick Hopper (who owned Falcon Cycles) set up a new factory to make high grade racing bikes in Newtown Powys, thanks to a 60% grant for all plant and three years free of rent and rates. In 1982 Ernie Clements left Elswick Hopper and as part of the exit deal, he took the Newtown factory and the British Eagle name (among other things) and ran it producing British Eagle and Clemence bikes until 1998/99 when he went bust (again!).

Ernie's brother Frank had been a director and General Manager for Falcon Cycles and in the early 80's ran a company called JHF Cycle Distributors who imported bike components from south-east asia. He was approached by Lotus to advise on aspects of the Sinclair C5 project, in particular the use of cycle components. Through Orbit / Sirius Cycles, Frank designed and built a then revolutionary bike that Glen Longland used to become the first man to ride 300 miles in 12 hours. A similar 'copy' made by Lotus Cars was used by Chris Boardman to win Olympic Gold and break the world's hour record.

I do not know where the subsequent Lotus bikes were manufactured but it sounds likely that the the Newtown factory might have been contracted to manufacture them as a result of the Clemence link.

I know that is not a direct answer to your question but it highlights some of the historical links.

Thanks Mandobob for the background information.
I'm not sure I'll ever find out where my bike was actually made (or by whom!), but it's an interesting voyage of discovery nonetheless

 

[dirttorpedo]

Just thinking here, but.......
https://pezcyclingnews.com/readersrigs/readers-rig-lotus-supreme-1985/https://frugalaveragebicyclist.com/2022/02/06/vintage-lotus-bicycles/https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-...praisals/1046524-lotus-bike-what-s-worth.htmlhttps://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/916638-show-us-your-lotus-2.html
One of these came up in the UK and I did a bit of research into them. I know a few higher end models were Columbus tubing and some were frames made in Italy. Could this bike be one of these???

This is what I was thinking as well - I've heard about the US designed / Asia manufactured Lotus bikes. They are well regarded - particularly the high end models. One of those would be worth restoring if not rotted past saving.

 

[BOBU]

They don't seem to rot.....
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12523444...De1RBpciBexqge9qdDbUlYsQ==|tkp:Bk9SR4TP9eqhYw
Made a sensible-ish offer for this one [it's base spec, and.... missing bits, but has really nice components] but DDD is not interested it would seem... these are well regarded, especially in the USA.

 

[ChromeChainstay]

Yes restore it, wipe an oily rag over it and polish it. SLX is a great tubeset. It will ride well. Build it with what you have to see if you like it. Then at least you have a usable bike.

i agree, maybe in the minority. i would throw money at a new groupset. I quite enjoy campagnolo chorus 11spd or 12spd.

sand out the rusted areas, touchup and clearcoat. what do i know¿

 

[BOBU]

Looks like it is a UK Lotus....

https://www.retrobike.co.uk/archive/lotus-sport-1994.1315/