Steel Frames in the Tour de France

[one-eyed_jim]

looking at the first photo with the all- celeste frame, i'd go for aluminium cos of the buging headtube for the headset cups.

I agree. It also wouldn't be reasonable to have such a large downtube in any other material except carbon.

The last photo, bianchi shoot I reckon isnt his bike. It looks too small given the size it quotes and if you look at the other photos, the headtube is much longer.

You might be right about the size, but the details that are visible correspond. Note the Campag cable stops on the downtube, the light-coloured sealing ring of the integrated headset, the shaped downtube and top tube, the cable run for the rear brake, and the form of the dropout/seatstay junction just visible in the mountain shot.

I once read an interview with ullrich where he said all his frames pre-carbon were made by his favourite swiss frame builder, so I'm happy to go with his being a bianchi in name only.

I've never heard a suggestion that he wasn't riding a Pinarello during his Telekom years. If he rode a custom frame at that time it was certainly aluminium, and indistinguishable from a Team Telekom Pinarello.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fileinar ... llrich.JPG

If his 2003 frames weren't aluminium Bianchis, they do a very good job of mimicking them.

I understand that he did ride a carbon Andreas Walser TT bike in 2003 and 2004:

http://www.walser-cycles.ch/

however steel or not is still unresolved??

It's too implausible. He rides nothing but aluminium from 1996 to 2002, has an aluminium bike for the flat stages in 2003, a carbon TT bike, then goes to oversized steel for l'Alpe d'Huez? It just doesn't make sense. I'd be happy if you could prove me wrong, but until then it's just too bizarre an idea.

 

[one-eyed_jim]

Some better pictures here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/TimeTrialFa ... denvielle#

especially:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_lK_RMtN5OkI/SprMA ... 03+049.jpg

and:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_lK_RMtN5OkI/SprMB ... %20051.jpg

I'd say that clinches it. Just look at the welds around the seat cluster and bottom bracket.

One interesting thing is that Ullrich's black bike does seem to have a slimmer head tube than either the bike he's pictured with on the Paris stage, or his team-mate's bike in the background above. I wonder if they built him a special with a 1" head tube for the hilly stages.

 

[john]

Shame it seems the 'Ulrich' rumour has been quashed by Jim. I wanted to believe!

Still no definitive answer. I've emailed the ITV4 Tour de France team for the last 2 years. No answer.

 

[Ruimteaapje]

I know I'm a bit late in this topic, but was Cervélo's SuperProdigy frame ever used in the Tour de France when they sponsored CSC? Because I do remember that it was used for the spring classics some ten years ago.

 

[mj3200]

The Tour I'm not sure if they missed it, but if you check in Pro Cycling in either '99 or 2000 there was a minor team supplied by Greg Lemond who were waiting from Ti bikes and were issues 853's in the interim.

If anyone can be bothered looking in their back copies it is there for sure. I doubt that I would have picked it up at any time other than summer or spring if that makes the task lighter.......

 

[petemadog]

Hello all

I'm really just making a post so I can post a link in my first thread topic asking for some advice, sorry for hijacking the thread

Great read, you guys know your stuff

 

[Iwasgoodonce]

I found a load of "Cycle Sport" magazines in the loft yesterday. The one I looked at then was from 97/98 and covered Big Mig's retirement. I will have a closer look if you like.

 

[Midlife]

Just looked at the Drillium pages........I'm from the Alf Engers era and I Guess I have wrecked quite a bit of stuff in my time LOL

Shaun

 

[ededwards]

To resurrect and slightly distort the original query, what was the last steel frame to win a stage in the Tour - Jeroen Blijlevens in 1995 riding for TVM on a Reynolds 731RVS frame?

 

[mj3200]

I sent an email re the steel frame question to Graham Watson the photographer asking about this and he replied saying that as far as he remembers it was either 94 or 95.

I'll take his word for that!