bfd
journeyman
Reged: 12/22/03
Posts: 77
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From the Serotta list:
http://www.serotta.com/forum/showthread.php?t=20319
What's the point?
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Umlungu
contributor
Reged: 03/04/05
Posts: 189
Loc: Plano, TX
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Must login to view the pics. Any links to these pics that don't require me to register for a Serotta forum?
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bfd
journeyman
Reged: 12/22/03
Posts: 77
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How about this:
http://www.serotta.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=14852&stc=1
http://www.serotta.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=14853&stc=1
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Umlungu
contributor
Reged: 03/04/05
Posts: 189
Loc: Plano, TX
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Here they are (I bit the bullet and registered an account to get the pics):
Edited by Umlungu (08/16/06 06:14 PM)
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Darby
sage
Reged: 08/03/06
Posts: 441
Loc: Orange County California
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As Mr. Spock would say, "It is highly illogical". It seems to me that the design is sacrificing strength just to be unique; but what do I know about frame design.
Bruce Darby
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Darby
sage
Reged: 08/03/06
Posts: 441
Loc: Orange County California
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By the way, where do you mount the back brakes on the Calfee design?
Bruce Darby
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cccyclist
journeyman
Reged: 09/27/05
Posts: 91
Loc: Central California
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They look like they are under the chain stay.
Down right scarry looking.
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Umlungu
contributor
Reged: 03/04/05
Posts: 189
Loc: Plano, TX
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I smell photochop all over these pics. The seat stays look odd to me as they are curved and dont really line up with the dropouts. They also look odd where they attach to the seat tube and down tubes.
In addition, the rear section of the seat tube isn't even straight (it has a misshapen bulge near the top), especially in the lower pic.
I could be wrong of course, but it just doesn't feel legit to me from the pics we have here.
Edited by Umlungu (08/16/06 08:38 PM)
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Insightdriver
captain
Reged: 03/07/04
Posts: 472
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I believe it would be a simple matter to debunk these by just sending Craig Calfee an email mentioning the pics posted here. He could easily debunk them.
I agree with Umlungu that the pics do not look real. The resolution is too poor to say definitavely. What I did do is look carefully at details. I noticed the fork Calfee badge color was changed on one pic. It looks to me that the stem of the rear wheel was moved to the front in the second pic. It looks to me that the wheel logo on the rim were removed on the second pic. The seats are identical. The rear brake on the one bike looks like it's attached to a band. I don't believe a real setup would be made like that. We all know how brakes are mounted. The band is the same as the derailleur band, I believe.
Why would someone post Calfee bikes like that on the Serotta forum in the first place? And two of them? No background about the bikes, either. If they were real I would assume the poster would have talked about how they came about, where they were and when they were made.
Of course, I could be wrong.
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bfd
journeyman
Reged: 12/22/03
Posts: 77
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It may be that both of these photos are just fakes. However, back in the early 90s, I recall Craig, or should I say Carbonframes, showed a Mt bike with similar stays. It was similar to these bikes.
Note, I'm not talking about the mt bike that Craig made for DEAN:
http://tinyurl.com/z6mf6
Anybody remember the Sputnik CTI?
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Umlungu
contributor
Reged: 03/04/05
Posts: 189
Loc: Plano, TX
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Great points. I have emailed Craig and will post any reply I recelive.
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superunleaded
captain
Reged: 12/22/03
Posts: 223
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I was browsing thru the photo gallery and I saw this one.
2004?
http://www.bikefanclub.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1597&size=big&ppuser=126
--------------------
***Regular Unleaded - 4.99
***Special Unleaded - 7.99
***Superunleaded - Arm & a Leg
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Craig_Calfee
new member
Reged: 12/19/03
Posts: 11
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They're real.
We made these two prototypes for an inventor named Rick Perez. The idea is to get some suspension travel out of the rear wheel without sacrificing weight or drivetrain rigidity. As the rear wheel hits a bump, the force is transmitted through the upper chainstays to the seat tube. The seat tube bends forward slightly, like a leaf spring, allowing the wheel to travel about 1 cm vertically. The seat tube bends only about 3 mm for that 1 cm of wheel travel. The bike which has the tubes continuing to the down tube takes a heavier rider to get the 1 cm of travel. That bike has been ridden hard by a big Texan for the past two years. Carbon fiber makes a great spring and does not fatigue.
These bikes are amazing to ride and are especially confidence-inspiring on a high speed descent on rough pavement. The rear wheel stays glued to the ground. The comfort and vibration damping are on a level not seen with road bikes.
We will be showing this at Interbike and offering suspension as an option in the near future.
--------------------
Craig Calfee
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Umlungu
contributor
Reged: 03/04/05
Posts: 189
Loc: Plano, TX
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Welp, I'm a monkey's uncle!  Thanks for the response Craig! The photo superunleaded found does indeed show the curved seatstay too.
Craig, if you are still checking this thread, what kind of lateral flex does a bike like this have as compared to a traditional Calfee frame? In other words, will it give/flex more when out of the saddle?
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Insightdriver
captain
Reged: 03/07/04
Posts: 472
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Thanks for posting, Craig. It's wonderful to hear from the, "horse's mouth."
As I looked at those pictures, and thought about the properties of carbon fiber tubes being able to bend without fatigue (why fly rods are made from carbon fiber nowadays)it looks like it takes advantage of the material properties to add vertical compliance which we crave, with lateral stiffness which is what we need.
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Craig_Calfee
new member
Reged: 12/19/03
Posts: 11
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You can't tell you are riding a suspended bike when climbing. There is no performance compromise at all. The only problem I see for racing is that it's not UCI legal yet. They might allow it because it is safer and less tiring. But that might be offset by speeds going up on the descents.
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Craig Calfee
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Darby
sage
Reged: 08/03/06
Posts: 441
Loc: Orange County California
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Quote:
Craig_Calfee wrote:
You can't tell you are riding a suspended bike when climbing. There is no performance compromise at all. The only problem I see for racing is that it's not UCI legal yet. They might allow it because it is safer and less tiring. But that might be offset by speeds going up on the descents.
Will these frames be available to the general public?
By the way, my appologies for any comments I made questioning the intelligence of the design. Shows you how little I know about frame design.
Bruce
Edited by Darby (08/18/06 11:48 PM)
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Craig_Calfee
new member
Reged: 12/19/03
Posts: 11
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Yes, they will be available in the near future. Probably a $300 upcharge on a Tetra. Gotta see about cost of hanging a brake under the bottom bracket. The little bracket works but is tricky to make. Disc brakes anyone?
--------------------
Craig Calfee
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