Time on my hands

[woodbutcher]

I am sort of between tasks at the moment on both the Faggin and the Coppi, so l thought that l would compare the measurements of the two bikes.....a bit nerdy l know.
The two most dramatic differences as far as l can see are in the head tubes.The Faggin measures 13.5cm just the length of the tube itself and the Coppi measures 10.5 cm length of tube !
I was intrigued so l measured the wheel base and the Faggin has a measurement of 1m exactly, and the Coppi is 4cm shorter at 96cm. How is this achieved, is it different angles within the frame and l wonder if it has any particular significance ?
There is no crank or brakes on the Coppi at the moment but l stuck the saddle on and climbed aboard...it feels very different to the Faggin in that l seem to be right on top of the bars. I may be displaying a vast amount of ignorance about all this but can anyone enlighten me ?

 

[Cycleops]

Sports bikes always have a short wheelbase and the geometry encourages you to get down on the drops. By contrast the 'adventure' bike I've just bought has a 2/3" longer wheelbase and makes you sit more upright for relaxed riding.

 

[woodbutcher]

Sports bikes always have a short wheelbase and the geometry encourages you to get down on the drops. By contrast the 'adventure' bike I've just bought has a 2/3" longer wheelbase and makes you sit more upright for relaxed riding.

That makes perfect sense because holding the top of the bars feels clumsy and un natural. l will just have to be patient until l get it all back together, l have a feeling that it might be a bit too extreme for me but we will see I guess.

 

[midlife]

If you get bored read the Holdsworth Pro frame story by Nick Kilgarrif which tracks the increasingly upright and shortened wheelbase over the years ......to the point where the riders thought it was getting a bit too short and twitchy

http://www.nkilgariff.com/Professional.htm

MKM Ultimate probably had the shortest back end but there were problems catching your feet on the rear mech lol see where the seat tube goes at the bottom bracket...

My avatar is the bottom bracket of my 70's TT bike which was a bit twitchy to say the least

Shaun

 

[woodbutcher]

If you get bored read the Holdsworth Pro frame story by Nick Kilgarrif which tracks the increasingly upright and shortened wheelbase over the years ......to the point where the riders thought it was getting a bit too short and twitchy

http://www.nkilgariff.com/Professional.htm

MKM Ultimate probably had the shortest back end but there were problems catching your feet on the rear mech lol see where the seat tube goes at the bottom bracket...

View attachment 347570

My avatar is the bottom bracket of my 70's TT bike which was a bit twitchy to say the least

Shaun

I see what you mean, at least the Coppi is not as radical as that. It will be an experience to ride though l imagine

 

[Venod]

I assume the Flying Gate was designed to shorten the wheelbase, although the fork looks strange.

 

[woodbutcher]

I assume the Flying Gate was designed to shorten the wheelbase, although the fork looks strange.

View attachment 347603

How much more weird do they get, are these bikes purely TT or were they ridden in all sorts of competition ?

 

[Venod]

How much more weird do they get, are these bikes purely TT or were they ridden in all sorts of competition ?

I think they were used for all types of cycling, not sure if you can still get one built but you could from these guys.

http://www.tjcycles.co.uk/flyinggateframes.htm

 

[woodbutcher]

I think they were used for all types of cycling, not sure if you can still get one built but you could from these guys.

http://www.tjcycles.co.uk/flyinggateframes.htm

Fascinating stuff up until now l had only heard of the "flying bedstead" but the Gate looks far more efficient. I would love one but l think they will be way out of my budget !