I dug out the folder of stuff tonight, wow what a trip down memory lane. I still have the full-size plan of my frame, the entry form that we submitted, and the receipt from when we dropped the frame off at Proteus on Jan 15, 1977. I also have the correspondence when the contest went south, apparently they decided to change the rules at the last minute, without telling anyone.
Anyway, here's some pics. Keep in mind these were taken in 1976 with Kodachrome, I did the best I could with my scanner and my *very* limited PhotoShop skills.
Here is the sloping crown fork, prior to painting. We put the bike together for a maiden voyage before we painted it, just to make sure it was dimensionally good and rode well. You can barely see the solver brazing material peeking around the lug.
Here it is after painting, we also made a nifty little badge for the head tube out of a scrap of aluminum. Bike still looks exactly like this today, hardly a scratch on it, despite several thousand miles on it.
Another shot of the front fork, also showing the homemade cable housing stops on the top tube and down tube.
Shot of the rear brake caliper, showing how we terminated the seat stays to the seat tube.
And here I am, in 1977, ready for the road:
I just remembered a funny story that happened to me while we were building it. We started with the front fork, as it was the easiest. The first thing we brazed was the steering tube (the tube that is inside the head tube) to the top of the crown. Then I had to go out and find a headset that we were sure was gonna fit on the "seat" of the crown (they weren't standard back then). I went to a local bike shop not far from my house to see what they had, I rode my old Schwinn Varsity. I plopped the crown on the counter and told the guy what I was doing and what I needed, he burst out laughing, he told me there's no way I could ever build a bike frame at home. The next Spring I rode the bike into his shop, shoulda seen his jaw hit the floor.
Found a note in the file: frame weighs 6 lbs, entire bike weighs 22.5 lbs.
We built 3 more: one for my brother, one for a close family friend, and one for my Dad. His actually uses an odd 5-speed Sturmy-Archer internal hub for the rear gear set, it's painted similar to mine, he christened his "Rosinante" on the top tube (Google it), his has more miles than mine. It's still hanging in my Mom's garage (Dad passed in '07), I doubt it will ever be ridden again.
Thanks for the flashback.
Anyway, here's some pics. Keep in mind these were taken in 1976 with Kodachrome, I did the best I could with my scanner and my *very* limited PhotoShop skills.
Here is the sloping crown fork, prior to painting. We put the bike together for a maiden voyage before we painted it, just to make sure it was dimensionally good and rode well. You can barely see the solver brazing material peeking around the lug.
Here it is after painting, we also made a nifty little badge for the head tube out of a scrap of aluminum. Bike still looks exactly like this today, hardly a scratch on it, despite several thousand miles on it.
Another shot of the front fork, also showing the homemade cable housing stops on the top tube and down tube.
Shot of the rear brake caliper, showing how we terminated the seat stays to the seat tube.
And here I am, in 1977, ready for the road:
I just remembered a funny story that happened to me while we were building it. We started with the front fork, as it was the easiest. The first thing we brazed was the steering tube (the tube that is inside the head tube) to the top of the crown. Then I had to go out and find a headset that we were sure was gonna fit on the "seat" of the crown (they weren't standard back then). I went to a local bike shop not far from my house to see what they had, I rode my old Schwinn Varsity. I plopped the crown on the counter and told the guy what I was doing and what I needed, he burst out laughing, he told me there's no way I could ever build a bike frame at home. The next Spring I rode the bike into his shop, shoulda seen his jaw hit the floor.
Found a note in the file: frame weighs 6 lbs, entire bike weighs 22.5 lbs.
We built 3 more: one for my brother, one for a close family friend, and one for my Dad. His actually uses an odd 5-speed Sturmy-Archer internal hub for the rear gear set, it's painted similar to mine, he christened his "Rosinante" on the top tube (Google it), his has more miles than mine. It's still hanging in my Mom's garage (Dad passed in '07), I doubt it will ever be ridden again.
Thanks for the flashback.
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That is great. 
