1994 Lotus 110, ex-GAN
- Thread starter skoze
- Start date
skoze
Dirt Disciple
5 years later... how did that happen?!
No huge progress on the Lotus to report, but been getting some more use out of it (pre-lockdown anyway) thanks to the Lotus 110 Club organising some meets and events, and started to give it some love and shiny parts. Looks like the original pics have dropped off but I've attached the last photo (ok, instagram story...) I've got of it.
Starting to scout for some more 'correct' components for it given it all needs a bit of a going over, picked up a Cosmic for the front and some Mavic bullhorns & extensions to replace the cracked ITMs, next job is tyres, then move through the brakes and drivetrain as and when some Mavic bits turn up!
Hope everyone's well - cheers!
No huge progress on the Lotus to report, but been getting some more use out of it (pre-lockdown anyway) thanks to the Lotus 110 Club organising some meets and events, and started to give it some love and shiny parts. Looks like the original pics have dropped off but I've attached the last photo (ok, instagram story...) I've got of it.
Starting to scout for some more 'correct' components for it given it all needs a bit of a going over, picked up a Cosmic for the front and some Mavic bullhorns & extensions to replace the cracked ITMs, next job is tyres, then move through the brakes and drivetrain as and when some Mavic bits turn up!
Hope everyone's well - cheers!
Attachments
skoze
Dirt Disciple
Little update on the Lotus front, starting to search out the remaining pieces of the puzzle!
Getting the bike sorted to hopefully attend some of the BHPC / Goodwood Bandits events this year, have pulled all the Shimano 600 gear (bar headset, bb and shifters), and have started getting its rightful Mavic attire back on... Going for a Zap groups without the electrics - I wish I had that kind of money and patience, but I just need functional (and very very pretty). ITMs being swapped for Mavic bullhorns & extensions next.
More to follow soon I hope.
Getting the bike sorted to hopefully attend some of the BHPC / Goodwood Bandits events this year, have pulled all the Shimano 600 gear (bar headset, bb and shifters), and have started getting its rightful Mavic attire back on... Going for a Zap groups without the electrics - I wish I had that kind of money and patience, but I just need functional (and very very pretty). ITMs being swapped for Mavic bullhorns & extensions next.
More to follow soon I hope.
Attachments
skoze
Dirt Disciple
Had a busy weekend on the Lotus bringing it back into the land of the living - having just checked back to page one, though, I should probably re-visit where this is coming from!
The whole story's back there, but in essence my dad commuted on this thing for years. That combined with a couple years of racing service at the very start of its life, it was all showing... I eventually inherited the custodianship of it when he passed 10 years ago but never really knew what to do with it. It's mad, it's a bit precious for general road riding, you can't leave it outside the pub, so it just sat at my mum's hung on a wall before being sent off into storage.
Fortunately, there's been a real resurgence in these bikes - and the 'UCI Bandits' era of the early 90s - which has brought about a lot of historical interest and, better still, more and more opportunities to use them on closed tracks. I've still got intentions of road riding this on the odd sunny weekend, but with the combination of everything I figured that was enough of a reason to recommission it as more than an ornament.
To start with, this is it's 'commuter' spec, taken before I appreciated the drive side photo rules:
Shimano 600 groupset, Gipiemme Tecno front, Sugino rear, ITM tri-bars. It was cool and I'd probably have left it at that and removed the green had it not been for the efforts of the Lotus 110 club and their uncanny ability to unearth historical photos.
I always wondered what it got up to and how it was set up, and here it is being ridden by Pascal in a couple of things. First is the '94 LuK Challenge Chrono with Chris Boardman, where they finished third, and second is in the pouring rain at the Grand Prix Des Nations in the same year:
Seeing those sealed it - it's going back to that spec. Mavic Zap everything (except, ironically, the 'Zap' bit - seems all but Boardman stuck to mechanical shifting) and a set of Time Equipe Magnesiums. Cue lots of patience, searching, bartering and swapping, and I eventually had a good haul of all the right bits after a year or so.
So, time to strip it down!
By the time I'd got to this weekend I'd already removed most of the 600 groupset and repurposed it for my everyday Basso (new parts are basically free if I gain a set of handmedowns, right?), which meant I could get stuck straight into what I anticipated to be the biggest headache; the BB. It'd been in there for 25+ years and the shells are bonded in on these. A large part of me expected it all to turn round and be on the phone to a carbon specialist, but through a lot of wincing and ever-increasing pressure it cracked off and came out with no dramas. Underneath the Shimano cups hid the chamfered stainless inserts for the Mavic 610 where the production frames had totally standard British shells, and plenty of chain rash...
Shimano vs Mavic size difference...
In the immortal words of every Haynes manual, fitting is the opposite of removal - though this time it involved a mallet. Tight fit but it was a case of friends reunited - fit like a glove. The last thing I wanted to do was mash up a locking, so i'm due to visit another Lotus owner who's got the proper tooling for final tightening and alignment, but for now it's doing a good job of keeping all the parts in the right place.
At the other end, it was time to get the bars off. I'd have happily kept the ITMs as they're rad-looking and super comfortable, however time hasn't been good to them... Impressive crack under the main block / stem:
Most broken-down it's been in years:
Before putting on the 'new' front end, I'm still undecided on the stem - Pascal used a Cinelli XA which is kinda quirky given the rest of the components. I like that but my own XA is about half a mile long. Might find a shorter one, but have currently gone for a Zap-era Mavic 365. Later bikes also used Look Ergostems so that's a consideration too... Think I'll see how it feels with a 'standard' stem but the Ergos really do suit these frames. Decisions.
Either way, it's going to be paired with Mavic bullhorns & bolt on extensions - only problem now is I can't find the brackets or elbow pads. They're around here somewhere!
Bars fitted, I ran some new cables for the rear brake. Fortunately my dad had the foresight to put an outer the whole way through the frame, so my eager inner removal earlier on was a lot easier to rectify than I expected it to be... Was also a reminder that I need to give the rear brake mount some epoxy-based loving - it's had that crack for 25+ years though, so I'm not gonna worry about it too much for now.
The bullhorns are drilled for internal routing which is pretty nice - also a total pain to get everything butted up to each other properly! But with a little perseverance it all came together and feels really solid - the 451 levers were one of the harder parts to find, so pretty happy with these. Subtle things but great to have on there. Going to leave the front disconnected 'til I make a stem decision so I can whip that off easier.
Cutting back a few steps, I've also fitted a 631 crankset, 860 front derailleur and, thanks to this fair forum, sourced a NOS 840 rear derailleur. Tied together with a KMC SL and hopefully driven by Time Equipe Mags if I can find some shoes to match them... I've got some Mavic / Look pedals as a backup.
Which kinda brings the bike right up to its current state:
The main chunk of it is done and things have been significantly more straightforward than my other projects tend to be (never get involved with old cars - bikes are a joy in comparison!). It's funny, I was reading one of the 'why pay x for old parts' thread the other day and even compared to new stuff, this Mavic groupset feels so nice to handle and work on.
Next up is fitting the bar extensions, running new gear cables when I know the length, replace the cassette, matched set of new tyres (at last!), bar tape and that should all but be it. Still on the hunt for a 305 headset and, one day, the rear Comete / front 3g dream wheel combo, but until then it'll be in a fairly fit state to start doing a few events this summer with the odd local pedal chucked in for good measure. Can't wait.
The whole story's back there, but in essence my dad commuted on this thing for years. That combined with a couple years of racing service at the very start of its life, it was all showing... I eventually inherited the custodianship of it when he passed 10 years ago but never really knew what to do with it. It's mad, it's a bit precious for general road riding, you can't leave it outside the pub, so it just sat at my mum's hung on a wall before being sent off into storage.
Fortunately, there's been a real resurgence in these bikes - and the 'UCI Bandits' era of the early 90s - which has brought about a lot of historical interest and, better still, more and more opportunities to use them on closed tracks. I've still got intentions of road riding this on the odd sunny weekend, but with the combination of everything I figured that was enough of a reason to recommission it as more than an ornament.
To start with, this is it's 'commuter' spec, taken before I appreciated the drive side photo rules:
Shimano 600 groupset, Gipiemme Tecno front, Sugino rear, ITM tri-bars. It was cool and I'd probably have left it at that and removed the green had it not been for the efforts of the Lotus 110 club and their uncanny ability to unearth historical photos.
I always wondered what it got up to and how it was set up, and here it is being ridden by Pascal in a couple of things. First is the '94 LuK Challenge Chrono with Chris Boardman, where they finished third, and second is in the pouring rain at the Grand Prix Des Nations in the same year:
Seeing those sealed it - it's going back to that spec. Mavic Zap everything (except, ironically, the 'Zap' bit - seems all but Boardman stuck to mechanical shifting) and a set of Time Equipe Magnesiums. Cue lots of patience, searching, bartering and swapping, and I eventually had a good haul of all the right bits after a year or so.
So, time to strip it down!
By the time I'd got to this weekend I'd already removed most of the 600 groupset and repurposed it for my everyday Basso (new parts are basically free if I gain a set of handmedowns, right?), which meant I could get stuck straight into what I anticipated to be the biggest headache; the BB. It'd been in there for 25+ years and the shells are bonded in on these. A large part of me expected it all to turn round and be on the phone to a carbon specialist, but through a lot of wincing and ever-increasing pressure it cracked off and came out with no dramas. Underneath the Shimano cups hid the chamfered stainless inserts for the Mavic 610 where the production frames had totally standard British shells, and plenty of chain rash...
Shimano vs Mavic size difference...
In the immortal words of every Haynes manual, fitting is the opposite of removal - though this time it involved a mallet. Tight fit but it was a case of friends reunited - fit like a glove. The last thing I wanted to do was mash up a locking, so i'm due to visit another Lotus owner who's got the proper tooling for final tightening and alignment, but for now it's doing a good job of keeping all the parts in the right place.
At the other end, it was time to get the bars off. I'd have happily kept the ITMs as they're rad-looking and super comfortable, however time hasn't been good to them... Impressive crack under the main block / stem:
Most broken-down it's been in years:
Before putting on the 'new' front end, I'm still undecided on the stem - Pascal used a Cinelli XA which is kinda quirky given the rest of the components. I like that but my own XA is about half a mile long. Might find a shorter one, but have currently gone for a Zap-era Mavic 365. Later bikes also used Look Ergostems so that's a consideration too... Think I'll see how it feels with a 'standard' stem but the Ergos really do suit these frames. Decisions.
Either way, it's going to be paired with Mavic bullhorns & bolt on extensions - only problem now is I can't find the brackets or elbow pads. They're around here somewhere!
Bars fitted, I ran some new cables for the rear brake. Fortunately my dad had the foresight to put an outer the whole way through the frame, so my eager inner removal earlier on was a lot easier to rectify than I expected it to be... Was also a reminder that I need to give the rear brake mount some epoxy-based loving - it's had that crack for 25+ years though, so I'm not gonna worry about it too much for now.
The bullhorns are drilled for internal routing which is pretty nice - also a total pain to get everything butted up to each other properly! But with a little perseverance it all came together and feels really solid - the 451 levers were one of the harder parts to find, so pretty happy with these. Subtle things but great to have on there. Going to leave the front disconnected 'til I make a stem decision so I can whip that off easier.
Cutting back a few steps, I've also fitted a 631 crankset, 860 front derailleur and, thanks to this fair forum, sourced a NOS 840 rear derailleur. Tied together with a KMC SL and hopefully driven by Time Equipe Mags if I can find some shoes to match them... I've got some Mavic / Look pedals as a backup.
Which kinda brings the bike right up to its current state:
The main chunk of it is done and things have been significantly more straightforward than my other projects tend to be (never get involved with old cars - bikes are a joy in comparison!). It's funny, I was reading one of the 'why pay x for old parts' thread the other day and even compared to new stuff, this Mavic groupset feels so nice to handle and work on.
Next up is fitting the bar extensions, running new gear cables when I know the length, replace the cassette, matched set of new tyres (at last!), bar tape and that should all but be it. Still on the hunt for a 305 headset and, one day, the rear Comete / front 3g dream wheel combo, but until then it'll be in a fairly fit state to start doing a few events this summer with the odd local pedal chucked in for good measure. Can't wait.
Last edited:
skoze
Dirt Disciple
Bit of an update following the first ride this weekend!
Got invited down to Thruxton for the 10 mile TT along with some other pre-96 'bandits' to mark 25 years since their culling by the UCI.
Was slow as anything (mostly owing to a questionable training regime of booze and next to no exercise over the past year or so), but it was great to have it back out and ride my first ever TT - nice to have a time to beat now. The frame is tiny so I'm going to put some work into raising the seat over the winter, it's a good 3-4" below where I'd like it to be and was all kinds of uncomfortable to ride because of it, but still enjoyed the day.
I've put the bike back to more or less to its '94 spec now; Cinelli XA with Cinelli Tempos, 3TTT Bio Arms, a Comete sourced from France and a replica GAN graphic made up for it. Also squeezed a 23mm Corsa on the back which runs hilariously close to the stays.
Despite the general success, the bike does, however, now need a new front wheel as I drove over the Cosmic on my way out. Frustrating but at least it was the relatively easily replaced one. Important lesson learned about checking everything's in the boot before you go.
Bonus pic of me about to do my best GAN impression, don't think I'd have made the cut with my time...
With a taller seat clamp / modified post (and new front wheel!) it'll be sweet, really looking forward to getting it out more frequently and, hopefully, running a couple more TTs on it in future.
Last parts to source are a Mavic 305 headset, a Cosmic for the windy days and a 3G for the rest. For now though, just glad to have got out on it for more than a roll around the block!
Got invited down to Thruxton for the 10 mile TT along with some other pre-96 'bandits' to mark 25 years since their culling by the UCI.
Was slow as anything (mostly owing to a questionable training regime of booze and next to no exercise over the past year or so), but it was great to have it back out and ride my first ever TT - nice to have a time to beat now. The frame is tiny so I'm going to put some work into raising the seat over the winter, it's a good 3-4" below where I'd like it to be and was all kinds of uncomfortable to ride because of it, but still enjoyed the day.
I've put the bike back to more or less to its '94 spec now; Cinelli XA with Cinelli Tempos, 3TTT Bio Arms, a Comete sourced from France and a replica GAN graphic made up for it. Also squeezed a 23mm Corsa on the back which runs hilariously close to the stays.
Despite the general success, the bike does, however, now need a new front wheel as I drove over the Cosmic on my way out. Frustrating but at least it was the relatively easily replaced one. Important lesson learned about checking everything's in the boot before you go.
Bonus pic of me about to do my best GAN impression, don't think I'd have made the cut with my time...
With a taller seat clamp / modified post (and new front wheel!) it'll be sweet, really looking forward to getting it out more frequently and, hopefully, running a couple more TTs on it in future.
Last parts to source are a Mavic 305 headset, a Cosmic for the windy days and a 3G for the rest. For now though, just glad to have got out on it for more than a roll around the block!
