Hellenic / Triple Triangle - why?

[velomaniac]

Purely marketing gimick. Haro had their kinked top tube and Hetchins roadbikes their curvy chainstays. In a market place chock full of competitors its good to stand out. If GT had not gone for triple triangle but still built Zaskars in the burly manner they do they'd still be around just like any toughly built bike.

 

[Baulz]

Purely marketing gimick. Haro had their kinked top tube and Hetchins roadbikes their curvy chainstays. In a market place chock full of competitors its good to stand out. If GT had not gone for triple triangle but still built Zaskars in the burly manner they do they'd still be around just like any toughly built bike.

Iron Horse had the A-frame too. Pierced top tube similar to GT but steeper angle on the stays.

 

[xerxes]

I've always rather liked the look of the tripple triangle, just because it's a bit different, but was always rather dubious about there being any real benefit to the design. In fact, it can be rather impractical, it makes the space for the rear brake rather tight with more chance of clipping the heals with wide cantilevers. Also, my friends GT was impossible to fit on my car boot rack because of the shortened top tube length. And on modern compact frames with very sloped top tubes it really doesn't make any sense at all:

 

[petitpal]

The frame design pre-dates GT by a signifcant period though, so while I agree with GTs motivations, I'm still interested in why the design was introduced at all. What motivated Heller and what was he trying to achieve with it?

 

[pete_mcc]

Originally Hellenic frames were designed to offer a more compliant rear end to help with the rough roads. Unlike GTs original Hellenic frames had the stays only attached to the top-tube and not the seat-tube as well. This made the seatstays proportionally longer than a standard frame and so more flexible. (it was also the idea behind Hetchins curly stays - curves increase the length and therefore the compliance/flex)

GT changed this by throwing welds all over the place and effectively shortening the seatstays making the rear end stiffer.

 

[petitpal]

Ahhhhhh - that makes sense, knew there had to be a proper reason. Thank you

 

[gtRTSdh]

GT changed this by throwing welds all over the place and effectively shortening the seatstays making the rear end stiffer.

I think the rear end must be stiffer sideways with the seatstays connected in two places, like holding a broom at the end with one hand or holding it with both hands a foot apart.

 

[petitpal]

Just wondering about that... surely the only bit that's actually being strengthened in the GT flavour is the top tube to seat tube join. Or am I being naive? If it's welded at the seat tube and at the top tube then, effectively, you've got two tubes haven't you, albeit in one piece (if that makes any kind of sense :roll: )? i.e. a tube that forms a triangle running from the top tube to the seat tube and then a second tube that is basically a chain stay, just a bit lower and shorter than normal.

 

[SeeingisBelievingGTMuseum]

Perhaps, If for not other reason....identity. All other bikes from 20' feet away without decals are just a archetype/diamond frame. Marketing 101...So if you could do one thing to make yours standout identity wise from the rest, would you? If only for that reason it was great thinking on someone's part.

Ohters have used the hellenic design...Shogun and even Colnago. Non marketed it better.

 

[sylus]

Beacuse GT didn't have enough skills to make more triangles...like this

http://www.pedersenbicycles.com/