Hotta TT Bike – Chris Boardman Training Frame with Mavic Mektronic

[BigZ]

Hi all,

Thought I’d share this one: a Hotta carbon time trial bike that I bought from Keith Boardman, Chris’s dad, quite a few years back. Keith told me it was one of Chris Boardman’s training frames, which makes it a pretty special bit of British TT history.

I last raced it in 2002, and it’s been hanging up ever since (the chain hasn’t seen lube in over 23 years). I’m planning a light refresh soon with some NOS parts and new bar tape.

The forks are replacements, as the original 650c front fork steerer came loose during a session at the Manchester Velodrome. It’s running an almost full Mavic Mektronic groupset with Mavic Cosmic wheels, though I always regretted not finding a Mavic Comete rear disc to finish it off properly.

Not seen in the photo are a few nice original touches: the GAN team stickers that were on the frame and saddle, track end, and Chris’s cut-down seatpost that came with it. I also have his Giro TT helmet, which wasn’t available to the public back in the day. It even came in a Frédéric Moncassin (his teammate) helmet bag a real time capsule from that era.

I don’t have much of a collection these days, but this one’s definitely a keeper. The bike’s weathered the years far better than I have. I used to be able to hold that position for two hours, now it’s about twenty seconds before the 180 mm cranks start kicking the belly.

 

[BigZ]

I put my team colours on the helmet, but the original GAN colours are still there underneath. I was offered his white Tour de France Hotta frame, which I believe had CA stickers on it, but I couldn’t afford the £500 price. To be honest, I always preferred it in black anyway, plus it wouldn’t have fit me, Chris’s saddle position is about two inches lower than mine and the streamlined seatpost had very little adjustment.

The custom forks were never part of the package on either frame. Keith mentioned that this training frame was unusual because it was one of the few that Chris really took care of.

There were quite a few of us riding on Chris’s race bike back then, my friend had an Eddy Merckx–badged titanium Litespeed. Unfortunately, it lasted only one season before it cracked.

 

[zerogravitas]

Fantastic machine, with such great provenance! They still look like the future after all these years. Mektronic is such a cool bit of late 90s cyber-futuristic design.

Do you have any photos of you riding it?

 

[georges1]

Fantastic bike thanks for sharing