lo pro thoughts?

[daj]

Just having a bored snowed in Saturday brain wave idea!!

Thinking of a lo pro for our clubs low key time trails later in the year this is heavily influenced by Mark amazing Gazelle he brought along for our Christmas ride. So questions I am asking

-Are they actually practical? , Can they be used for 10 miles without passing out
-Are they allowed to be used for club trials (guess thats for me to ask our club)
-Can they be assembled cheap or needing costly special parts?
-Sizing if you ride a 54cm TT road bike with 90mm stem same for lo pro?

This is all for pure fun (and cheap as poss) with the idea of rolling in the true spirit of Retro riding

Cheers

daj

 

[matthew71]

where to start dave........ in a straight line they are faster than a normal road bike, but up hill,and more twisty roads they are not so good.the gazelle pictured would be a real handful with the double disk ,and the front disk should be avoided at all cost .just think fignon in paris.the more modern ones have 700c wheels front and rear which do handle a bit better,and save getting different size tyres.as for riding postion you are best to try and borrow one and have a go on it.and just remember the lower the front end the more back pain you will get

 

[NeilM]

I contacted the time trial guys a while ago, as I was thinking about a Lo-Pro; they said are legal in club events, and a lot are still used.

One thing to remember is that the front wheel is likely to be a different size, often a 650B.

LFGSS regularly has Lo-Pro's in the classifieds, there was a nice Orbit / Sonic just recently, but they are always popping up, and often a fair prices.

 

[MartinB123]

I love my lo-pro, it's so comfortable... I regularly cycle to Bath & back averaging 18mph on a good day along the Bristol-Bath cycle path and often do some hill-climbing of an evening in Bristol when I am bored. Furthest ride i've done on mine is about 25 miles and I have never ached from it.

I have contemplated chucking some gears on it but I can't justify the need. I haven't got the balls to ride with drops either as it would break my back I think!

 

[Midlife]

MartinB123, your lo-pro doesn't look to have an extreme "lo" position like some I have seen.

I rode some track bikes in the 1970's with small frames, seats stuck up in the air and with down pointing stems...........blimey they were uncomfortable

Shaun

 

[pondlife]

lo pro's rock!

and to think 10 years ago you could pick one up for next to nothing, they were unfashionable

just don't buy a front disc, i don't think you'll be able to use it in events covered by RTTC insurance

 

[daj]

Thats stunning!!

Got my eye on this , Being 700c front and back I could transfer over everything from my other bike thats going to be upgraded.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121085386825? ... 1438.l2649

 

[Matt_wood55]

Thats stunning!!

Got my eye on this , Being 700c front and back I could transfer over everything from my other bike thats going to be upgraded.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121085386825? ... 1438.l2649

Go for it with a low pro. Your position won't be too dissimilar to being on the drops on a road bike i.e. flat back.

I would question the seller of that Roberts though. From the steep angle of the top tube, I would doubt very much if it's a 700c front.

Good luck
Matt

 

[daj]

Thats stunning!!

Got my eye on this , Being 700c front and back I could transfer over everything from my other bike thats going to be upgraded.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121085386825? ... 1438.l2649

Go for it with a low pro. Your position won't be too dissimilar to being on the drops on a road bike i.e. flat back.

I would question the seller of that Roberts though. From the steep angle of the top tube, I would doubt very much if it's a 700c front.

Good luck
Matt

I thought that esp as he is is selling a 650c front wheel too. Might drop him another line

 

[FINNEY1973]

Tremendous fun to ride, I find it's not necessarily distance but route (hills) that cause the back to start aching simply because of the riding position. Also the neck can ache due to holding your head upwards for long periods. Size wise, I measured from centre of saddle to top of ergo's on my road bike and then found a stem that gave me the same distance on my lo-pro although obviously the riding position is vastly different.

Cost wise, all depends what you've got in the parts bin - I put mine together last year and if I take the wheels out of the equation it was no more expensive than any other build - wheels however added another 40%.

Here's mine - I swap the disc out if it's windy for a deep section wheel so that I don't have to put all my energies into keeping it upright! :shock: