One more for you lo pro fans, also
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| Different type of clamp. I don't know much about Rychtarski, but it looks well made. |
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| Beautiful frame. 58cm according to the listing, so a bit big for me. |
20130521
Rychtarski Alert!
This listing has ended, though it appears the reserve was never met. If it is relisted, I will let you know.
One more for you lo pro fans, alsocurrently on eBay.
Via Pedalare!Pedalare!
One more for you lo pro fans, also
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Hi, Lech Rychtarski is a framebuilder from Szczecin, Poland. He was the first to introduce fork-mounted handlebar after he saw them during a competition in Czechoslovakia. This particular frame was supposedly used during '88 Olympics and I used 'supposedly' because the seller isn't very well-respected here in Poland. Additionally, the frameset was relisted many many times.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, about the frame - the very first pursuit frameset with fork-mounted handlebars made by Rychtarski is connected with a very interesting story. In some interview he stated that he had to buy very thick tubes and then he sanded them down from inside himself, because there was no way to get butted tubes during those times (Polish People's Republic, or PRL) in Poland.
Rychtarski still makes frames and uses steel, aluminium, carbon and even titanium. He continues to supply cycling clubs but also produces one-offs for customers.
Cheers ;)
Hey, thank you for sharing all of this!
DeleteI did see this frame relisted a few times, so I was unsure what was going on. I do know that Mr. Rychtarski still makes frames and even takes orders for these sorts of forks. Pretty amazing that he sanded the tubes like that...
Cheers! Thank you again for teaching me something new :]
Goodness, that's a beautiful bike. I love the shot of it against the gray wall - really makes the colors pop!
ReplyDeleteHe sounds like an awesome man, and admittedly I'm tempted to try to order a frame from him someday.
I ended up going through your Flickr, and your entire collection is amazing! I love that crazy low stem and your Juna wheel (and that striped San Marco...and everything else). Awesome :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if Rychtarski does intl shipping, but if he doesn't - let me know, I'll se if I can help.
ReplyDeleteThe wheels turned out not to be Juna, but Elite Shape (possibly). It's really difficult to tell since there was so many soviet wheel manufacturers and not just 666 and Fluidisk like I thought in the beginning :D I also own a wheelset made by Antonov (big-ass planes). The legend says that they cut wings into spokes or something like that haha. They sure would look great on a takhion.
Thanks! I'll probably have to wait a little while on ordering a frame since I have so many other projects that I need to finish first...but it's an eventual goal, for sure!
DeleteI'm just now learning about all of these wheels as well. I have a Fluidisk and have been searching for others, but they rarely show up over here and when they do are gone almost immediately. I'm amazed that you have so many cool disc wheels, and I'd love to see a photo of the Antontov wheels if you have them somewhere!
I love disc wheels on Takhions. I just wish discs (and Takhions) weren't so difficult to find!
And that striped San Marco is for sale, $33 + shipping ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing you're from the US? You have like 4 takhions + 2 ussr disc wheels and you're still complaining? :D Hahah. I've got a real problem, because I'm from Poland and our eastern border is like the 'Takhion border' - they were sent to Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania (all of them are my neighbours) but not here :D/:(
ReplyDeleteYou may think that living here might make it a little bit easier for me to acquire one, but nnnnope. Although, luckily, I'm in the process of getting one hehe.
Here's the Antonov wheelset - https://flic.kr/p/o3XfVn (and the next two photos).
I also have a lot of ussr tubulars which were used on takhions among all - https://flic.kr/p/nzwPvv
But yes, the discs are really hard to find. Even here in Poland, if someone has one in his cycling club it's still being used. No wonder - they're so light and durable.
Hahaha, I know, I shouldn't complain!!
DeleteI am in the US, and ironically the first Takhion I found was in Los Angeles (where I was living at the time). It took me almost four years to find one though, but I am lucky to have as many as I do (though two are undergoing restoration and repair). That's a bummer that they were not sent to Poland, though come to think of it, most of them I've seen have been out of Lithuania...
Those wheels and tubulars are gorgeous! What do they say - шепио??? The last few letters are too blurry for me to make out. If you ever decide to part with them, please let me know :]. My Fluidisk is in great shape, but the other wheel I think was more of a show wheel, and I have no idea where it was made or who by. I've heard that you can still buy the kevlar discs new somewhere, but I've no idea where in the world or how to order them.
Are you currently searching for a Takhion? I try to look for them every day and post any I find here or e-mail out to people that are looking, but they haven't shown up too frequently lately here.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/48015553@N06/ - this guy will tell you more about that white Takhion disc - Vadim Vorontsov. But I'm sure you know him already.
ReplyDeleteMy mom (hehe) says the tubulars read 'Shelkovaia' - I don't know how to write it in cyrillic, sorry :D. In Poland we call them 'sholkov' or 'sholkovy' (plural). From what I heard, these were the Mercedes among tubulars. Weird fact - people would dry them to increase their value. It really doesn't make any sense to me, but I've heard that from an old trainer so it should be true. Anyway, there were cyclocross, track, time trial and road versions and they came in various sizes (700c and 650c, I've never seen a 24" one) and widths ranging from 24 for TT versions to 27 or 28 for cyclocross versions. They used a very weird system 700x24 was marked as a 600x24 though I don't know why.
I have a whole cabinet of them, so I may just find a pair for you ;)
I know Vadim well - he has helped me quite a bit in gathering information, parts, and even repair for my Takhions. I've never asked him about the disc though, perhaps I will! I don't know if you follow his site, but check out http://tacyclopedia.tumblr.com/
DeleteAhh okay, I can see Shelkovaia now! I've heard of drying out tubulars, but I don't know much about why or what benefits it gives. Interesting about using 600 vs 700 - maybe it has something to do with a different way of measuring diameter? I'll have to try to find out more about that!
Pretty awesome that you have a whole cabinet full :D! And sorry to keep bombarding you with questions, but where did you find this stem? https://www.flickr.com/photos/119115047@N03/14162493095/
That has to be the coolest stem I've ever seen.
Also, feel free to send me an e-mail if you don't want to keep communicating via blogger. aeyoqen gmail com :]
About searching for a Takhion - I kind of own it already, though it's not in Poland atm. I'll be picking it up within a week or two, yay ;)
ReplyDeleteAhh that's awesome!! Congratulations! I'll be checking your Flickr for photos.
DeleteSorry for the late response - sometimes comments get "lost" on older posts and don't show up in my inbox :/. I just saw the one about the San Marco saddle too...I am definitely interested!
Mail sent ;)
ReplyDelete