Serotta MTB

[mdeeds71]

I was down at City Cycle in SF, CA and low and behold a sight of beauty in the rack by the door...A Ottrott that is decided it wanted to be a MTB...

Disc brakes and all...Looks to be something I would want later on...But would prefer, a steel.

If you are in the SF bay area...I don't know how long it will be around.

[Smiley]

All you needed to see was Jared's bike at any Open House . I think the biggest news from the Sea Otter is the new Fierte MTB , waiting to see the spec's so I may surprise my wife with one this year and dump her Aluminum Trek .

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . Are you saying this was a ROAD Ottrott with MTB stuff hung on it, or are you saying this was a real, honest to God, NORBA geometry hardtail with Ottrott-type construction?

BBDave

[Tony Edwards]

. . . Are you saying this was a ROAD Ottrott with MTB stuff hung on it, or are you saying this was a real, honest to God, NORBA geometry hardtail with Ottrott-type construction?

BBDave

The latter, I think. I assume this was the bike that they showed teaser pics of on the main Serotta page last week. It looks sweet, but I think I'd stick with my all-ti Serotta ATi for its burliness.

[lnomalley]

you talkin' bout this here??? (the image was linked in an earlier thread and i know nothing 1st hand about it)

[Tony Edwards]

Huh. I gotta say, as much as I love my Serotta MTB, this seems like a little much. SOOOOOOOOOOOOO expensive, I'm sure, and one hard crash into a rock will turn it into splinters. Still, I guess if you're looking for the ultimate softtail, this is probably it, and I don't doubt that it rides like a dream.

The levers in that pic are way too horizontal IMO, but then I like 'em close to vertical.

[No Circles]

I ride a Fango soft tail. $1K for the frame. I could have gone for Ti in a Moots or the new Castellano Ti soft tail. I have had an Id, a Truth and a GF HT that was the hot bike for the 96 Olympics. I can not see spending a fortune on a MTB that I will ride over logs and rocks.

On the other hand the new Ottrot ST for my wife just came in and will be built with full Record. An investment-it is all perspective. My colnago Master X Light is now the junker in the house, but she is more worthy.

[aLexis]

Still, I guess if you're looking for the ultimate softtail, this is probably it, and I don't doubt that it rides like a dream.



Although we here at Serotta feel that all tails are good, both new MTB offerings will be hardtails.

[Tony Edwards]

Although we here at Serotta feel that all tails are good, both new MTB offerings will be hardtails.

Even though the pic shows a softtail? What a world!!! :eek:

[aLexis]

I'm not sure who the lucky owner of the bike in the photo is, but it's not one of the new frames.

[split]

The pic of the soft-tail is a couple years old, taken from a European Serotta website. Here are a few more pics. Source claims a weight of 22lbs complete. I was affraid of posting these earlier for fear of stealing Serotta's thunder, but since they admitted the new frame won't be a soft-tail...

Let's see some pics of the 2 hardtails, already!!!

Is this 18lb cross bike an Ottrott crosser seen at Sea Otter?

[allezjohn]

anyone know which suspension fork is on this bike? The one with the silver crown & arch.

[mdeeds71]

The frame I saw did not have rear suspension and I cannot recall the fork...I was to busy looking at the dropout art...It was georgous...I want one...except in steel.............

[davids]

anyone know which suspension fork is on this bike? The one with the silver crown & arch.
Looks like a White Industries model. I don't know much about them, though.

[crossjunkee]

anyone know which suspension fork is on this bike? The one with the silver crown & arch.


I think it's a Pace, they're huge in Europe. Pace also makes the nicest rigid forks on the planet.

http://www.pace-racing.co.uk/default.asp

[jerk]

it needs a tioga tension disc.

[David Kirk]

Does anyone else remember the sound those things made. I remember all too well the sound of Tomac catching and passing me with one of those things. Nothing like it.

Dave

[grosmerou]

That 's might bring to you some lights !

Back in the 90's ! Needs more caracter but it should be a great bike down the road.

[dirtdigger88]

man I forgot all about those

jason

[Tony Edwards]

I hope Tomac was paid handsomely by Tioga, because if memory serves he had several of those tension discs fail in one of his final XC seasons, causing him to abandon.

I always had a soft spot for Tomac, in that he was probably the most dominant American XC rider ever, all while being very fast downhill, AND racing on the road with some regularity (not to mention using drop bars for at least part of his MTB career).

[Jared Porter]

The bike pictured is a prototype that we sent over to Europe about two years ago. It was the first Ottrott mountain bike made. I have the second one, and the third one was at Sea Otter. As for the strength of these frames it is unsurpassed. I have been thrashing mine for a couple of years now. I can assure you that the tubes will withstand just as much abuse as a standard titanium tube. We have subjected all of our frames to rigorous testing, and the Ottrott is the strongest frame we build.

Jared

[David Kirk]

I fully realize that this is a sidetrack but..........

Tomac is, in my eyes, one of the most under-rated cyclists I can think of. Does anyone remember when he won the crit nationals. The TV commentators had no idea who he was. He even did it on a barrowed Colnago.

With a few laps to go he bridged up to a break-away by him self. He then proceeded to win the sprint. Unreal. National champ on the road, BMX, mountain. I think he could have gone as far as he wanted to in any of the disciplines. Can you picture him in a track match sprint?



OK this is embarrassing but I'd like to think I'm with friends here..........Way back in the day when I was racing pro MTB I was doing the Ross International 3 Day Stage race. All the top guys were there from the US and Europe. My parents being the saints that they are said they wanted to go watch the race. I knew the real reason that they were going was to let me share thier hotel room so I didn't have to sleep in my car.

The third day of the race I was in the top ten in GC but still had the enduro to go. I was much better at the shorter events so I hoped to just hang on as long as I could and hopefuly not lose too many places in GC.

I asked my dear Mom to give me split times. She was very happy to help. The race starts and after the first of 15 laps (400'vertical per lap...ouch!) I'm still with the leaders....but not for long. Coming around to my Mom I'd get the bad news. 2 minutes back, 4 minutes back, 5 minutes back. Each lap it kept growing and my Mom was just thrilled. She thought I was doing great.

At some point I was thinking that I was about 12 minutes back ( I done blew up....I had a bio-mechanical). The math wiz I am I figured that the leaders were doing laps in about 12 minutes.............HMMMMMMMMMMm? I'm sure you can see what's coming.

I'm headed toward Mom as I get caught by the freight train of Ned Overend and John Tomac. I jump on and hold on as long as I can. The three of us pass my Mom and she jumps to her feet and yells "you caught them....you caught them!!!" I felt very, very small. Tomac looks over at me and with a big smile says " that your Mom?". "Uhhhhhhh.....mmmmm...yeah that's my Mom" I sheepishly reply.

JT looked me right in the eye and said good and loud so my Mom could hear " good job man, strong chase!".

I get teary eyed just thinking about it. He was so cool. Very shortly after that I got shucked and then started going backward but I had a great day.

All hail John Tomac..........Thanks for letting me talk.

Dave

[H.Frank Beshear]

Cool very cool thanks for sharing Frank

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . there is a gift beyond mere physical ability that some--a very few--true champions posess, and that gift is class. What JT did for you showed that he truly had the gift of class.

BBDave

[amper]

One of my favorite pictures.

[David Kirk]

Hey Amper,

Cool photo....could that be Mt. Snow?

I love the fact that JT is the only guy actually riding the bike.

Dave

[Johny]

Dave K,
That is a great story... What a gentleman John Tomac is!

Amper,
Great picture.

[jerk]

john tomac is a great guy...houffallize belgium...grundig world cup 91 or 93... the jerk had to "show" mr tomac the course the day before the race. the jerk "showed" mr. tomac how much faster he was than the jerk. which proved nothing...although mr. tomac did keep telling the jerk how tough it must be to race over "there" without "real support". even though we were not over "there" but "here" . joh tomac had the best pedal stroke and best postion on a mtb the jerk has ever seen...his cadence was laways around 110 no matter what....he just seemed to glide over evertyhing really fast and in perfect circles... in any case, that guy who raced for specialized and wasn't ned overand and went on to race for marin was the highest placed american at 10th or 15th or something...the jerk came in top ten in the spring-chicken race...

tension discs sound especially awesome when the bike jumps.....wooof, wooof wooof, followed by silence then a big bang and more woooof wooof woof sounds...
jerk

[vaxn8r]

Thanks for the stories everybody. Tomac was one of my all time favorites. Especially when he crossed over and won the US Crit Ntls. He could do anything! I still own my Mongoose Signature Tomac. Tange Prestige. Deore XT. Gun metal grey. Killah mountain bike.

[BumbleBeeDave]

Johnny T is wearing my Nike Pooh-Bahs! Great shoes! I still have mine and wear them for spin class every winter.

I also love it that he’s the only one riding up that hill! What a bunch ‘o friggin’ wimps! :p

BBDave

[pdonk]

Hey Amper,

Cool photo....could that be Mt. Snow?

I love the fact that JT is the only guy actually riding the bike.

Dave

Pretty sure it is the grunt climb on the chair lift line at Mt Ste Anne, i walked up that section enough times in my sport races to know it intimately.

Best part of racing mtb's in the late 80's early 90's was how friendly and helpful all of the pros were to everyone. Race in teh morning, watch their race in the afternoon and drink beer with them in the afternoon

Many are still that way.