has a serotta-built frame ever won the TdF or a world title?

[wallymann]

serious question.

he's got the giro covered with hampsten in '88.

im sure one of his frames must have been ridden to a world title in some category, though i cant think of one...the odds seem to favor his chances. anyone know for sure?

what about le Grand Boucle? any serotta built frame ever win the TdF general classification?

[ultraman6970]

That i know of no. They had won stages maybe with 7/11 back in the day, those huffy frames I believe were actually serottas.

[vjp]

he's got the giro covered with hampsten in '88.



The team was on Serotta built Huffys but there were issues with frames breaking due to the tubing sponsor, True Temper wanting the bikes built with ultralight tubing. Serotta was stuck contractually to use the tubing but some riders went on their own to have bikes built. Hampsten had a Huffy liveried bike built by Landshark that he rode to victory in the '88 Giro.

[sw3759]

also,some folks may not be aware a Serotta was ridden to Gold at the 96' road race in Atlanta...rebadged of course.
one of the available colors offered later was "Pascal Gold" :)

[BumbleBeeDave]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/willj/2752903971/

I can't tell a lot from this pic. The seatstays bulged in the middle look particularly like my 2001 model Legend. Other clues that this may be, in fact, a Serotta and not a Coppi?

Of course, the ultimate confrirmation would be from Ben himself . . .

BBD

[Fixed]

world champ colors on the seat tube
cheers

[wallymann]

world champ colors on the seat tube

yep, anyone can get arc-en-ciel decals. i'd like to know whom the rider was and the date/event of the victory.

i find it interesting that that on serotta's website they went to the trouble of creating a comprehensive "history" section, but there's no mention of the giro victory or any world champion being attributed explicitly to his frame.

http://www.serotta.com/about/history.html

http://brown-snout.com/cycling/misc/serotta-history-88.jpg

Hampsten had a Huffy liveried bike built by Landshark that he rode to victory in the '88 Giro.

i'd forgotten that hampsten's huffy/serotta was actually a slawta-built landshark.

[victoryfactory]

Serotta_Andrew 05-11-2006 09:35 AM
Pascal Richard

Pascal Richard won the 96 Olympics on a Legend Ti painted as a Coppi... There are many other frames Serotta has sent to Europe un painted... this is not un common

[wallymann]

Serotta_Andrew 05-11-2006 09:35 AM
Pascal Richard

Pascal Richard won the 96 Olympics on a Legend Ti painted as a Coppi... There are many other frames Serotta has sent to Europe un painted... this is not un common

here's richard's bike...i'm not familiar enough with the details of serotta of the mid '90s to know for sure. the seat- and down-tubes do look like they flare toward the lower 1/3.

http://brown-snout.com/cycling/misc/richard-coppi-serotta-96.jpg

[BumbleBeeDave]

yep, anyone can get arc-en-ciel decals. i'd like to know whom the rider was and the date/event of the victory.

i find it interesting that that on serotta's website they went to the trouble of creating a comprehensive "history" section, but there's no mention of the giro victory or any world champion being attributed explicitly to his frame.

http://www.serotta.com/about/history.html

http://brown-snout.com/cycling/misc/serotta-history-88.jpg



i'd forgotten that hampsten's huffy/serotta was actually a slawta-built landshark.

. . . Ben was speaker at the GEAR rally in Saratoga. When questioned at that time, he said that at that time he had no doubts that Serotta frames were bing ridden in the pro peloton because several dealers in Europe ordered frames with custom geometry and specifically requested no paint, no decals, no markings of any kind--just bare metal. Ben said this practice was common when pros wanted to ride a non-sponsor frame. They would go to pains to order anonymously so as not to create any problems with their team management or sponsors.

The "Huffy" Serotta's are the only ones I personally know of that Serotta would admit are actually rebadged Serotta's. And that is just from general knowledge, not because anyone at Serotta has personally confirmed it to me.

If Serotta knowingly made confidential agreements with certain pros to supply them with frames to ride re-badged, I would expect Serotta to adhere to those agreements in the absence of any specific permission from the parties involved to talk about it. So I would not expect any such information to be on a history page on their site.

BBD

[RFC]

The team was on Serotta built Huffys but there were issues with frames breaking due to the tubing sponsor, True Temper wanting the bikes built with ultralight tubing. Serotta was stuck contractually to use the tubing but some riders went on their own to have bikes built. Hampsten had a Huffy liveried bike built by Landshark that he rode to victory in the '88 Giro.


You beat me to it. Hampsten / Land Shark

[rdparadise]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/willj/2752903971/

I can't tell a lot from this pic. The seatstays bulged in the middle look particularly like my 2001 model Legend. Other clues that this may be, in fact, a Serotta and not a Coppi?

Of course, the ultimate confrirmation would be from Ben himself . . .

BBD


Wasn't that where Ben appropriately named the Atlanta steel frame? Just wondering.

Bob

[Gothard]

The rear dropouts on the Coppi are a giveaway, as are the bi-conical seatstays.

[GregL]

VeloNews reported in their 1996 Olympic coverage that Richard's bike was a Ti Serotta. They stated that there was a distinctive Serotta "S" on the seatstay brake bridge.

-Greg

[wallymann]

just a shame to lose out on that heritage. heck, it would be nice if he'd say on the website exactly that, his bikes have been ridden by pros whom he knows to have won world-title/grand-tour/classic victories. he's an honest guy and we'd believe such statements and he wouldnt have to divulge the rider and break the agreements.

. . . Ben was speaker at the GEAR rally in Saratoga. When questioned at that time, he said that at that time he had no doubts that Serotta frames were bing ridden in the pro peloton because several dealers in Europe ordered frames with custom geometry and specifically requested no paint, no decals, no markings of any kind--just bare metal. Ben said this practice was common when pros wanted to ride a non-sponsor frame. They would go to pains to order anonymously so as not to create any problems with their team management or sponsors.

The "Huffy" Serotta's are the only ones I personally know of that Serotta would admit are actually rebadged Serotta's. And that is just from general knowledge, not because anyone at Serotta has personally confirmed it to me.

If Serotta knowingly made confidential agreements with certain pros to supply them with frames to ride re-badged, I would expect Serotta to adhere to those agreements in the absence of any specific permission from the parties involved to talk about it. So I would not expect any such information to be on a history page on their site.

BBD

[jr59]

I feel the other way.

I find refreshing that a man lives to his word, ( Ben Serotta, not telling who he built frames for). Rather than finding a loophole and using that for personal gain.

Good on him for doing the correct thing!


:beer:

[Kontact]

I think it is nice when a frame builder's product "wins" a major race, but I really hate to think that there is anything about a Trek that makes it one of the winningest TDF frames in history.

Just as we like to shout, "It's the builder, not material!" - it's the racer, not the bike. I don't think there have been many frames in the history of racing that greatly contributed to the rider's victory. And the ones that may have, like the Vitus 979 and TVTs, we'd like to politely ignore.

The fact that racers and directors have chosen Serottas at all is more than enough validation.

[rwsaunders]

There are world champion stripes on the Serotta logo, so somewhere out there lurks a Serotta-riding world champion?

[Vancouverdave]

You beat me to it. Hampsten / Land Shark
Yep--you could say that Andy "Slawted" the field that year!