Possible 80's Serotta w/ aero tubing? Has anyone seen one before?
 

So Wednesday evening during my usual scroll through Craigslist, I came across a "Serotta Single Speed" for sale.

Of course I clicked, and I saw this frame in question. Immediately I thought that it was unique, a size I could ride, and worth checking out so I messaged the seller to come check it out and he got back to me saying we could meet Thursday evening at 7.

I'll be the first to admit, I'm no Serotta pro, I haven't owned one, not for lack of want, but primarily, I am too cheap and haven't scored one.. yet. So I had to start doing some research to see just what this bike is. Problem being, I couldn't find one just like it. Which made me suspect this wasn't a Serotta after all, but maybe a repainted frame with Serotta decals.

I knew it had aero tubing and started to search for bikes with AX components since the two go fairly hand in hand. But even searching for these bikes, I couldn't find anything remotely close when I was looking at the seat cluster.

Part 2/3
 

The closest thing I could find was the Shimano bike they used in the catalog which looked like it had the same unusual seat cluster:
http://theflyingwheel.blogspot.com/2...ogun-aero.html

Plenty of speculation on my part, was this the Lotus Super Aero or a Tsunoda, or a Norta? I tapped out. I started a thread with our friends over at BikeForums Classic and Vintage:
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...l#post21768227

They were reassuring and I appreciate their responses, insofar as they were equally stumped as to where the frame could have come from. So it was up to me to wait a little until Thursday night to finally see the bike for myself. Yeah, I could have emailed the seller and asked a lot of questions, but I also didn’t want to be trouble, my style is to meet up and inspect the bike for myself and ask questions more in person to make the transaction as easy on the seller as possible. It usually pays off when it’s time to negotiate.

You may also notice in that thread, I didn’t want to tip anyone off here that this bike existed, because I didn’t want someone to beat my to it. As you might know in your own craigslist dealings, things can change on a whim, and I couldn’t risk someone here jumping me in line, ☺.

The bike seemed most comparable to these models:

Part 3/3
 

Needless to say, I inspected the bike, and it appeared to me to be more likely to be a genuine Serotta than not, and if it wasn’t, then at least I had a cool frame that I probably wouldn’t lose everything on. The price to play was good enough for me, so into my car it went, and back home. Now it’s daylight and I got pictures to share.

I’m hoping that some of you here might have some knowledge about how this frame came about or anything else cool to say.

Here’s what I do know about it:
Frame: Fillet Brazed all the way around, no lugs, Aero Tubing (possibly Tange?) on the down tube and seat tube, which then oval back to wider at the bottom bracket. Fork has an engraved “S” which is the only marking I can find, besides the decals which are worse for wear.
Two water bottle mounts, Two Allen head set screws for the seatpost, with a tiny phillips head screw holding a small piece of metal that is supposed to keep the seatpost from getting drilled through with the set screws.
Shimano Dropouts in the front and rear but hard to read from the single speed action
I checked the bottom bracket and the steerer tube for serial numbers but found none,. I do think that the paint is original, because there was purple paint up the steerer tube. Any clues on where I might find some ID?

Components wise, a very interesting mix, unlikely much is original.
Specialized bars and water bottle cages.
3TTT stem (that isn't a spacer, it's a cover where it hinges i believe.
Aero seat post, Shimano for sure, but not 100% the model,
Dia Compe levers? the hoods say that at least
Dura Ace 7400 Brake calipers
105 headset and 105 crankset, unsure on bottom bracket for now.
Campagnolo hubs (I'm not great at model numbers here) and I know a Mavic Module E2 rear wheel but unsure on the front, probably also a mavic but missing label i think possibly mismatched.
Selle Italia Future saddle


Anyway, enough talk, more pictures. Let me see if I can get these posted right. I know most are too big so I used google photos with a link below. Let me know if that doesn't work but I'm also going to try to post some on the thread for posterity.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/4t54kri8AdNV4Tf9A

Check the steerer for a serial number. It could also be an employee bike they built for themselves. I have seen some interesting Serottas before, but never anything like this one.


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I am of the belief it's actually a Serotta. The second, smaller screw on the seat post looks like a hack to make use of the wrong seat post.

I suggest reaching out to Ben Serotta. Interesting bike though.

If there's any pictures people would like to see, let me know. I'd like to know more about the bike.

My plan for now is to probably get some components to make it rideable (AX shifters for sure) and then see what I can get going from there. I'm not super interested in restoring it with a full repaint and repair, although I do think this frame should eventually be done that way. It's just too cool and I had to share because I don't think many people will have seen one like this.

I did take the fork out to check the steerer, but I didn't see a serial number. It was also night time and I didn't inspect it super carefully. I was under the impression it would be a stamped serial number and easy to find, but I will go back and look again for a more subtle marking. I wanted to take pictures in an as found state, or I would have probably torn it all down by now, haha.

An employee bike would be an interesting story for sure, I am definitely thinking custom build for someone, or maybe just an experiment to see how they liked building aero bikes at Serotta?

I think I will reach out to Ben, I saw a contact form on his website. I nearly sent a message last night after picking it up, but thought I also don't want to bother someone with a possible dead end. After all, I'm no Serotta pro, so I'd feel pretty foolish asking him about a bike that turned out to not be his.

As far as the Seat Cluster, I thought the same about the smaller screw at the top, but I'm thinking now that it was part of the design to hold the small piece of metal in. Otherwise, I'm not sure that a seatpost should have that much space behind it in a frame... Now that I think more about it, it would seem that a frame builder might have a more elegant solution to the seatpost that a small screw and piece of loose metal in the seattube.. I'm not sure though, I'd like to see a Lotus or Tsunoda under the grommet with an AX seatpost to be sure.

I will say, the seatpost here I do think is a Dura Ace AX aero post, and I don't think it was ground down or anything. But it definitely had a few ambitious people tighten the set screws, The rear base of the post has scarring from the lower set screw.

I had a really cool Serotta funny bike for the track built for the 84 Olympics. 24 inch front wheel with aero seat and down tube. The frame was a spare or prototype and had a Serotta branded seat stay bridge and only had a white primer finish. Finished it with a rattle can and rode it for a couple of years, a great handling bike. Sold it to the dad of a promising Jr rider for probably way less than it would be worth today. While hanging around a framebuilders shop a few weeks ago, I saw a number of steel aero tubes on bikes and inbuilt. I was tempted but had my mind set on something else.

The dimensions for the Columbus aero post from the era are 30mm x 16mm. You may want to check it against your seat tube.

I can't say for sure either way - that said I'm skeptical because in all my time there I never saw anything like this associated with the brand.

It could be a one-off that was made before my time...if it was built by Ben or the boys it would have a serial number for sure.

dave

I dunno what it is but I 100% would have bought it too.

@steelbikerider That's awesome! I did see those funny bikes in the search for a bike comparable to this one. I even saw one that had handlebars brazed to the top of the fork, that was wild too.

@velomateo A campy post would fit for sure, looks like it's longer than the one that is in there now, but not by a lot.. You'll have to forgive me for my non metric measurements. But the seatpost there now measures 1.125" and just over .6875", whereas the campy measurements you give are 1.181" and .630".

That being said, there is plenty of space all around either way you look at the seat tube, so either Shimano or Campagnolo would fit right now,

I've had two clubs with that exact purple, forkcrown looks correct, interesting I've never seen one before

@Toeclips Exactly my thoughts, the paint looks too good to be a simple respray and decal job... and I joked on the other thread, I'm sure I have a genuine Serotta fork if nothing else, haha.

@mtechnica Agree, I think most of us would have probably paid the price of admission for this one. It's just too interesting and cool to pass up.

@David Kirk Thanks for your input, I was hoping you would stumble across the post from your previous replies in my time spent researching. I was thinking it might have been before you would know for sure. But I will say I was disappointed to not find an easy serial number. I am going to get the fork another look tomorrow morning and I'll clean it up and inspect closer. I didn't even clean off some of the old grease and grime because I wanted to wait until I had good light to take pictures. You never know what clues you might wipe away during cleaning...