Larry Nolan on an Ottrott

[weisan]

I saw a pic of Larry Nolan on top of an Ottrott in cyclingnews...I thought folks here might be interested. He came in third at Masters 45+ race in the Nevada City Classic held on June 19, 2005.

i was there. according to a training partner, he loses two or three places in a sprint due to flex.


[QUOTE=weisan]I saw a pic of Larry Nolan on top of an Ottrott in cyclingnews...I thought folks here might be interested. He came in third at Masters 45+ race in the Nevada City Classic held on June 19, 2005.
[IMG]

[CNY rider]

Originally Posted by aLexis

So what's that supposed to mean?

[Ti Designs]

Originally Posted by hypnospin

i was there. according to a training partner, he loses two or three places in a sprint due to flex.

Being that he came in third, the worst that could be said is that he lost two places because of flex...

Somehow I just don't see it. If the bike were that flexable he wouldn't be on the podium, ever. The masters are the most experianced racers out there, they know someone has a weakness and he's getting sent out the back long before the final sprint.

Too many people confuse a bike that's comfortable with one that's too flexable to be a racing machine. I was on a loaner Ottrott ST for a season, while it rode more like a Lexus than a Porsche, I wouldn't say that it gave away anything in the sprints. beyond that, Ottrotts are full boat custom - tell Kelly that you want something with some get-up-and-go and he'll deliver. Serotta also makes an Ottrott track frame - and area that Serotta has done their homework.

[saab2000]

I have never ridden an Ottrott, but I did once ride a Seven Odonatta. That bike has received its share of jabs, but like the Ottrott, I think it was pretty solid. It did not seem to have any compromises, but rode like buttah........ Not trying to sell one, but like Mr. Designs says, I think that they can sort of be tuned to the rider, otherwise that big dude would ride something else.

[weisan]

...is to compare the size of his thigh and legs with yours.

[Climb01742]

the thing i find interesting...his face looks 45+...his body sure doesn't.

[Sandy]

They put his face with my body!!


Body Beautiful,

Sandy

[Ti Designs]

Originally Posted by saab2000

I have never ridden an Ottrott, but I did once ride a Seven Odonatta. That bike has received its share of jabs, but like the Ottrott, I think it was pretty solid. It did not seem to have any compromises, but rode like buttah........ Not trying to sell one, but like Mr. Designs says, I think that they can sort of be tuned to the rider, otherwise that big dude would ride something else.

I'm not sure what Serotta has available for carbon tubes for the down tube of the Ottrott, which would be the limiting factor in stiffness. Looking at the picture, it doesn't look to have a huge diameter, but what can you tell from a picture? I was on a Seven Odonata for a season, it was custom and built like a track bike with road dropouts. They put in a 1.5" diameter down tube to keep the BB firmly in place in the hardest sprint, yet the carbon back end softened the ride. From there I went to the Ottrott, which wasn't custom for me - being a loaner bike I would guess they would lean to the comfort side of things a bit. My new Serotta just blows me away in what the thing can do. I thought my Peter Mooney was solid with it's SPX down tube. I thought the Seven was OK with it's 1.5" titanium down tube. I learned the real meaning of stiff when my Serotta was delivered with it's massive 1.65" downtube at the bottom bracket. I've been on the S-Works (Stiffest bike in testing that we sell), at my weight and strength I'm not seeing a difference.

The bottom line here is that Kelly Bedford is the man when it comes to frame design. If you say stiff, he can draft a stiff frame. If you say really stiff, he can do that too. If you say really really stiff, you'll get a phone call explaining how the bike will ride and how it effects handeling, but if you insist...

There are four different carbon downtubes (4.5, 6.5, 8.5, 10.5) to select from for an Ottrot. There is no difference in diameter, only layup. The diameter at the HT is 1.375", down to 1.64" at the BB (Colorado Concept at work). The 10.5 is unrivaled in torsional stiffness, which, paired with the proper chainstays, will not be losing you any places in the sprint.

[David Kirk]

The main tubes can only do so much. The tubes that get the real workout in a sprint are the chainstays. They are the tubes that most directly transfer power from the BB to the rear wheel. You can put a huge and ultra stiff downtube on the bike but if the stays are standard ( especially in Ti) the stiffness will be limited by the stays.

The tough part of this from the design standpoint is the the diameter of the chainstays is limited by tire and chainring clearance.

Dave

[John H.]

Points
1.) I don't think that Nolan was 3rd in a sprint at Nevada City, I think that 2nd and 1st were up the road- in the masters category at nevada city they mix 35's and 45's and sort them out after- this changes a race very much- the better climbing 45's can go with the 35's and get away from poor Larry who is 200+ pounds
2.) Nolan does not lose many sprints- anyone who has sprinted against him will attest to that- to beat Larry in a 45+ race, you pretty much have to get away from him
3.) Nolan is riding a 2-3 year old Ottrott
4.) The Ottrott has been improved upon since Larry got his
5.) His bike would probably be stiffer if they used a classic rear end with the biggest seatstays (I think that they are actually chainstays)- I have seen this set-up used for 65+ cm Ottrott's for 6'7 guys.
6.) Nolan is also riding a stock Ouzo pro fork- an F2 or F3 (in the stiffer version) would probably be better for him

[Kevan]

a response a ballplayer or manager would give after losing the day's game. Hogwash.

[97CSI]

I send LN a quick e-mail and ask for his thoughts on the Ottrot. The following is the complete reply:

I think my reply was mis-quoted and taken out of context. If anything, I'm
a totally honest guy, which can sometimes get me into trouble but the upside
is that I don't feel guilty ;-) Anyway, I have been riding and racing on my
Ottrott for 3 seasons and it is a fabulous frame. I never said that my
Serotta caused me to lose places but I have said that it flexes more than I
would like. Putting that into context you need to understand that I weight
about 200 pounds and torque any frame quite a bit. Also, due to my work and family committments I have always jammed short and intense rides into my free time, as opposed to longer rides where I would have different
requirements for my frame. As you can see from our team website
(www.amdmasters.com) 10 of our 19 teammates weigh more than 180 pounds. Some race long and some race very short so we all have different
requirements for our frames. Perhaps its impossible to meet the needs of 19
different riders? I think Ben has met the majority of our needs with his
frames and we are very thankful for that.

See ya on the road, Larry