Parmigiani

Parmigiani
Take me to the Parmigiani blog!

Friday, May 3, 2013

Rare bikes: Zipp

An unusual bike for today's post. Unusual because it caused quite a stir when it was introduced in 1992, and subsequently banned by UCI (the world's cycling governing body). But still much sought after by triatheletes.


This bike is owned by my best cycling buddy Caroline's husband Tuck Hon. More info on this on this archived page from Zipp's official site.

The frame is early carbon fiber, but proudly Made in USA, discontinued in 1997 due to UCI rulings.

The bike is rather heavy...I guestimate perhaps 14kg.

Carbon fork...quite a new thing in those days.

The huge chainstay, marked Zipp Weaponry

Originally raced by one of his friends in Ironman.

And a monstrous bottom bracket

Full Dura-Ace components...bar end shifters on the aerobars

The crank

The cockpit with Dura-Ace brake levers

The inner side of the chainstay says Warning For Competition Use only!

The saddle...

And 650 size tyres

I did try and ride it...the bike handling is very twitchy...unlike most road bikes...and not the most comfortable to ride.

1 comment:

Anthony said...

Kestrel fork. The good old days. When they shut their USA shop it was a very sad day.

My EMS 300 was an awesome bike. While I love my look 595 w/ electronic Dura Ace, the EMS would still stack up nicely.