In a message dated 11/11/00 7:33:55 AM Eastern Standard Time, alfa011@prtc.net writes:
<< Colnago BiTitan.. I just have one (mint) and I am interested in knowing more about it. Specifically why is no longer made and the reason for the dual downtube design. >>
IMO, these can qualify as a vintage curio even though they are not that old ....but they are definitely a long-gone item! The BiTitan problems were: - made in Russia of alleged high quality Ti but who knows (and many suspect foul play!) - Breakage.. All hard ridden (and some soft pedaled) BiTitans seemed to break. - Lack of support. Ernesto is said to be indifferent to breakage, "Itsa all your fault!" his interpreter is said to have uttered. Todsun, the last importer of Colnago to the USA, is said to have a room full of broken BiTitans at their offices. They were contemplating how, indeed, they were going to eat them.
The dual down tube was Ernesto's brain storm to be different and cool back in the late 1980s early 90s... There was blah blah about pedaling efficiency and power transfer and torsional resiliency, but it was assumed by us skeptics to be a cosmetic feature that didn't hurt the bikes' workings too much. This feature appeared on Colnagos Alan-made aluminum (DuAl) and carbon (BiCarbon?) bikes and the ill fated BiTan... There were no Colnago made steelies dualies to my knowledge.
Dale Brown