[CR]Windsor and Lotus

(Example: Framebuilders:Alex Singer)

From: Donald Gillies <gillies@cs.ubc.ca>
Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 17:54:22 -0700 (PDT)
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR]Windsor and Lotus

Sometimes these questions can always be answered on Sheldon Brown's web site "Valuing old 10speeds".

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/vrbn-o-z.html#windsor

===== Windsor

One of the hottest bikes among low-income racers in the 1970's was the Windsor Pro (the other hot bike was a Peugeot PX-10, 21 lbs and Reynolds 531 throughout for 30% less than a full campy bike!)

Not only was the Windsor Pro cheap, cheap cheap, with columbus tubing (anywhere from $50 to $100 less than a Columbus / Nuovo Record bike from another maker), but it came with COOL chromed lugs. In hindsight the Windsor, this chrome did not last, as I've seen a few windsors lately and the chrome has decayed in a way that indicates shoddy plating.

I have a bicycling magazine review of the Windsor Pro, from sometime in 1973 or 1974. You might want to look that up at your local library. They liked the ride quite a lot, and were very impressed by the low price. I think lotus sold a lot of bikes, because their bikes were sometimes the same cost as a component kit from the retailers !! The Windsor Pro was a popular bikes to part out because it was so cheap.

===== Lotus

Lotus was a japanese make, starting in the late 1970's and throughout the 1980's, i believe. I helped my girlfriend to get a mid-range Lotus Classique in 1984, for about $260. It was a nice bike with Tange No. 2 frame, Suntour dropouts, and Suntour Cyclone gears. Lotus had used awesome pastel metallic paint colors (my girlfriend's was bluish, there were great lavendar and light green bikes), and very classic looking decals with a Lotus Flower in front of the "L" in "Lotus" on some, and a Lotus-shaped headbadge (|) that looked like an onion. Lotus was a high quality japanese brand, on par with Fuji and bigger than Sekai (more than 10 bikes at one point) and they offered a full campy bike and a full superbe bike at one point in their history.

http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/2004/b/baz.htm http://www.glennview.com/jpgs/tools/bicycles/lotus/big_1.jpg

Sheldon probably didn't mention Lotus on his website because the bike shop across town from him in Boston sold Lotus !! At least, that's where the Lotus Classique was purchased...

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA