Bob Hanson wrote:
> I noticed that the lovely Gios 1978 replica frameset which was
> recently
> sold on eBay had the same "drilled-out" Campy 1010/A dropouts and
fork
> tips as one of my own late 70s bikes.
>
> Looks Kool, although the 25 grams of reduced weight certainly
couldn't
> have been worth the cost of machining (and also made fine receptacles
> for rust).
>
> Does anyone know when this had first begun to appear on production
> bikes, and then when it had (just as quickly) disappeared?
and Chuck Schmidt added:
> 1930s Durkopp track bikes came with drilled fork ends (dropouts) and
> I'm sure they weren't the first as drilling was the most common
> technique for reducing the weight of a part, followed by milling.
Right on, as in:
http://www.wooljersey.com/
The frame weighs in at about 1.8k (and the fork is .7k), pretty light for a steel frame of the '30s. It must be the drilled dropouts. I'm speculating (with the help of the eldest Durkopp collector I know of on the list ;>) that this is the Kilian-Vopel variant of the Model 116, with a little extra attention to light weight. Don't know how many were made, but I guess it qualifies as a "production bike." It is now in the skilled hands of Ed Litton for a make-over.
Dave Ross
Portola Valley, CA USA