Garth,
Perhaps I should explain further my impressions and opinions regarding
the Cinelli Laser. And let me again state that the standard road
version of the Laser is not at all the same laser that is represented
by the Ken Denny Photos of the special Laser track sprint bike. That
is one of the nicest pieces of design and construction I've ever seen
for that type of bike.
My first complaint about the road version is how the rear brake cable
was routed through the top tube. There are three parts to my
objections here. To begin with, the angle that the cable enters and
exits the tubes is far too extreme, especially at the front of the top
tube. The entry should be at a relaxed, gentle, and graceful angle for
a number of reasons; not the least of which is that the brakes work
MUCH better that way. Most important on the rear brake on account of
the long route. Front brakes always work great (don't they?).
Furthermore, the Cinelli does not have a continuous tube through the
top tube (which explains why the entry is at nearly 90 degrees, an
internal tube would not allow one to route a tube in such an awkward
angle in the first place), and this makes is MUCH more difficult to
route a brake cable housing. Not only do you have to fish a piece of
brazing rod through there to slide the housing over, but the extreme
angles at both ends make it very difficult. Try it some time. Making
a "state of the art bicycle" should also include doing the basic
simple functional things at least as good as anything else of the
period; if not better or classier. They really dropped the ball here.
To top it off, the appearance, not to mention the function, is
compromised by that awful sharp angle. The cable turns much better,
the cable doesn't chafe, and it looks ten times better and more
refined if the proper entry angle and location are selected. OK,
judging from the period; I promise you there were plenty of
framebuilders who knew all this at the time. I promise!
Shall we move on to the derailleur cable routing? Why the hell not. To
begin with, I had to do a lot of work in the area around the braze-on
for the shifters and the entry points where the cable goes inside the
frame. Lots of bondo work and again not the ideal angle for the
cables, but not nearly as bad as the brake cable routing. The real
problem is how they failed to make a practical transition between the
down tube and the seat tube (for ft. der.) and the chainstay (for rear
der.) which made it a genuine certified nightmare to replace a
deralleur cable. So much so that I opted to leave the cables in with
the shifters still on them while I was restoring the bike, which made
the job more difficult, but apparently not as difficult as the other
alternative (unless you considered suicide). Anyway, if they had come
up with a solution for this situation I would be REALLY impressed. But
not so in this case; and I wouldn't be at all surprised if the aero
bike built by Weigle that Alan mentioned during the thread at least
had a much better approach if not some genius solution to this problem
that plagues anyone who tries internally routing cables continuously
from the tubes through the BB shell. Dale mentioned that the look of
the laser was the feature that was being recognized and "appreciated"
by people at the time. My feeling is you people only see the visual
way too much and overlook the basic elements of design and function in
the process. I'm suggesting a more enlightened perspective as an
alternative. If the piece passes the design and function part first,
then look at the visual/perceived appearance for innovation and
styling. Cinelli most definitely does not win the award for solving
this problem.
Taking a break to make a float in a frosty glass from the freezer,
using pineapple soda and apricot-mango sherbet. Yummy!! Yes, it been a
bit warm here the past few days, but here in California we know how to
deal with it, yessir! This is so good I may take a bath in this stuff.
Since I don't have a Laser in front of me right now I'm sure there are
a number of things I don't remember about what other basic
framebuilding shortcomings the design has. But they added a lot of
metal and brass that does little for aerodynamics but didn't reinforce
the thin head tube where the headset presses in, they tend to stretch.
As I recall there are or can be some "issues" with the seat post
binder also. One of the most basic things one has to do at least a
decent job of for the bike to even be ridable. Fortunately for
everyone I don't have one to look at, so we can spare everyone the
continuing rant.
My point here is that Awarding a functional object cult status based
on it's "innovative looks" (and I wouldn't be at all surprised if
someone else did it first, if not better first) doesn't work for me.
Obviously I see a different bike when I look at a Laser than most
people see. But that's part of what's so wonderful about this list.
Many points of view are presented. You choose what works for you. I
would not and do not think less of anyone who likes, appreciates, or
owns a Laser. Those who know me know that is 100% true. But on the
other hand, I felt it was necessary to explain further why my opinion
was stated in my earlier post. The MOMA is a good place for the Laser.
There, people who don't know a lot about bikes can see it and go "WOW,
check out THAT bike!" That's IS a work of art. It is a bicycle also,
but not a very good one IMHO. I prefer a really great bicycle that
just happens to be a work of art also. But that's just me.
Thanks for listening. I think I'll go take a float in the bath. ;-)
Brian Baylis
La Mesa, CA
After Brian Baylis' review of the Cinelli, I can see why the bike
ended
up in the MOMA. It is a beautiful piece of art from a visual point of
view. The best art however is like the best engineering: Form follows
function. If the Cinelli Laser is a heavy impractical piece then it
does not appeal to the sportsman in all of us. It's a show dog, not a
hunter. It's a poseur. It's an all visual flow and no go item that
should be hung on the wall and left to those who love to ooh and ahh
and not those who love to sweat. Body filler or not, it's not a
classical lightweight in that its form hinders the melding of body and
machine. I sold my plastic Modolo brake levers at a pretty penny on
Ebay last year. They seemed so delicate that I felt I could barely put
them in the box without breaking them. I was so glad that the
purchaser
of those and the matching flexy Modolo shift levers said they were
going in a show case and not on a bike. They belonged in the show
aisle
and not the pace line. The levers were so bendy that when they came
off
the bike I had them on, the bike seemed to let out a sigh of relief...
the same sigh I let out when I shipped them off.
Garth Libre in Miami Fl USA