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Two British brands, which are steeped in
heritage and racing history, shaped by many
championship titles and joined by the ethos to
create lighter better product to enhance
performance. Lotus and Condor were both born in
1948 in Britain, the brands are known within
their respective industries for lightweight
products. Condor successes through the sixties
helped many riders win international
championship titles.
Collaboration between Lotus and Condor is a
natural fit. The history of the two companies
mirror so perfectly, it could almost be a
fictional story.
Lotus is no stranger to cycling, flexing
technological prowess when its engineers turned
their attentions to redefining the bicycle and
winning gold in 1992 at Barcelona. Just four
years after the win a change to the ruling meant
a competition bicycle must take a conventional
shape, thus the Lotus concept could not be used
in future competition.
Twenty years after gold medal success in
Barcelona and on the eve of both companies 65th
year, Lotus and Condor have partnered to
celebrate their rich history and work together
to create speed through lightness and push the
future of performance further. Two bicycles have
been created in collaboration to mark the start
of an on-going project that uses the knowledge
of both companies in their fields to redefine
what is known about speed on two wheels.
The Design
Condor selected one of its race proven carbon
frames for the project, and fitted it with the
lightest components in accordance with the Lotus
ethos.
Design teams at Lotus and Condor developed the
limited edition livery taking cues from Lotus F1
team and its return to the height of performance
racing.
The frame’s fluid lines and graceful curves
aren’t purely aesthetic. The shape distills the
forces travelling through the frame, controlling
the buzz from the road and smoothing the ride
making the bike feel like you are “floating over
a cloud”.
The Type 1 LC Racing combines comfort with
function, blending sophisticated, high quality
materials with precise attention to details and
superb craftsmanship.
The Method
Using artisan know-how combined with
cutting-edge technology the Type 1 LC Racing is
limited, it is special. Requiring 25
manufacturing steps, with each frame created by
a small team of five who have practised, learnt
and honed their techniques in creating the
carbon tubes, cutting them to length, bonding
them together, baking and finishing the frame.
It is passed to the paint shop to create the
unique design. Creating the carbon frame by hand
allows Condor to build up carbon in areas of
high torsion but ensure it is not over built
making it stronger but weighing much less. The
frame is then built to the exact customer size
profile as measured by Condor bike fitters and
the components fitted by workshop engineers.
Technical Specification
Type 1 LC Racing
The core of the Type 1 LC Racing‘s incomparable
ride quality is its proven hand wrapped
performance carbon fibre frame and fork. Even
more impressive than the bikes incredible light
weight are the superb ride characteristics. With
a perfect balance of lightweight zing, powerful
pedaling stiffness and comfy compliance, it’s
clearly in a league of its own. A precise
Campagnolo Centaur carbon drivetrain and Mavic
Cosmic carbon wheels, complete this dream ride.
Frame:
Condor Performance MMC carbon fibre with 3K
weave, hand cut and wrap building process,
internal cable routing, carbon fibre dropouts
and forged aluminum replaceable rear derailleur
hanger, 1112g
Fork:
Condor 100% carbon fibre fork 1.125”” --> 1.5””
steerer tube, integrated headset crown race,
blades, and dropouts, 328g
Drivetrain:
Campagnolo Centaur carbon shifters and
derailleurs, Campagnolo Centaur 52/36T crankset,
Campagnolo chain and 11-26T cassette.
Components:
Campagnolo Centaur dual pivot brakes, Deda Zero
100 handlebar – shallow race drop, Deda Zero 100
aluminum 3D forged stem, Condor Supremacy UHC
Performance carbon fibre seatpost, Fizik Arione
with hollow Cr-Mo rails
Wheelset: Mavic Cosmic Carbone SLR, 1595g
Finish: Gloss carbon with gold and raw carbon
Sizes: 52cm, 55cm, 58cm, 61cm
Weight: 16.00lbs | 7.25kg based on 55cm frame
size
Price: RRP £5,150 including VAT
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