1991 Slingshot Triathlon
1990 Slingshot
We have always wanted a Slingshot bike in the museum collection. Despite the somewhat silly appearance, these bikes are an important step in the evolution of modern bicycles and the design (and the company building them) is robust enough to still be available today.
Born in Grand Rapids Michigan in the early 1980’s, Slingshot was a hit with more open-minded bike riders and bicycle reviewers from sporting magazines.
The Slingshot design is all about giving the rider extra comfort and control without isolating them from the riding experience or creating inefficiency. The frames flex at the fiberglass “Dogbone” pivot and the coil spring at the top end of the steel cable helps return any lost energy in a controlled manner.
Cable Spring
Dogbone pivot
Cable Attachment
In the early ’90’s, this suspension system was a refreshing alternative to completely rigid bikes (especially stiffer-is-better aluminum offerings from companies like Klein and Cannondale). It was also better than a lot of the first-generation full-suspension attempts. Ironically, unlike Softride Beam bikes and some other longer-travel designs (like the Trek 9000), “Slingshots” would not catapult you out of the saddle when the suspension snapped back from a bump.
2nd generation Grip Shift
Scott Tri bars
Twenty-five years later, surviving Slingshot models are usually the more common off-road variety. This is a road version built for Triathlons.
Like modern tri-bikes, this one has a goofy-looking handlebar designed to support the forearms as well as providing control grips for operating the brakes and the shifters. This Scott triathlon bar was a valiant attempt to connect all of the contact points with one continuous piece of aluminum. It worked poorly and detracted from the rest of the bike. Since they were trying to make the bar light-weight and still connect all of the dots, the bar flexed quite a bit and made the steering sloppy. The brakes and the shifting were affected by this bar too. The extra-long cables required to snake around the bar bends reduced shifting precision, introduced extra friction to the cables and flex to the brakes.
Dura-Ace 7400
GripShift shifters make their first chronological appearance in our museum on this Slingshot. These are the second version that the company produced, and the first real commercial success. This version didn’t require mechanics to drill holes in the handlebars in order to install the shifters, the twisting action was a bit more precise than with the original product, and the shifters worked with a variety of bicycle and drivetrain styles.
Like a lot of tri-bikes in the ’90’s, this one was built with smaller than standard 650c wheels. The smaller wheels reduced stand over height and (hypothetically) increased aerodynamics. The smaller wheels were a bust when it came to performance, but they are a real plus for our museum bike here. The bike looks comically small in relation to other bikes on our walls, but with a 58cm top tube it was actually intended for a rider around six feet tall.