Proving that everything old is new again, we stumbled across this retro gem from Condor Cycles. Way back in the 1990’s before cyclocross had really hit the mainstream here in the US, British cyclocross was going off, and in the words of Condor it was, “A fight of man and his bike against terrain; wading through deep streams and clambering up muddy banks, weighed down by woolen shorts and using equipment that was not intended for the cold unforgiving mud. Finishing a race was an achievement itself.”
Partnering with a then-start up Hope Technologies, Condor created a disc brake equipped cyclocross bike using Hope’s cable actuate mechanical discs. It was based on a steel frame with slightly better mud clearance than other frame at the time. Clearly, it was well ahead of its time and while it didn’t catch on back then, things have come full circle with Condor’s modern disc equipped cross bike the Bivio-X .
More after the break.
Certainly, technology has come a long way, but you have to respect Condor and Hope for being so far ahead of the game.
Even at placement of the caliper, Condor was seemingly peering into the future. Most likely due to the spindly seat stays unable to take the force of the disc brake, but still. Did any of our readers out there ever ride one of these? We’re curious how their performance stacked up against other bikes of the day.
