Tommasini Air Prestige – verkauft
A special frame design for a better seating position. The first attempts from track cycling to gain aerodynamic advantages. Further thought out by Irio Tommasini himself.
Small at the front - big at the back
This idea came up at the end of the 70s and was taken up by Team GDR and was used successfully for the first time in 1980. Lothar Thoms won Olympic gold in the 1000 m time trial in Moscow and set a new world record at the same time. The top tube sloping forward shortens the head tube, puts the rider in a more aggressive position and thus reduces wind resistance. This type of time trial bike was built until around 1986. In 1997, the UCI passed rules that both wheels had to be the same size and only race bars could be used. This finally sealed the end of this frame design in professional cycling.
Triple Triangle Frame
Increasing the rigidity of racing machines has always been the top priority. Aerodynamics had to be combined with stability. However, the curved top tube was said to have low stiffness, so Irio Tommasini built a frame with a "triple triangle" design. The saddle stays were not connected to the saddle sleeve, but to the saddle tube and top tube. This increased the stiffness and his frames found a prominent customer in the Bulgarian national team. Only a dozen frames were built, all custom-made.
This frame is brazed from Columbus SPX tubes, a reinforced version of the SLX tube set used for frame heights above 58 cm. The whole thing is rounded off by the shapely and aerodynamic Tommasini Air fork.
Where and for what were these wheels used?
The Air-Prestige was used as a track bike. As is usual for track cycling, horizontal and rear-opening dropouts can be seen here. Compared to road bike models, the dropout is much more stable in order to withstand the high loads during sprints. All spokes are also soldered together. This increases the stiffness even more.
There were basically two different forms of these time trial bikes. The first had a 26 inch front wheel and a 28 inch rear wheel. The second version had the same size rear wheel but a smaller 24 inch front wheel. The smaller wheel diameter made it possible for the team members riding in the back to ride closer to the person in front. However, the handling with the small front wheel was poor and could not compensate for the theoretical advantage of being closer together in the group of 4. On the track 1000m and 4000m distances were contested and on the road classic time trials.
Campagnolo's flagship for over 10 years
The Record Pista groupset was first introduced to the market in 1974. In 1987, Campagnolo discontinued the Record Pista groupset and replaced it with the C-Record groupset.
The Group Set of World Champions
The maxim was to combine the attributes of lightness, safety and stiffness. Campagnolo achieved this through a high level of craftsmanship and attention to detail. This is the group of world champions.
Since 1974, the Record group has complemented the product range of the Italian manufacturer Campagnolo and was designed to enable top performance. Record is synonymous with professional material and consisted of the highest quality materials of its time.
A bike with special wishes
Due to personal preferences, the rider of this bike decided against the Campagnolo Record high-speed hubs and instead had the counterpart from Shimano installed. These Dura Ace hubs come from the Dura Ace 7500 group and were the best Shimano offered at the time. Even today, Dura Ace components enjoy legendary status in track racing.
Manufacturer
Tommasini
Model
Air Prestige
Year of manufacture
1984
Tube set
Columbus SPX
Groupset
Campagnolo Record Pista
Paintwork
Stars and Stripes
Frame height c - t
60cm
Top tube length c - c
59 cm
Condition
Very good, original lacquer, hardly any signs of use
