Do you want to own one of the most iconic bicycles in cycling history? If you’ve got a spare £8,000, you can buy this Lotus Sport 110 time trial bike that is currently for sale on auction site eBay.
Chris Boardman rode the distinctive and futuristic Lotus 108 to gold medal success at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. The Lotus Sport 110 is the road-going version, with brakes and gears, of Boardman’s fixed wheel track-specific 108.
The Lotus was developed by Mike Burrows and applied Formula One motor racing engineering to a bicycle, with a carbon composite monocoque frame designed to minimise wind resistance and reduce drag. Despite being produced in 1994, it still looks space-age and futuristic compared to modern day road bikes.
The Lotus Sport 110 was produced in small batches following Chris Boardman’s success at the Olympics. It’s not clear how many were produced, but they do come up for sales on the internet from time to time. It’s a highly collectable bike for obvious reasons. Earlier this year a similar bike was sold for $15,000 from the embacher collection.
The bike for sale is described as being brand new and has never been ridden. “There's no damage, no marking at all on the frame A1 condition - never ridden, never used - kept in a bike bag,” says the seller.
Obviously the bike would need components to complete the build if you were interested in making it rideable. The sale doesn’t include the HED wheels, the auction is for the frame, fork and seatpost clamp only.
This is the first time we’ve seen a yellow Lotus Sport 110; most were the signature black paint job we’re all familiar with.
“As far as I know the bike is the only yellow one that has been sprayed by the factory (I might be wrong?). The Lotus Sport stickers were left on the bike when it was sprayed and they were removed to show the carbon fibre weave underneath. Looks very nice!” says the seller.
“I bought the bike from a really nice guy in Amsterdam. He purchased the frame new in the 90's from a Lotus rep and then requested the custom spray job,” he adds.
David has worked on the road.cc tech team since July 2012. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds.