This is one you won't see every day. Apparently this was made for the 2000 Sidney Olympics Polish track team. Sat in a warehouse for years, until Ellsworth decided to ebay the unused frames in about 2008.
Per the frame sticker, these are made from Easton superlight scandium/aluminum tubing, and indeed they are light. This one weighs in at 13.99 lbs., with old Campy front wheel and quick-release seatpost clamp. Could be quite a bit lighter.
These were made by someone besides Ellsworth in Portland I'm told, but I'm not 100% sure about that. No shortage of capable builders up there.
Anyway, some odd things about it.
- 1" fork -- lucky I found this rare Oval Concepts Jetstream fork in 1"... like hens' teeth
- 28.6mm seatpost tube -- fortunately Thomson makes one
- seatpost tube is so thin the welds came thru, so there was much filing involved getting the post to fit the frame, and this is very hard aluminum, took forever
Heading to the San Diego velodrome with the Ellsworth and the 90s Cannondale track bike in the '78 300D... a night that would not end particularly well.
Ouch! the velodrome concrete is like 100 grit sandpaper, and is very effective at removing skin. I don't recommend sliding across it at speed. What I do recommend wholeheartedly is real Japanese kieren gloves with armored kevlar knuckles. They are expensive -- ~$150, but you'll be very glad your hands didn't get destroyed if you ever crash. Small price to pay.
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