Slingshot cyclocross bike for sale

Selling my Slingshot cross bike. 

Needless to say, this bike is kind of unusual in that it has no down tube. The idea is that there is a flexible link at the seat-top tube junction (the material is basically a piece of a fiberglass leaf spring) and a tension cable with a spring in place of the down tube. Thus, the frame can flex a bit in response to bumps and pedal input. Some of you may remember that this company actually made a decent number of BMX and mountain bikes with this design in the late 80's and early '90's (see: MOMBAT: Slingshot Bicycles History). A number of cyclocross bikes were also made, this one is a 1999 or 2000 model. 

Besides the fact that this bike is a neat piece of bicycle design history, you might want to own it because...

First, although it is not super light (the weight saving from not having a down tube is offset by all the material in the hinge area), it is a completely functional cross racing bike. I raced it for several seasons in the Bay Area a few years ago. You'll get some attention at races. 

Second, it can be separated into two pieces by pulling the seat post and a removable bolt in the hinge area. The idea is to make it fold for travel. Originally it was sold with a soft travel case, which I do not have any more. I believe, although I have not actually tried this, that it will probably fit in an airline-legal case such as those sold by S and S Machine (http://www.sandsmachine.com/ac_hard.htm). 

Third, it could be a fun gravel racing bike. The design does have a noticeable suspension effect. Weirdly, it is also nice for climbing because there is kind of an energy-return effect from the frame flex. 

Here are more details. I had the frame modified by Bernie Mikkelsen (Alameda, CA framebuilder) to add a chainstay bridge to stiffen up the rear triangle a bit. He also installed fender mounts and trimmed the dropouts a bit to make wheel changes slightly easier. This required a repaint (powder-coating by Maas Brothers, Livermore, CA), and also a replacement of the flex hinge. The Slingshot company was sort of out of the picture at that point (although it seems to have returned in recent years) so I had to source the original material ("Cyply", formerly called "Scotchply") from another supplier. I'll include another piece with the bike. In any case, the bike has been repainted so it doesn't have the original decals. Slingshot won't sell them to you but you could get them custom-made from other sources. 

Fork is original chrome-plated steel. Unfortunately 1", which limits the replacement options. You could probably get a custom Wound Up though. 

The drivetrain is circa-2000 Ultegra. Kind of old but works. Rings are not Ultegra, they are 38/48 Salsa rings. I'll also include a bag of single-ring-related bits if you want to 1x9 it. Chain and cassette are recently replaced and very little used. 

Wheels are pretty standard Easton aluminum deep-section rims. Narrower than current cross rims but fine. Tires are Specialized "Houffalize." 

Brakes are Tektro mini-Vs. The mini-Vs fit better on the frame than cantis and reduce fork chatter. Work great. 

Handlebar, Salsa Cowbell. Nice. 

Seat and pedals. It has a nice Thompson seatpost. A seat will be included but maybe not the exact one that is on there. We can talk about that. Pedals not included. 

Bike is located in the Bay Area. Happy to ship elsewhere at your cost. 

Price. Honestly, I have no idea what this is worth. It's cool though. How about $700?