Classic & Vintage - Hirondelle?

A buddy of mine has offered me an old road bike that has been gathering dust in his basement for the better part of a decade. He said it's a Hirondelle. It's in pretty decent shape, just a little rust on the top tube. Had cottered cranks and a lugged frame, and felt fairly light. No decals, as it had been repainted. He also mentioned that the shop or person that sold him the bike told him it had been silver-soldered (as opposed to bronze in the lugs?).

My search attempts through Google turned up virtually nothing, so I was wondering if the bike was worth swapping for a gallon or two of homebrew and fixing up (at the expense of neglecting other old bikes I already have that could be fixed up). Also, I'm now curious as all-getout regarding Hirondelle itself. Why wasn't I able to find any information about this manufacturer, when there is (seemingly, at least) so much on all other bike brands/manufacturers out ther? Thanks in advance.

-Nate

Sounds like an excellent swap, even though I don't know anything about the brand. Sounds like something from the Lowlands, though. Silver soldered used to be the mark of better grades of tubing, although because silver solder melts at a lower temperature than bronze, more inexperienced workers can assemble frame tubing without overheating. So... depending on the price of labor wherever it was assembled, it may have been an economical expedient to use silver solder. Someone'll know about it here.

poking around with google:

"Regularly selected as a passage for the cycling Tour of France, Saint-Etienne joyously welcomes this event which also brings to memory the long history of the bicycle industry in the region, including success stories like Manufrance's famous Hirondelle bicycle."

So, Manufrance and of course, French. Is it possible to see pictures?

Hirondelle was a French manufacturer from the St. Etienne region. The name transalates as Swallow. They manufactured bicycles and motorized bicycles, and originated around the turn of the century. Like most manufacturers, they produced a wide range of bicycles. Yours could be a high end model, or it could simply be that the company chose to standarize the process and/or minimize the impact on the tubing by using low temperature silver solder. They were eventually taken over by St. Etienne bicycles.

To determine if it is a better model, the first clue is usually the tubing decals, but these are long gone. On a repainted frame, check for forged dropouts with integral derailleur hanger, reinforcing tangs on the fork blades and stay bridges. The seat post diameter is also a good indicator, with larger diameters indicating better (ie. stronger, thinner) tubing.

While there is good information on a great many manufacturers, there are far more where there is little or nothing. Maybe if you tried Ebay France, you would uncover a Hirondelle or two?

My curiosity aroused, I prowled on. and found this link to the history or Hirondelle Bicycles (sorry for the long link, it is translated by babblefish, I think).

http://216.239.39.104/translate_c?hl=en&u=http://www.manufrancemania.com/id160.htm&prev=/search%3Fq%3DHirondelle%2Bbicycle%2B-scenery%2B-farm%2B-holiday%2B-countryside%2B%26start%3D50%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26rls%3DGGLD,GGLD:2004-52,GGLD:en%26sa%3DN

Thanks for the info, luker and T-Mar. (Although your link wouldn't translate for for some reason, even with Google's translate too, luker. Weird.) Thinking about the Hirondelle a little more, I decided it'd be a neat addition to the stable. Definitely worth a gallon or two of mediocre homebrew. I'll upload pics when I get the bike.

Go directly to babelfish.com. Follow the instructions. the translation is crappy but you'll get the general idea. And pictures would be really cool.