Classic & Vintage - A Dutch Christmas gift to myself

I'd been planning on tearing down my '64 Raleigh Gran Sport for the past six months, with the intention of restripping the frame and this time painting it properly. Big hold up however is that it's the only bike I've got that's set up for any kind of distance touring. The usual kit: mudguards, rear carrier, two pannier and handlebar bag, etc.

About a month ago, Poguemahone offers me a '69 Magneet, about three-quarters complete. I take it home, tear it down, and start cleaning up the frame which, after a couple of hours of gentle rubbing compound application, turns out to be in a lot better condition than I first expected - happily reminding me that my memories of the Dutch being believers in thick paint jobs wasn't too far off, after all. Not being constricted by using the original components, I moved the wheels (Maillard hubs on 27" Weinmann clincher rims, 27x1 tyres), Blumel mudguards, carrier, bags, seat and seatpost from the Raleigh, kept the cottered crank and stem, and then hit the spare parts stash.

Side view (http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q10/sykerocker/Magneet11.jpg)
Rear 3/4ths from above (http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q10/sykerocker/Magneet31.jpg)

Trying to keep the bike in period, doing what would have been back then a normal parts update to a two or three year old bike, I installed a SunTour Honor/Compe-V/rachet levers shifting setup, Weinmann center pull front/side pull rear (little matter of the carrier getting in the way of the cables), Atom 700 quill pedals with straps and clips and a set of nondescript alloy bars coming up with the end result. It reminds me of a lot of the replacements I installed at the shop, once the Simplex or cheap Campagnolo stuff wore out.

From the front (http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q10/sykerocker/Magneet41.jpg)
Side profile (http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q10/sykerocker/Magneet21.jpg)

First tests have been very promising. Being bottom of the line steel tubing, it weighs in as pictured somewhere close to 35lbs - which to me is not an issue on a long haul bike. More importantly, the long wheelbase makes for very comfortable riding and excellent stability with some moderate test loads in the bags.

Just another bit of proof that, with our constant fascination with Reynolds 531, Columbus, Tange, etc., we often easily forget just how nice the bottom of the line bikes could be. I love it for the looks - first white bike I've had since my Raleigh Sports 35 years ago. I've always felt that pinstriped white looks incredibly classy on a vintage bike.

I hope the pictures get through - this is my first shot at adding pics to a submission, and they were too big to do the quickie thumbnails.

Hey - that bike looks pretty cool! Nice job!!

OMG :eek:

My very first 10-speed was a Magneet that I bought in 1970 (could have been a 1969 model) with money that I saved up from my paper route. It had Weinmann center-pull brakes, Campagnolo Valentino derailleurs, and a cottered steel crank.

If I recall correctly, it was white with gold-trimmed black lettering.

I had no idea that there were any still around. Talk about nostalgia! :)

OMG :eek:

My very first 10-speed was a Magneet that I bought in 1970 (could have been a 1969 model) with money that I saved up from my paper route. It had Weinmann center-pull brakes, Campagnolo Valentino derailleurs, and a cottered steel crank.

If I recall correctly, it was white with gold-trimmed black lettering.

I had no idea that there were any still around. Talk about nostalgia! :)

First off, the 1969 claim is an averaging - according to Poguemahone, and borne out by my research, it can't be anything newer than 1970. Magneet was owned by Batavus, and starting in '71 all bikes were marketed under the Batavus label. We guessed it could be a couple of years earlier, say '68-70, so I called it a '69.

The bike originally came with Campagnolo something-or-others (the reason Poguemahone picked it up in the first place), and I'm guessing Valentinos given the price class of the bike. Brakes were Racer, the fairly decent cheap copies of the Mafac Racers. The levers were beat, and I'd always liked Weinmanns, so that was an easy switch. The Racer calpiers will be cleaned and recycled into the parts stock this weekend. The original wheels were torn down. The rear rim will be reused, the front was too rusted to save, and the cheap West German bolt on hubs are probably going to do a cheap fixie one of the days.

I'm finding it's a potentially better long haul bike than the Gran Sport. The stock 42-50 chainwheels sure beat the Raleigh's 46-49, and although a bit heavier and less responsive, the frame is more stable for loads. I've already done test runs with 15lbs in each pannier, and the bike was extremely manageable.

Definitely a worthwhile reward from all that paper route slaving back then. Now, if I could just come up with a nice Batavus - I'd found one about four months ago (low end, Shimano Eagle with tubing) but it was a 25-1/2" frame, way too tall for me.

Man, I really, really liked that bike. It's real pretty and you have made it even better (I especially liked the headbadge). To make a long story short, I'd bought the bike for a fiver years ago at a Goodwill auction, largely for the derailleurs (Crappy Campy, but what the heck-- yes, they are valentino). I liked the frame; it has one of the best paint jobs I've ever seen on a VIntage ride. I kept it around, always thinking I'd fix (fixie?) it up for the arty girlfriend who never materialized (I keep going out with respectable career type wimmens for some reason), but got tired of having it take up space. I had put it on CL on a trade list, but Psyche called up so I gave it to him instead, figuring he'd do right by it.

That was a good decision. It looks great. I can't say I'm surprised by the ride, I always thought it would be a nice comfortable rider. This is very cool. Interestingly, a VCU kid who I gave an old Trek 500 came by and showed me his build this week. Looks like my old friends are coming back in great shape, this makes me happy.

Hey was that Batavus dirty dan's over on Northside? That's a really pretty bike, he's offered it to me a couple of times, but I've turned it down. Beautiful green thing, for those of you interested in Batvuses (Batavi? Batavusi? What the heck is the plural of Batavus, anyhoo?)

If you ride a 56cm frame there is a 531 (frame tubes only) locomotief on ebay for less than $55 bin.
the seller is a dutch retailer who looks like he is cleaning out stock, has alot of
very interesting stuff.
what kind of Batavus you looking for?

Marty

Crazily enough probably one of the $100.00 ones - that's what I worked on at that hobby shop in between my regular bicycle shop stints. As expected, the vintage stuff that really turns me on are the brands from my glam rock bicycle mechanic days: Astra, Atala, Batavus, Falcon, Favorit, Flandria, Fuji, Gitane, Lambert, Raleigh, Roger Riviere, Schwinn, World. And I'm almost invariably interested in the cheap ones.

At the moment, the big holdup is storage space - I'm a real freak on a neat workspace, and finally found the wall space to hang the fourth road bike, with the Raleigh MTB on the floor in the corner. No more hanging space, and there are six motorcycles taking up the garage floor, so I'm limiting myself to finding frames which will get cleaned, bearings prepped, and stored in the attic until I get the time/money/space to build yet another.