Classic & Vintage - Magneet made in Holland

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geowen57
08-10-04, 07:11 PM
This is a 30-35 year old bike. I am the second owner, bought when i was 16. (oops, did i give my age away?) It was hot stuff then. (damn, that aged me too). I have looked and Googled and Yahooed, but cannot find anything about this bike. I live and bought it in the mid-west. I replaced many parts along time ago and want up grade everything again to Shimano 600 (stripped from a wreck). I need wheels. 700mm will fit, actually better than the 27" that I put on it years ago. I was more naive than I am now. It may have had 700s on it, since it is a European bike.
Any info someone can give me will be greatly appreciated.
Ck the pics. The lug fittings are pretty nice. Not beautiful craftsmanship, but good.
Almost looks like a Peugeot PX 10. Wonder if some parts might be interchangeable.
zonatandem
08-11-04, 03:48 PM
'Magneet' means magnet in Dutch
Poguemahone
08-11-04, 06:06 PM
I actually own a Magneet; model "sprint". Because I actually have one, I know a bit about the company. The original company produced bicycles until 1969, where-upon the Magneet company was bought out by the larger Dutch manufacturer Batavus, the spelling of which I believe I have just mangled badly. Batavus produced bikes under the Magneet name until about 1972.
Most of the Magneets were city bikes.
I bought mine at an auction for a fiver, attracted by the odd nameplate, the Campagnolo mechs and shifters, the wild seat, and the very cool old wignuts for the hubs. It's too small for me; if it were my size I'd have built it up by now into a fixie or something. Nothing special, although the paint is very good. I think mine dates from the Batavus (?) period, because the Campy Gran Turismo derailleurs weren't made until 1970, near as I can figure (they might be later upgrades; but the GTs are very low end Campy, so it is possible they were stock). It has "racer" brakes (a Mafac knock off, I believe), cottered cranks, the same lugs and paint scheme as yours. Steel rims. Somewhere on-line there are some Magneet brochures from far earlier than either of our bikes; I looked and couldn't find them again, but I gave a fairly cursory google search.
What I've been able to find suggests the bike was threaded French, though I have yet to take mine apart and actually find out. I'd have built it into a fixie for someone else, but it's a cool frame, so I may build it up for my next girlfriend or something.
zonatandem
08-11-04, 06:36 PM
That is the correct spelling for 'Batavus.'
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