Classic & Vintage - 1935 French randonneur with video tour

Well here is a bike i just picked up.
It was in a box in the basement of a LBS completely in pieces.
I have roughly built it up to show it off and i added the saddle and wheels to complete it.
I have done a little video to show all of the details of the bike.
At the moment there is a horrible hand painted job on the frame but underneath is the original metallic green paint. The shop owner told be it was made in 1935 by an artisan frame builder. The fork looks to be inspired by Andre Reiss's Reyhand fork. My bike freind has told he has thinks it might be a later than 1935 so i need to find out more details about it.

Here is a quick photo

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7069/6938363561_fe5df3b5fe_b.jpg

Here is the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8NNVy3ySGI

i didn't know men wore high heels in france ;)

is there paint UNDER whatever it is coated with? what are your plans?

a fine bike.

edit: nevermind, reread your post. it looks like the topcoat can just be rubbed off?

Better get to scrubbin' I want to see what's under that muck!

WOW! Tres cool - looks like a very fine bike. Getting brakes that fit could be a challenge ( and expensive.)

Have fun with your archaeology project with the paint - this could be a real refinish candidate, though - if there is nothing to save. Olivier Csuka (Cycles Alex Singer) would probably be willing to paint it properly, as would Rando Cycles I imagine.

I've started removing the paint and it's a hard job!
I have a stamped Diamond with AC on the bottom bracket and the number 17.
On the seat tube i have the remains of the paint scheme and decal.
Black and white V above and below the centre decal. Decal is a diamond again with the last two letters PE and maybe an I before that.
So the bike is a XXIPE lol.

Any guesses anyone?

I have a 72 Lejeune with AC2300 on the BB. Maybe AC is a month/day with the 1 being the year. Maybe 7 is the 7th bike he made that year. Here is an interesting guess. The bike was made in 1941. With the ongoing war, it was crudely repainted in that mono scheme to keep the Germans from "commandeering" it for their own! Or the repaint was to make it blend in so it could be used by the Resistance!

Unfortunately, I don't have any valuable information to add here but I love seeing constructeur bikes like this and I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out. I also love the cobblestone street and the two-tone wall with shutters behind the bike, it complements it perfectly. :)

What size are the wheels?

Unfortunately, I don't have any valuable information to add here but I love seeing constructeur bikes like this and I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out. I also love the cobblestone street and the two-tone wall with shutters behind the bike, it complements it perfectly. :)

What size are the wheels?

The wheel size is 650B and the nice background is our communal court yard.

nice find.

My fingers and hands are killing me and here is the result so far of an afternoon and evening scrubbing!

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7052/6939397687_748afd5992_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7063/6793286072_19ba43a51f_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7183/6793286350_d4f3fa5cc5_b.jpg

Well Done!!

Wonderful! You've got brakes, too.

Yes i had a set of Bebolux lying around and so decided to use them.
I might change them for Jeay type though.

Here is an interesting guess. The bike was made in 1941. With the ongoing war, it was crudely repainted in that mono scheme to keep the Germans from "commandeering" it for their own! Or the repaint was to make it blend in so it could be used by the Resistance!

I love this!

Magnificent. That overpaint was criminal. Unless, of course, it saved the original. At the small cost of the usability of your hands.

Aw, jeez. Not again! Every time I see a post by Daveyates it seems as though he's found another seriously cool vintage bike!

What are the plans from here, DY?

I seriously want to steal your life right now.

Indeed a neat find... I'd love to have your bike karma about now. ;) So is there anyone here rethinking their position on moving to Thunder Bay? I know I am!

That is some bike.

The fork crown and treatment of the brake bosses are wonderful. Headlamp and speedo, what more could you want! Nice find, I hope it fits you and rides well!

What's going on with the fork blades? Is that an external rib? Very interesting!

What's going on with the fork blades? Is that an external rib? Very interesting!

Yes it has these external rib parts on the fork and the seatstays and the chainstays near the bottom bracket.
I'm dying to find out which marque it is. Rob suggested that the writing on the seat tube would by TYPE and then under it would of been written sport or randonneur etc.
It looks like
the headtube was black with maybe a name written on there but it has been lost now.

Aw, jeez. Not again! Every time I see a post by Daveyates it seems as though he's found another seriously cool vintage bike!

What are the plans from here, DY?

I'm not quite sure at the present because i have been collecting bikes ready to sell when the weather gets nicer.
I might keep this one to ride at the vintage bike rally in Anjou in France.

It's a toss up between this bike or my new CNC randonneur ( which needs restoring a bit as well )

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7209/6931045687_b69d2ba93c_b.jpg

Another day and more work done, also i actually took it for a ride this evening. Bad news is the fork is out of alignment because it pulls to the right when ridden with no hands.
I am going to visit Rando cycles tomorrow and get them to tweak it for me. Also since this photo i have added the cyclo cables and the rear derailleur is working great now.
I have a problem with the smallest cog being worn and so i'm going to change the freewheel. Apart from these faults the bike rode very well and considering it's heavy weight it is a very agile bike.

Here is the latest photo with the front fender , speedo and light reinstalled. As you can see the fenders were the same colour as the frame.
I found out the original AVA bar and stem combo was bent on one side and so i am sticking with this Pivo stem and Alu randonneur bars.
I have used a set of 50's alu jeay type brake levers. I have used period coiled metal brake outer cables.

I think after finishing the rear fender i'm going to leave the frame and fenders like this , showing a bit ( lot ) of it's history.
I'm just going to wax everything and shine it up. The colour is a cool green and gold with a bit of the sandy top coat showing.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7197/6797740906_3651e78a5e_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7197/6797740906_3651e78a5e_b.jpg

Man oh man, this just gets better and better. I like what you've done so far and I think you can't go wrong just polishing the old girl up as you suggest.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7197/6797740906_3651e78a5e_b.jpg

Whaattttttaaaaa beaut'! Excellent job on the restoration thus far