bluebossa4

Okay, so I was at this garage sale today and as I was leaving I said "Well, I am really out today looking for a bike but thank y'all. Y'all have a good weekend." I said this because they didn't have any for sale or on display.

Then the older man of the house said "How much would you be willing to pay for one?" I said $20. Then he said "I have an old french bike I'll just give you."

So now I have this bike. It is old and not in great shape, but it was free. Other than saying it was french and that it was a very fast bike, he didn't say anything else about it.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/8031906...35527056/show/

There is a link to a slideshow of the pictures I took when I got home. (I've never used flickr before so please post to let me know if that link doesn't work properly. There should be about a dozen photos or so.)

Here is what I know about it from looking it over.

1) There is no labeling of the bike frame anywhere but the frame seems to be in good shape other than the significant rusting. The frame seems VERY, VERY light for how old the bike is. (But granted I don't know the first thing about high-end bikes so I'm not basing this weight on any sort of comparison with say, a carbon fiber bike.)

2) The wheels are bent. The front one very much so. Both wheels have quick release on them. Both of the wheels have the word "normandy" stamped into the center axle.

3) The seat, front derailleur, and (I think) the shifters all say Troxel.

4) The brakes say Racer.

5) The brake handles say Cherry.

6) The rear derailleur says Allvit.

7) The post that the handle bars are mounted to says Pivo and has the number 87112 stamped in.

8) Standover height is 30.5" or 30" to center of top bar.

9) Top rail length from center of front-post to center of seat post is 21.5"

10) Seat post length from center of crank to top of frame is either 21" or 21.5" (I forgot which).

11) It has a nozzle on the front-post to apply grease with a grease gun.

12) The pedal-bars are attached to the crank with cotter-pins like on my unicycle.

Thats all I can think of right now. Please ask me any questions you may feel are relevant that I may be able to answer. I don't know what i'm looking for when analyzing this bike...

Any help at all (as far as advice for fixing it, identifying it, valuating it, etc...) would be tremendously appreciated. Thanks in advance for all your help.

zukahn1 

I can't figure out the model based on the components and general look of the the bike is late 60's early 70's lower to mid level French bike.

bluebossa4

So the guy said it was a french bike, but aren't all the components on it American?

Doohickie

Nope. French.

randyjawa 

Based on what I see in the pictures, the bicycle is entry level at best. My guess is that your idea of light and my ideal of light are two completely different things. The bike presented probably weights close to 30 pounds, once again suggesting entry level quality. Mid level vintage road bikes tip the scales at around 25lb, with top dogs coming in between 21 and 23 pounds. The odd bike

That said, the bicycle was free and should prove fun to put on the road and ride. Were I you, I would do just, that but spend as little money doing so. The bicycle will not be worth much, any time in the near future, even restored.

As for what kind of bicycle is it? Who knows and you might never know. During the time that bike was made, every Tom, Dick and Harry was trying to build and sell bikes in a mad rush to meet the incredible increase in bicycle sales during the Bike Boom days (1971 - 1972 approx).

02Pilot

Certainly nothing definitive, but the lugs and downtube shifter stop braze-on look almost identical to those on my Gitane Grand Sport Deluxe.

jyl

If in working order it is worth maybe $50. A similarly low end '70's French bike in that condition would be worth maybe $100 here if a recognizable brand. It may cost more than $50 to put in working order, though.

zukahn1 

.

+1 my best qeuss would also be Gitane or maybe Motobecane based on the smooth lugs. The Grand Sport Deluxe naming is a little deceptive in that in French bikes Grand Sport usualy indicated a lower end bike the French had a way with giving lesser models names that made the bikes sound better than they where.

bluebossa4

So, three more questions/comments ...

With those measurements toward the bottom of my original post, does that make this bike about a 48cm bike? (it seems small to me.)

As far as weight, I don't think it weighs 30 lbs but rather closer to 20. I will weigh it tomorrow.

And, b/c the wheels are crooked, how do i go about getting new wheels for this thing? It is an 8 speed so it has a 4-gears on the back wheel. Where am I supposed to find something like that? Or can I take the gears off this back wheel and put them on a different back wheel? Are all wheels interchangable or are new wheels gonna be impossible to find?

Thanks for all your help!

jyl

21" = 53 cm

What do you mean by "crooked"? Is the rim warped like a potato chip? Just a small wobble when you spin it? Or the rims themselves are straight, but mounted crooked in the dropouts? You have a photo that shows what you are talking about?

It has five sprockets (gears) in back, not four. The chain is on one of the sprockets. It is a "ten-speed."

Basically, the bike is not worth fixing unless you do it yourself and pay very little for any needed parts. Are you wanting to learn about bike repair, have or willing to buy some tools? If yes, this could be a good bike to learn on. Go here and start reading:

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/

bluebossa4

When you say mounted in the crooked dropouts, does that mean essentially that the fork would be crooked?

I would say that the wheels are crooked like a potato chip. Except that the wobble is not small, it is rather severe. But the axle spins nicely; the axle portion of the wheel seems straight. It's just the outside of the wheel that is warped.

bluebossa4

okay, so i weighed it and it does weigh about 30 lbs....

but i remember picking up a mtb one time (it seemed old) but it weighed like 50 lbs, so that's why i thought this old bike was so light.

Artkansas 

The fork may be an aftermarket fork.

Mos6502

The fork is from a Columbia. Definitely not original. Look for wheels on craigslist. You should be able to find some 27" pretty cheap if you keep an eye for them. Maybe even post a wanted ad.

The bike isn't going to be worth much, but it should be fun to ride if you fix it up a bit.