bluetomgold

Just been gifted a nice old French tourer in need of a lot of love. It's a 3 speed with 650b wheels, cottered chainset, Mafac cantilevers, lots of nice braze-ons for racks etc.

I can't find anything out about Vitex. Anyone?

And as to dating it...as a 3 speed it has to be older than me. Looks like it's designed for a Cyclo mech as it has the corresponding braze-ons, although it came to me sans derailleur.

bluetomgold

Here are some pics. I don't think the "record" stickers are original.

bluetomgold

...doesn't look like Vitex is a very well known manufacturer.

I've now dismantled the bike, and am working out how to proceed with the rebuild. Plan is to make a city utility bike with front and rear racks and a Sturmey Archer hub gear (AM?) It's gonna be hand painted because my last project (a very nice vintage Faggin) was stolen.

Does anyone know of a UK source for 40H alloy rims, either 650B or 650A?

Do people think I would have problems getting the Mafac cantilevers to hit the slightly larger 650a rims? There should be plenty of mudguard clearance as long as I use moderate-sized tyres. The current 650b wheels have balloon-like tyres.

YoKev

Ooohhhh I really like it

EjustE

Interesting...

Great crank. You should keep it. It also looks like it has DT shifter bosses (or are my eyes playing games?) And are those Canti brakes? The front fork looks like a Porteur bike fork.

I think that in order to make your life easier, you should look for some MTB size wheels (559mm vs 584mm for your current 650Bs) and get brakes that adjust accordingly (that's a 25 difference in reach, very easily done with Cantis)

bluetomgold

Yes, planning on keeping the cranks. I think the bottom bracket might be bent though. Cleaning it up now...

Just had a look at the reach on the brakes (Mafac cantilevers). It's a weird one, they hit the back wheel pretty much bang on, but the bosses on the front forks are very low down, meaning that the blocks hit the rim at a roughly 45" angle...weird. Any thoughts? Maybe a mountain bike wheel on the front and a bigger one on the back?

EjustE

If I were you, I'd get MTB wheels both ways (esp. up front where the bosses are low; MTB wheels are shorter) and MTB wheels are easy to find and now that 'cruisers' are using them, you can get them in a skinnier size. I'd also move those Mafac brakes on to a happy new owner and get some Shimano Deore XTs or Exage 500LX for a minimum cost. What's up with those DT bosses that look like shifter bosses?

bluetomgold

There's one downtube shifter boss. But I won't be using that with the sturmey.

Oops, seem to have 21 ball bearings left out of the bottom bracket...can't be right. I wonder how many I lost.

bluetomgold

What's wrong with the Mafacs BTW? I might try a MTB front wheel in the forks and see how it looks. Any idea why the bosses would be in the "wrong" place?

EjustE

ok, this helps Methinks that this bike started its life as a 3-5 speed Porteur bike (what's the rear triangle spacing) and had an RD at some point. I'd say 60s. Early 60s (if it is 120mm), otherwise, it is older. Make sure that a SA hub would fit that spacing...

bluetomgold

It came with a 3 speed freewheel, and has bosses (brazed on) for (I think) a Cyclo mech. Spacing is 118mm as measured.

bluetomgold

When my friend got it he had the mech/rd. But he couldn't find it when I got the bike...

EjustE

Nothing wrong with the Mafacs, just there are better products out there (like the Shimanos I mentioned, where you can buy shoes and pads and be set for another 100 years or until they quit making those shoes and pads.)

About the bosses being in the 'wrong' place (or too low for 650B wheels) : I have no idea. French Porteurs were specified with 650B wheels. If I were to venture a wild guess, based on the smallish size of the bike, this one might have had a 600A wheel up front; but that is a wild guess and probably wrong. The beauty of Canti brakes is that you can really adjust them to accept pretty much any size wheel (within reason) and not fail (you just need a shorter or longer wire bridge)

EjustE

That's what I thought

50s or earlier. Make sure that you get the right size SA hub to fit back there or you might have to spread it/wedge it a couple of millimeters

bluetomgold

Thanks for all your input. I fell in love with it when I first saw it... will post progress here.

The SA hubs I'm looking at are I think set up for 110mm, I'm hoping a couple of washers would do the trick... what do you think?

EjustE

You'd be fine with washers

bluetomgold

Thanks!

With the Mafacs, height adjustment appears to only be possible by adjusting the angle at which shoe pivots and hits the rim. As a vintage road bike enthusiast I don't have much experience with cantilever set-ups, but from pictures of modern cantis it appears some have proper adjustment for height, as well as angle. Am I right?

Time for bed now. It's 3am in London...will post progress here if I have anything to report.

southpawboston

that is a very nice porteur, and i would consider trying to keep it as french as possible. i would try to keep the MAFAC cantis and 650B wheels if at all possible, and i would also consider sticking to a 5-speed freewheel (utilizing that single downtube shifter boss) as opposed to an SA IGH. strange that the front cantis don't align with the rim-- are you sure the front rim is 650B?

some french constructeur-inspired racks from velo orange would be the icing on the cake for this bike.

bluetomgold

Happy to see the Vitex getting some love! Definitely gonna fit some nice french-style racks. I got this with the idea of using it as a load carrier before I'd even heard of the "porteur" bike. While it's a style of bike that I admire, I'm at a slight loss as to what marks this as a porteur rather than a cyclotourist/randonneur. Is there anything special about it that's giving people that idea?

Yes, the front wheel is definitely a 650B. Both are. I'm at a loss as to the apparently mis-positioned bosses on the front. I'd like to keep the Mafacs intact but this bike is one I plan to ride, so priority is that the brakes work well. I will be using either 650B or 650A rims. There's only a few millimetres in it, but 650A tyres are much more common in the UK. We'll see. Depends what hubs I pick, too.

Re the gears, first of all this was never a 5-speed, it was a 3 speed with, i think, a Cyclo derailleur for which there are brazed-on bosses. On the one hand I'd like to put it back close to original, with a Cyclo mech, but my assumption is that it would be clunky at best. So if it ain't gonna be original, a Sturmey would at least be from the same era, and would suit my town usage. On the other hand, I'm open to any suggestions and also any offers of parts!

bluetomgold

Just thought I'd post an update... I've stripped the frame and plan to have it powdercoated at Armourtex once I've decided on a colour (ideas welcome). The process is so cheap, there barely seems any point in hand-painting.

Have purchased a set of Tektro CR520 cantis. They were only £25. Would have been nice to keep the Mafacs, but they needed lots of bits, new pads, etc, so would have cost as much and been a pain to set up. The bike is not good enough to keep original - I'd rather the Mafacs were used in someone else's resto, and I'll set up the Vitex to be ridden. The Tektros look good and seem to be well-rated.

Plan to fit 26" x 1 3/8 (650A) English size rims. Rims and tyres are cheaper and easier to get hold of in the UK and for practical and aesthetic purposes the size is near as dammit identical. I have bought an ACS large flange BMX hub for the front wheel which fits the forks' narrow spacing, and I have an old 36 spoke AW hub for the back, although I am toying with the idea of a newer hub or an AM. If anyone knows of a UK source for nice rims let me know - I've found some OK no-name alloy ones, but if I could get quality polished alloy rims that would be nice.

Got some nice 3TTT inglese northroad style bars, and some other odds and sods too boring to mention. Lots of small bits still needed like adjustable hangers for the brake cables... but I'm getting there.

If there's any interest let me know and I'll post some pics of this and that.