can anyone help me identify this frame?

[bikedork]

Bear with me as this isn't easy without a picture to post (I'll see if I can get my roomate's digital cam).

Riding through the streets of San Francisco today I came upon someone throwing out what looks to be a 70's era french made frame with the name "Liberia" and th Olympic rings emblazoned on it. What I'd really like to know is the make and frame specs (BB, headset) before I pull it apart. It's a beautiful lugged steel frame that I'd love to restore but I've got no clue as to the manufacturer. Any info would be a great help and much appreciated. All of my metacrawler searches only turn info on cycling tours along the African Ivory coast.

Thanks much,

Thom

[D*Alex]

Just a guess-could it actually be a frame that the Liberian cycling team rode on? I'm sure Liberia never had a very good team, but maybe it actually was used in the olympics. Post a pic.

[lotek]

The following is from a post to Classic Rendezvous list:

" I have a really nice "Bike - Boom" era Liberia bicycle in the
basement . (clip) ...
It has many of those cheap foil stickers that die so quickly, and
yet they're all in perfect condition . It has un-attractive,
muddy-brown , paint . But it's fairly high-quality metallic paint . . .
The derailleurs are Camp. Nuovo Record ( 1971 maybe ? ) .
The crankset is a Stronglight 93 . But although the pedal s are Lyotard, they are the cheapest steel .
The stem is Belleri , and the handlebar is "engraved" .
But the seatpost is plain chromed steel .
The rims are very nice Super Champion ( 27-inch ) . But the hubs are either REG , or Milremo ."

Sheldon "francophile" Brown stated in a different post that
the Liberia was actually a Belgian bike, not french.
if you need info on any French Bike, or part go to

Sheldon Brown Velopage

Marty

[Walter]

Hmmm. Before I read Marty's post I would've thought it was a "Libertas" with a damaged decal.

Never seen a "Liberia" though I do know the nation was founded with the assistance of the US in the early 1800s and that Monrovia is its capital.

[lotek]

I also have never seen a Liberia bike. Can't find
any referrence on Google, ODP or other search engines
other than the Bikelist.org.


Marty

[poupou]

Reynolds 753 'Liberia's kitted with Campy were ridden by the RMO pro road team in the late eighties(?). Very tasty too. Then the team-sponsors went bust and the brand went to exclusive MTB output before being bought by Decathlon (a French sports store chain) in 98? I think they killed off the name.

As for your frame the threads are probably french and so any Shimano or Campy components after '92 won't be available.

I visted 'Liberia,' the bike shop, near Huy, in Belguim, in '95.

When the petrol's gone we'll pedal on.

[flstockman]

I actually still have a Liberia Pro model purchased in 1973 in Tallahassee, FL for the then pricey (to me as a high school student working at McDonalds) sum of about $270. Lotek's post has accurate information on what mine came with. Although poupou's post is new (and useful) information to me, when mentioning the Liberia bike shop in Belgium, poupou may have seen a different Liberia. When touring Europe in 1977, I went to the small factory in Grenoble and got very friendly treatment (a jersey and cap) and a tour of the place, although I spoke very little French.

As to the specs requested by bikedork, I will be glad to provide info if bikedork will explain questions in SIMPLE terms, as I have forgotten everything I knew about headsets and bottom brackets, but would be glad to see another 30 year old french bike restored to its former beauty and function.
Eric

[johnnieO.]

BELIEVE I HAVE QUITE A RARE VINTAGE LIBERIA AVISO(Late 50"s?,early 60"s?) Can totally relate to Martys comment about the stickers(As mine are like 50 years old.)& still in an amazeing state of preservation.Can someone tell me where to find info about this VERY cool old unit!?! PEACE!!! J.

[johnnieO.]

NNNNNNNNNNNNNoticed the other posts are like seven or so years old..........................................................Is anyone out there @ present with A clue 4 my quest?????????????????????????????????

[David Newton]

The thread has slept 7 years, it may take a while to wake up.

[Makel]

Antique road show?

[Makel]

Try here.
http://www.pedalinghistory.com/PHmuseum.html

[Makel]

Found this post on yahoo....

Vintage '70s Liberia Racing Bicycle?

I just bought an old vintage Liberia bicycle off craigslist. It runs great and all, and I plan to ride it for a long time, but I was just wondering if anyone knew more about the make. All I know is that it was a French touring company and they were only made for a year before they halted production in the '70s. Anyone have any clue about it?

Answer:

Liberia went out of business due to massive frame failures, sort of the way that Lambert and Viscount went out of business for fork failures. I have only personally seen a handful of them, they all came into my shop for frame work which I refused.

It would probably be a good idea NOT to ride the bike unless you are extremely careful and did a complete check of the frame before each ride.

Source(s):
30 years in the industry