I just disassembled a 54cm 1972 LeJeune Tour De France/F-5 Deluxe Touring model. This was a lower to mid level offering from LeJeune. It has SAUVAGE "Alliage" tubing instead of Columbus or Reynolds 531. The bike weighed 30lbs before I stripped it down. The components were steel cottered crankset, Mafic Racer brakes, Simplex Presitge derailleurs, Normandy hubs and steel wheels.
Stripped down, the fork weighs 1.75lbs and the frame only is 5.5lbs. If you compare that to the habcycles article above that is about 1lb more than the least expensive frame/fork and less than 2 over the most expensive. Stating nothing about the quality of the article's frames or mine, the components are where you will save weight.
Buuuuttt, ....if you are looking for a head turner that will cause rubbernecking, then dump the modernization plan and take Bianchigirll's advise instead.
Last edited by seypat; 12-10-10 at 09:37 AM.
Reason: needed a comma