Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 9,781
Likes: 1,750
From: Northern California
Bikes: Cheltenham-Pedersen racer, Boulder F/S Paris-Roubaix, Varsity racer, '52 Christophe, '62 Continental, '92 Merckx, '75 Limongi, '76 Presto, '72 Gitane SC, '71 Schwinn SS, etc.
Notice the shield has a single, central point at the bottom, not squared-off.
This points to a 1960's UO8 (no later than 1970).
"Dural Forge" calipers (vs. "Racer") usually also point to a pre-1971 bike.
A lot of lower-end bikes got revised gearing in the mid-1960's.
The older half-step chainrings (50/47 or so) gave way to something like 50/39, 52/36, etc.
The freewheels also grew a bit to 28t.
This made the bikes more attractive to less-fit riders and people living in hillier terrain.
Last edited by dddd; 03-14-13 at 06:31 PM.