Originally Posted by Oldairhead

You place too much faith in me and it is not deserved! It looks like wonderful progress has been made in my absence. Congratulations on your work Capn!

I cannot disagree with anything that has been mentioned in the discussion so far. I would only add my opinion to the facts that have been revealed so far. This is a pretty early Lygie for the US market, perhaps the earliest one that I have seen from a dealer here. They became much more prevalent in the late 60's in the SoCal area and those examples are easier to find. I have 3 Lygie's with the oldest rider being a 1968 Record model. For 1960 I do not know how many tiers there would have been in the lineup, but I suspect not many. The parts spec on these were often a mashup of Italian components with some Swiss and a smattering of French here and there. As a result I think that there probably is no "correct" build for a Lygie of this era. They just put on the parts they had in stock which in some cases were old stock items. Americans wouldn't know the difference anyway, right? It was a tough business back then and economics were crucial to survival.

I enjoy riding the examples that I have but I would not regard them as "high end" or particularly desirable in general. Very few people will say "Wow, a Lygie" when they see it. They are more prone to say "what the hell is that?" I also appreciate keeping the original paint since that can never be replaced. As far as the other components go, my preference is to try for "period correct" but favoring function over form mechanically. If I have to use later era parts to get the function that I want, then so be it. It will be a nice, durable bike which may a little bit on the heavy side for the era, but it should serve you well. If cared for properly it should outlast all of us!

In my defense for being absent I have a good excuse.

June 26, 2024