70's Lambert Professional Grand Prix De Luxe
 

Let me start by saying I am not necessarily looking for a monetary value. I don't know much about bikes but I am looking to get started. I got this old bicycle from my father. He used to ride it to work in the 1970's in San Diego, CA. It is made by Lambert of England. I am trying to decide what to do with it. I can't find much about these bikes online other than company history. I don't want to send it to the scrapheap if there is a chance that someone else would get value out of it. It has been banging around in various family garages for 30+ years. I'm interested to know if it's worth keeping, trashing, giving away, or rebuilding. Does it have any value at all, monetary or historical?

Does anyone have any advice on what to do with this?

I have added a few pictures below. I don't know what you want to see photos of so let me know and I can add more if needed.

Thanks!

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c76aff8cd2.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d230624b74.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0c986f643b.jpg

I had a Lambert, last year and I sold it for 190$.
This one looks to be a better model with much better components, but it looks to have the death fork.
I am sure more and better quality replies will show up, from people who know much more about bikes than me.

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There is an online forum specifically for this marque, located here:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...7042gfhVuadx7y

This forum has a lively owners discussion thread begun by member vincev:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...count-lambert-
owners.html&usg=AOvVaw0ka4fg0ab__du7jlzi9sHz

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...I would not personally scrap that bicycle. With some attention to its idiosyncracies and a lot of work, it would make a good restoration project for someone who has an enthusiasm for old 70's bikes.
I can't tell just from looking at it if it comes with the full range of problematic components Lamberts of that vintage were noted for, but the people on that other forum probably can tell you a lot more.

I have never restored one of these myself.

That's a pretty bike. I'm no Lambert expert but it is worth restoring as others have pointed out. Given the issues with old Lamberts though, they can be a tough sell. Some are lugless; the lugged ones like this are prettier I think.

That is going to look spiffy if you restore it! Definitely not a scrapper!

I would say don't scrap also great bike with some potential interesting survivor looks all period correct but most of the lambert components are gone and the replacements while good just aren't worth a lot. I love the look of the purple and white with the white Lambert replacement fork these forks are bit of a upgrade but correct for the bike and basically original.

Yes, please don't scrap it. If you don't intend to refurbish it yourself, I'm sure some local to you will want to have the honors. The fork does appear to be the "death fork" but apparently your father rode the bike quite a bit with no ill effects. Still not worth risking.
Good luck, whatever you decide.

"old bike from my father" = priceless. Decision is obvious. Wish I had one. Restore and ride.

I see mention of the fork being replaced and still being called "death fork". Are you saying that's the problematic fork or the replacement for it?

+ 1 on this. I ride my Dad's old bike regularly.

This bike appears to be wearing its original fork.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c76aff8cd2.jpg

Some of these forks were safe, some were not.

https://viscount-lambert-bikes.blogs...unt-death.html

It's easy enough to find a steel chrome fork to replace this one with.

As I said in my post, apparently his father rode the bike for a long time with no problems. However, even a 1% failure rate is high enough to cause me to want to change it out. Especially if I ended up being in the 1%! Plus, who would want aluminum to save weight on a bike that is already probably heavy? The loss of ride quality negates any advantage in weight-savings for me.

I have a Viscount and have removed the original fork. The fork legs are solid aluminum and weigh more than an average chrome steel replacement fork.

The important photo - take off the front wheel and get a photo; looking up the fork. At the fork crown, can you see the hole of the steerer or is it just nice shiny aluminum? If you don't see the steerer hole, it is 1st generation fork and a true death fork. Trust me, I know. I lived only because I was doing the unheard of; riding that fork with the best helmet made. So I got away lightly. Just 5 days in a coma and my education gone. For that 1st generation fork, Lambert did what I knew as a sophomore engineering student nobody would ever even consider.

You are looking at the original fork in that photo, not a replacement. All are cast aluminum and not to be trusted. But the detail at the crown/steerer juncture is what makes the 1st generation stand out. Simply the worst example of engineering on a bicycle possible. I often wondered how that detail was done since it is "blind" fit. No way short of X-ray to see how it was done without destroying it. Well mine self-destroyed and I got to see it (months later).

If you have that 1st generation fork, don't leave it on the bike or even give/sell the bike with the fork as part of the package. The failure will be classic aluminum fatigue. On mine the crack had been there long enough to discolor Since the crack will be happening inside the steerer, you will need to both pull the headset and X-ray is to find it. (Or do as I did. Wait until it breaks. Then it's easy to see with the naked eye.)

Edit: the failures I heard about happened in the first 5000 miles or so, Since I had far more on mine, I figured I had a good one..

So much for the so-called weight savings. Although to be fair, I don't know if Lambert billed them as lighter. Maybe they had other reasons.

I laughed one day when my son was young and his grandparents got him an aluminum mountain bike for Christmas. It weighed what two of my road bikes weigh together. The materials are only part of the equation.

Hello and welcome to the forums. Pretty bike, I like that purple color and the lugs are great. I am sure a local shop can do a basic tune up on this and get it ready to ride for you.

I would not do too much to before seeing if you like how it rides. OH I don't think anyone mentioned this, does this bike fit you? The position of the saddle makes me think the frame is too large for the current rider. If it fits, I get ti tuned up and put a few miles on it to see if you like it, then get that fork replaced. Shops usually hav a selection of forks from broken frames so maybe you can find something used but a decent replacemnt new fork isn't that expensive anyway.

Thanks for the link. So, if your death fork is screwed, you are ok?