Steve Whitlatch 

I picked up this old frame pretty cheap. Looks pretty old with some very nice detail. The stem looks like a kitchen faucet. I wish I could find a cool men`s frame like this in my size some day. I believe it is very early 70`s but was hoping someone knew the exact year? It looks like it has the original Simplex Criterium shifters and front derailleur but the rear derailleur is a Suntour Honor. The bike is in decent shape for its age. We will see how it cleans up. I have a set of wheels and a set Shimano shifters and derailleurs to put on the bike if the Simplex stuff is worth anything to collectors?

Steve Whitlatch 

Steve Whitlatch 

Steve Whitlatch 

oddjob2

My guess is 1971-1972. My LeJeune has the same parts kit, more or less

Steve Whitlatch 

Thanks. That`s about what I thought. Are the Shifters and FD worth anything on there own? The FD has a red dot on the other side that is not shown.

Steve Whitlatch 

I answered my own question. I took the Shifter apart to clean it and found it was plastic.

Fahrenheit531 

Gonna be a really cool lookin' bike. That red (orange?) frame accented with the white lugwork is an awesome starting point.
Looking forward to the "afters."

big chainring

I saw that on CL. Interested me too.

On these old French bikes its nice to keep them french. Shimano derailleurs just aren't the right fit for that bike. Usually some nice old Huret Alvit or Simplex derailleurs on ebay. Reasonably priced too.
As to worth of Simplex plastic derailleurs? I may be the last guy on the planet that thinks they are good derailleurs. Never had one that broke, or exploded. And they shift darn well if you ask me.
A lot of unfounded cycling folklore surrounding these derailleurs.

big chainring

Steve, what size frame do you ride?

Steve Whitlatch 

Well I finished the bike. It was to hard to match the paint. The bike looked like it had chicken pox when I was done with touch ups. I ended up spray painting the bike. Not the best paint job but the bike is rust free. I would never recoup my money if I had the bike painted. The shift levers did not work so I used the Shimano set I had from an 86 Raleigh with a stuck seat post. The wheels also came from that bike. I made the decals myself. Yes I am selling it cheap.