Part two in this week's 'Need Your Help' series (part 1 is here) is about this French machine labelled 'Type Luxe'. I got it yesterday and the pictures are 'as found'.

Any information that could help identify the brand and/or the build date would be greatly appreciated.

I can't help, but I like what you found. It has some interesting details, like the chain hanger - too bad the seat tube decal is incomplete, it may have provided a clue. Perhaps someone will recognize the brakes from their unusual springs.

Yes, those details. That mid-mounted rear brake with the cable routed through the seat tube is something I've never seen before. Makes me wonder how there's enough room back there to pull enough cable to make the brake work.

I seem to never have pertinent info to contribute with these wonderful machines you find but I sure do like to see them.

such interesting style and technology with the European brands. The varieties never seem to end.

Another good catch ! Wish I got a weekly allowance.

Well, did anyone mention that the head badge has a swan on it? Or that the decal on the seat tube seems to say "Sw[an]"?
I'm thinking it's "Swan" from the 1940's or 50's.

Here's a picture from the rear. Apparently it's enough for brakes like these.

Sorry I can't be of any help identifying or dating any of these three. I'm intrigued by these mid-century French machines. I'm also looking for a rough date on my St Etienne Singer Grand Sport, of which I am chronicling the parts here, though as of yet none of the components has any dating on it:

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...and-sport.html

I recently edited my identification of the brakes on my bike to made by Jeay, see post #15 . They look a lot like the roller cam brakes on your bike. They are stamped as such so easy to ID once disassembled and cleaned.

Good luck with IDing your bicycles, I'll be following these three with interest.

Thanks! Lovely Singer. I see that we've been reading the same websites in trying to find some information. Our bikes seem to be from the same era: forties, maybe early fifties is my guess for now.

Found something interesting: this Peugeot on restoringvintagebicycles.com. Most of the frame is a match, except for the lug cut-outs ('Aztecs' on the Peugeot) and the steerer lock. Even many parts that came with both bikes (chain guard, pedals, brakes) are identical.

So, if it looks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck ...

What do you think?

the chevrons, if that's the right word, on the seat stay caps had me thinking lion rampant as well. had not before seen them on another marque.

with regard to the rear brake cable routing - wonder if there may have been a grommet on the front hole of the seat tube originally. you may discover its remains when you disassemble the bottom bracket. have noticed that cycles usually get a grommet of some type there with this manner of cable routing. gugie's rochet is a good example.

am sure we all found it odd that while frame has a decalcomania transfer on its head tube it also displays two holes for headplate fasteners. you might wish check that dimension with a rampant lion headplate...

I've been looking at 1940's Peugeots, Heliums and Griffons for the past hour, and they all share at least the same rear rack and chain guard, it seems.

Yes, that's the one thing that is still puzzling me.

Back on-topic, as @rhm said, it's a Swan

But it might have once been a Pug. What an expert opinion!

edit again...maybe Pugs were sold off to be re-branded. Explains just about all of it.

when one gets far enough back there were some manufactured with ch shells. have never known the years for this. your fixed does not make an appearance in the images; "usually" ch fixed are octagonal.

can you explain the chainstay braze-on? at first i assumed it to be a standard for one of those rubber chainstay slap protectors but it is too far forward for that purpose. an attachment point for something else peut-etre?

I'll get a picture of the fixed cup when I've disassembled the bike. About the 'thingy' on the chain stay: I assumed it to be a stay protector of sorts. It looks like it has the remnants of a rubber covering as well.

Yes, the decal does look like it could have said 'Swan'. I haven't been able to find any Swans so far, though.

WRT re-branding: it may be a re-branded Griffon - a known sub-brand of Peugeot. It shares the same head lugs:

There once was a 'Velo Swan' in Antwerp, Belgium, according to this snippet from a trademark registration document:



Apparently mr Morisons was a bit of a Leonardo: he also had an Austrian patent for a washing machine with a tub that could not only spin around but also moved up and down while spinning!

bonjour encore une fois non-fixie,

thank you for sharing the results of your most excellent detective work.

can you explain any further about the rampant lion's association with/use of the griffon badge?

was reading this helyett history piece and it said one of the helyett factories was sold to robert griffon for the production of griffon bicycles in 1962.

Helyett

The Griffon brand was the result of cousin Eugène Peugeot trying to get out from under an agreement with cousin Armand Peugeot to not produce motor vehicles after they split up the Peugeot business into a bike manufacturer (Eugène) and motor vehicles (Armand).

Griffon is mainly known as a motorcycle manufacturer, but apparently the brand was used for bicycles as well.

It all originates in Zürcher & Lüthi looking for a manufacturer of sturdy bike frames for their clip-on engine. Z.L. made a deal with Eugène, and were renamed 'Zedel' as that sounded more French.

thanks very much for the outstanding information non-fixie!

wrt the griffon marque -

were rampant lion winged lions produced concurrently with winged lion winged lions or did one come before the other?



there was also an american artisanal builder who made machines under this name:


https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...fon-frame.html

thank you again.

From what I found on the interwebs Griffon bicycles were produced by from circa 1900 to 1927 by Les Fils de Peugeot Frères (Eugène) and after it was taken over by Société Anonyme des Automobiles Peugeot (Armand) in 1927 it became a sub-brand of Peugeot until 1955, when production in Courbevoie ended.