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Building a Lygie

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Building a Lygie

Old 11-26-18, 05:11 PM
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Building a Lygie

I've just acquired a "Cicles Lygie" frames, and am planning on building it up as a bike to ride. I want it to look reasonably "vintage", but not necessarily "authentic". Riding safety and comfort as priority over period looks.

This is the only photo that I have to hand:

[ But Bikeforums won't allow me to include it. I've not gabbed enough here, apparently.]

The gunmetal grey paint is, I think, not original. There are no logos on it, and the head badge looks as though it has been epoxied to the head-tube — there are no screws or rivets in those holes. I'm thinking of applying some logos, but otherwise leaving it as is. The paint is in fair shape; the dropouts have good chrome.

Here is what I'm starting to think of for the build. No doubt you folk will give me some good advice!

Rims: Pancetti Brevet 650B. This is to leave room for 32-34mm tires and fenders ...

Fenders: VO Hammered 650B.

Hubs: Not sure. I want an 8-speed wide-ratio cassette, 'cause I'm old and feeble. Maybe Grand Cru? For the front, perhaps a SP generator, cause' while I'm building a wheel, I may as well get a generator. (Not authentic, but very practical.) 28h front and 32h rear. I wish that the SP hubs had wider flange spacing, though. SON is double the price.

Cranks: Stronglight 49D, just scored on eBay for $40 — assuming that the previous owner can get them off of their current frame without trashing them :-( I'll probably buy new TA rings with something like 26T-46T spacing, unless I can find some nice ones at the local recycling store.

BB — Velo Orange cartridge, Italian threading. (I've had several Stronglight loose ball BBs. I'm not going back there, especially with a right-hand thread on the "isn't that supposed to be fixed" drive-side cup. The VO BB has a JIS spline, which will "sort of" fit the ISO holes in the Stronglight cranks, or so I read. Will it? The BB shell is narrow, so if they stick out a bit, I'll probably be OK. 110mm or 118mm? How do I know before I buy?

Gear Mechanisms: I've no idea!

Brakes: I want the brakes to work, rather than look period. Since I don't yet have the wheels, I'm not sure what the reach should be, but I'm hoping that Tektro long reach calipers will do the trick. Mark is trying to persuade me that Vintage Mafacs are the way to go, but I'm old enough to have ridden vintage Mafacs before they were vintage. I wasn't impressed by them in 1974, and I don't think that they have improved with age.

Brake levers — something traditional, like Campagnolo Velocity. Whatever I can find used. New hoods seem like they cost more than the levers.

Gear shifters — Friction bar-cons, because I have them.

Headset: That's a Campag headset in the picture; I don't yet know whether it is salvageable. If not, I think that I have a 1" threaded headset in my parts drawer.

Saddle: Brooks B17 imperial, take off another bike

OK, take it from there. I'm sure that you all have opinions ;-)

Last edited by SquireBlack; 11-16-20 at 07:07 PM.
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Old 11-26-18, 05:37 PM
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Squire,

In all likelihood your rear dropout spacing is 126 mm. Unless you plan on spreading the rear you may have to stick with 6 or 7 speed. Or,you might be able to MacGyver something to 128 which could work okay too!
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Old 11-26-18, 05:50 PM
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Originally Posted by Oldairhead
Squire,

In all likelihood your rear dropout spacing is 126 mm. Unless you plan on spreading the rear you may have to stick with 6 speed. Or,you might be able to MacGyver something to 128 which could work okay too!
Most bikes with 126 rear spacing can accommodate at least 7 speeds.....
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Old 11-27-18, 08:34 AM
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I'll defer until the OP submits a good, overall picture of the frame. A photo of just the head badge doesn't establish the level or era. Photo assist...
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Old 11-27-18, 12:50 PM
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@SquireBlack received the frame from the bowels of l'Atelier Gugie. I'm fairly certain it was the "frame to be named later" from a 3 way trade between myself and two Andys - @Andy_K and @Andy Antipas. Oddly enough, the OP's given name is nearly the same...

Perhaps one of the Andy's has some pix of that frame to share?

That Stronglight crank will get stripped unless the seller has the proper crank removal tool!

BTW, a 130 hub with 650b x 42's fits in this frame, but not with proper fender room. It's a bit shy vertically. 35's + fenders should be no problem.

MAFAC brakes will work quite well with new pads and adjusted properly. The OP will most likely remember this downhill from last year's Eroica California:



Rough, bumpy road downhill 15-20%, my MAFAC 2000's on my Pimp Eroica Gran(d) Sport(s) worked well to keep speed under control and myself upright.

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Old 11-27-18, 01:19 PM
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Proper decals would look spiffy.

Pic from our own @Oldairhead

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Old 11-27-18, 01:21 PM
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I think the frame to be named later came from my shop:





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Old 11-27-18, 02:20 PM
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@Andy Antipas,

Yep, that's the one!
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Old 11-27-18, 02:23 PM
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Originally Posted by gugie
MAFAC brakes will work quite well with new pads and adjusted properly. The OP will most likely remember this downhill from last year's Eroica California...
It looks so pleasant when you aren't having trouble controlling your speed as you head into a switchback covered in loose gravel with a ditch cutting across the apex.

I'm glad Andy A came through with pictures. I got nuttin. I could share pics of the bike I got in the trade, but that wouldn't be very helpful.

I also came across this: Lygie Barn

If you scroll about half way down on that page, you'll find this very frame. It is identified there as a 1966 frame and confirmed as a repaint. That's not to say I believe everything I read on the Internet, but I found that link via CR and as I scrolled through I thought that one looked awfully familiar.
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Old 11-27-18, 02:23 PM
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Originally Posted by Oldairhead
Squire,


In all likelihood your rear dropout spacing is 126 mm. Unless you plan on spreading the rear !

My calipers say 127.5 mm. They may have been spread by a prior owner. I was figuring that either I would spread the dropouts to 130 mm, or perhaps remove a washer from the left side of the hub.


I would much rather use use a cassette than a freewheel. But other suggestions are welcome.

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Old 11-27-18, 02:29 PM
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At 127.5 you really could just leave it as is. Even 126 works fine with 130 most of the time. My understanding is that 127.5 was intended to be able to go either way (though not in 1966!).

Have you considered a Nuovo Record rear derailleur with the Soma Nuovo Retro long cage? It looks right from the proper angle and without any scrutiny, but it also lets you use generous gearing.
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Old 11-27-18, 02:47 PM
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130 wheel slid in fairly easily. I like the idea of keeping it as is, you can choose between 126 or 130 that way.

Stronglight cranks with new chainrings might look nice with Simplex SLJ. The front will definitely handle the gearing, possibly not the chain wrap you'll need in the rear, however.
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Old 11-27-18, 03:47 PM
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If that frame's a '66, then someone must have added all those braze-ons prior to repainting. We were looking at a same size Motobecane Grand Sport without any of the brazed bits, needed a repaint, and wasn't nearly as nice a frame as this one. Cost of all including paint would have been north of twice the price we agreed on for the Lygie. I think it had been hanging on my bike hooks to long for me to remember it.

At any rate, I look forward to the build on this bike. It'll be great to see it on the Eroica California ride!
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Old 11-28-18, 12:11 AM
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Pictures

I'm getting more than a little frustrated with this forum. I just spent a good half hour uploading and re-dimensioning pictures, and them I'm told that "You are not allowed to post URLs until you have at least 10 posts". So I delete all the pictures, and I'm still not allowed to post. All I'm left with are the captions. That gets the same response.
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Old 11-28-18, 12:12 AM
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Crank Extraction

It's good to meet @Andy Antipas, and maybe find out a little more about this frame. Looking at the Lygie Barn, there are no other frames there with the braze-ons that this has, so I'm guessing that they were added at the same time as the repaint.
@Andy_K seems to be the gearing expert. I'm willing to try out whatever you suggest, assuming that I can find the parts. After all, if the gearing doesn't work, one can always get off and walk. For the brakes, the problem there is that if they don't work, one cannot get off and walk! Still Gugie must be twice my weight, so perhaps I should believe him ... or maybe he just has way too many of those old Mafacs that he is trying to get rid of.

That Stronglight crank will get stripped unless the seller has the proper crank removal tool!
The seller apparently solved that problem by taking a Sawzall to the frame! Gives a new meaning to the term "Crank Extraction". I don't have my Stronglight tool any more, so I guess that I'm now in the market for a new one. (It will cost as much as the cranks).

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Old 11-28-18, 12:21 AM
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Originally Posted by SquireBlack
It's good to meet @Andy Antipas, and maybe find out a little more about this frame. Looking at the Lygie Barn, there are no other frames there with the bras-ons that this has, so I'm guessing that they were added at the same time as the repaint.
@Andy_K seems to be the gearing expert. I'm willing to try out whatever you suggest, assuming that I can find the parts. After all, if the gearing doesn't work, one can always get off and walk. For the brakes, the problem there is that if they don't work, one cannot get off and walk! Still Gugie must be twice my weight, so perhaps I should believe him ... or maybe he just has way too many of those old Mafacs that he is trying to get rid of.



The seller apparently solved that problem by taking a Sawzall to the frame! Gives a new meaning to the term "Crank Extraction". I don't have my Stronglight tool any more, so I guess that I'm now in the market for a new one. (It will cost as much as the cranks).
No problem on the Stronglight tool, I know a guy...
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Old 11-28-18, 01:55 AM
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Originally Posted by SquireBlack
@Andy_K seems to be the gearing expert. I'm willing to try out whatever you suggest, assuming that I can find the parts. After all, if the gearing doesn't work, one can always get off and walk.
I won't say the Nuovo Record with a long cage is the best shifting rear derailleur out there, but it works pretty well. You'd need to go SunTour or modern to get anything significantly better, I think. If you aren't worried about the vintage appearance, a set of Campagnolo Racing T derailleurs would work extremely well.

As for the brakes, sure @gugie has a lot of MAFAC's but he has to do his part to keep food on Jean Val Jean's table. I hear they're great brakes as long as you don't mind adjusting your toe-in with a belt sander.


Originally Posted by gugie
No problem on the Stronglight tool, I know a guy...
I bet it's the same guy who took the Stronglight crank off of the Urago that I traded to Andy A to get the Lygie to the Atelier. That's definitely the way to go just to continue developing this web of connectedness.
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Old 11-28-18, 01:57 AM
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Originally Posted by SquireBlack
I'm getting more than a little frustrated with this forum. I just spent a good half hour uploading and re-dimensioning pictures, and them I'm told that "You are not allowed to post URLs until you have at least 10 posts". So I delete all the pictures, and I'm still not allowed to post. All I'm left with are the captions. That gets the same response.
Complain six more times and you'll be able to post the pictures.
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Old 11-28-18, 07:39 AM
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Unfortunately, I don't have much to share on the Lygie frame. I don't know the history, but the seat lug treatment looks 1960s to me. I agree with Gugie that the frame had all the braze-ons added at some point in its life. Enjoy the project!
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Old 11-28-18, 10:26 AM
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Originally Posted by Andy_K
I bet it's the same guy who took the Stronglight crank off of the Urago that I traded to Andy A to get the Lygie to the Atelier. That's definitely the way to go just to continue developing this web of connectedness.
So, the exact provenance/chain of custody is in question.

There's an Andy, another Andy, an Andrew, and a Mark involved. Can someone flow chart this for me?
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Old 11-28-18, 12:42 PM
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Originally Posted by Andy_K
I hear they're great brakes as long as you don't mind adjusting your toe-in with a belt sander.
No problem: there's lots of space in my handlebar bag. I found an old MAFAC catalogue on Velobase (whose URL I'm not allowed to post) that listed the reach for the various models of MAFAC brakes. The Raid is listed as 65–80 mm reach, and also has the most widely-spaced pivots. Which explains why you guys are encouraging me to look at that particular model for my 650B conversion. The MAFAC 2000 apparently came in an "étrier réglable" version that had a reach adjustable from 55mm to 75mm, so that might work as well. At some point I guess I'll have a wheel that I can put into the frame and measure.

Originally Posted by Andy_K
I bet it's the same guy who took the Stronglight crank off of the Urago that I traded to Andy A to get the Lygie to the Atelier. That's definitely the way to go just to continue developing this web of connectedness.
jamemckinne92 is the culprit. I'm hoping that I will have built up enough cred here to be able to post a photo when I open the box.
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Old 11-28-18, 12:44 PM
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Originally Posted by Andy_K
Complain six more times and you'll be able to post the pictures.
I'm working on that.
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Old 11-28-18, 01:00 PM
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Originally Posted by gugie
There's an Andy, another Andy, an Andrew, and a Mark involved. Can someone flow chart this for me?
I think this will make it all clear:
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Old 11-28-18, 01:06 PM
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Originally Posted by SquireBlack
I'm working on that.
Can't you just write a script to do it for you?
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Old 11-28-18, 01:56 PM
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Originally Posted by Andy_K
As for the brakes, sure @gugie has a lot of MAFAC's but he has to do his part to keep food on Jean Valjean's table. I hear they're great brakes as long as you don't mind adjusting your toe-in with a belt sander.
Your mention of Jean made a couple of neurons fire in my brain. Finally, the answer to the question: "what do the numbers on the Lygie headbadge refer to?"

Jean Valjean's prisoner number!

(Note: make sure you don't put a space in Jean's last name. Google will come up with something completely different than you were looking for...)
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