Last ride 76 

Let me say first off, I already swapped some parts out. Nothing that affects ID. I just wanted to give this old beast it's dignity back. Who ever put Shimano SPDs on it probably had a great time riding it, but they just looked awful. I took the seatpost and saddle from my old track bike, currently disassembled for cleaning and new decals. Otherwise, here it is:

Someone identified this fork crown on another bike, but I didn't save the reference. Paramount type seat stay ends, but no frame serial numbers. Cinelli steel stem, alloy bars. 165 Pista Cranks, 151 BCD


I thought I was onto something finding the serial # on the BB, then found out reading an old thread, from rhm and scooper, that it's specific info about the Nervex BB.

I thought path racer, but rear brake bridge (?) is not drilled. Could have used a bracket,I guess. Nicely done Nervex Lugs, and BB. Campy drops. I DK fork crown, and the elephant sitting on the DT... Water bottle fittings? When were they put on? Is it even possible for them to be original.


Nice quality, but I can't get any farther along. I'll get those eighties wheels* off, when I have some time and put on my '70s Record wheels.

Always wanted a set, but I don't really think this is the bike for them .

bertinjim 

Last Ride 76-
I have a tendency to see Bertins everywhere but perhaps a Bertin C 38? https://bertinclassiccycles.wordpres...8-in-new-york/
They often had a serial number on the non-drive side dropout but not always. A restored C 38 of the period:

Last ride 76 

Oops, I think I forgot an important detail - the BB is 1.375" x 24, sorry.
The other differences are mostly small, but still add uo. The fork crown on the Bertin is more refined, and the seat stay caps are longer. Hard to tell about the shape of the rear drops on the Bertin. That is one beautiful bike!
There is no chrome currently, under the paint on this bike. Beyond the stem and cranks
, I would guess that nothing else is part of the original set up. The water bottle braze ons really puzzle me. Perhaps this bike was originally nor intended for the track.
Thanks, Eric

rustystrings61 

I suspect the bottle bosses were added during a repaint at some point in the last 35 years or so - but why couldn't that earlier owner have just fitted a T.A. handlebar mounted cage? I suspect it's an older track frame that at some point was owned by someone running it as a fixed-gear road trainer a la the C.O.N.I. manual.

Is this a Dick Power? Maybe like this one? I can't quite decide if the seat stay caps and the rear ends are the same or not. The angles certainly look similar, and Power was actively building during the era when American racers still primarily rode fixed-gears on the road, usually with a single sidepull on the front.

rustystrings61 

I suspect it IS a U.S. built machine from before the great boom, and not a British bike - with those angles, a British bike from those years would probably have larger clearances for 27-in wheels, possibly mudguard clearance, and certainly mudguard eyes. The lack of fender eyelets combined with slacker geometry makes me think of Power, or potentially someone like George Omelenchuk (his bikes look steeper and less refined than this one) or a Wastyn (but again, this one is a bit more refined to my eye). This was built for a racer, but someone who traveled on the road as much or more than on a track - but without fender eyelets, because it was a racer, which would not have fulfilled the overall British preference for a more adaptable mount. Or so my rationalizations go.

Last ride 76 

It really does rain less over here, and bitd, they had way less paved roads... Even with fenders they had it messy, but I remember being surprised by how many "good" English bikes had fender mounts...

There is a chromed Dick Power that has stay caps that look very much the same. I'm not sure about the dropouts but I've been noticing that many of the earlier builders seem to be less rigid about the details especially dropout profiles.

There is something appealing to me about it being a New York bike, built in Queens, and perhaps remaining local all this time. My Grandparents raised my mother in Sunnyside, before moving into manhattan in the '50s...It was an old time NY neighborhood, replete with local stories. I doubt my mother would have any direct recollections, but one never knows, and I will certainly ask. Appreciate your thoughts.

Cheers, Eric