Ah, I see! Thank you again!

You might find this interesting...especially if you can read French!



https://forum.tontonvelo.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=25335

@ Markeologist Thanks a million for the link. I don't speak French, but with the help of Google translate, I think I got the gist of it. One big note. At the end of the post, the author took his restored 1962 Geminiani to meet the Grande Fusil himself! Raphael Geminiani looked at the Carre stamp on the seat stays and remarked, "Oh, but it's a race service bike. The others were made in St. Etienne." I wouldn't count this as definitive evidence by any means, as Geminiani did not run the production line. But I wonder what frames he's referring to, regarding the "others' or production bikes. Cizerone was based near St Etienne, I believe, so was he referring to post 1966 production? Or was he referring to bikes made earlier on? My understanding is that Gitane was never produced in St Etienne, so he may be thinking of a St Etienne based company that pre-dates Gitane, like perhaps Mercier. Again, not definitive, but very curious.

Hi guys, I purchased an early 1960s Raphael Geminiani Alpine, said by the seller to be the original owner, purchased new in southern California in 1961. Unfortunately it was not cared for and had been outside for years, covered in surface rust, but will make a nice restoration project for me. I see one of you has a catalog from the era? Do you have scans/photos of the pages? I would love to find out what my bike came fitted with as original equipment.

please read the thread. Go find the GitaneUSA site and look at the catalogs. Prior to 1966, Geminiani and Gifane were both made by Micmo and the bikes are the same except for badging. Just be cautious of indicated dates, many are demonstrably in error.

I have what I think is a R. Geminiani Alpine. Based on the LA bike license tag, I know its a 1966 or older It has Mafac brakes, Huret shifters, Huret Allit rear derailleur, Huret front derailleur and the wheel hubs are Campy. The serial number is 55855. Any information would be helpful.

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retlaw53 -

thank you for sharing your example

fine job with the photos

the machine's Campg wheel hubs are a model called Sportman; these enjoyed a relatively brief production life of no more than four years

if you remove one of the axle locknuts from a hub it will give a specific year for its manufacture; guesstimate somewhere near to 1963



MICMO also employed these hubs on the Hosteler model of 1964

other date clues include the two Huret gear mechs

the front mech is Allvit model 600 with a single travel adjustment screw; there was nothing above it in the manufacturer's range until 1966 when the model Luxe 700 launched; the cycle is more than nice enough that if it had been produced in 1966 or slightly later it would have received the model 700 rather than the model 600

the Huret Allvit 1900 rear gear mech went through a number of generations in its relatively long production life; the all-metal pulley wheels on this example are a helpful dating aid; the various generations can be viewed at velobase.com

MICMO produced a great many of the Geminani badged cycles but certainly not all; the experts report there were six or so manufacturers

your example also somewhat resembles the model 1500 - not at all questioning your model identification

Raphael Geminiani 1500 de luxe

My Raphael Geminiani 1500 model


Los Angeles bicycle licenses were issued for a period of three years so a 1966 expiry date indicates a license issued in 1963

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Thanks for the information. It is very helpful. I will check the hubs for a date stamp. The derailleur information on velobase was also useful.

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it is interesting to see the close family resemblance between your Alpine and the two model 1500's cited

it can also be seen in this model 1000 which appears to date from quite close in time to your bicycle -



in addition to the kitting note the lug and fork crown patterns

Raphael Geminiani 1000 Delux ​​​​​​​


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