xnapi

Hello fellow bike Aficionatos;

I came up with this Olesen Copenhagen which i find pretty and ideal to my city affairs However, i find some details intriguing and the fact that i cannot find any info on the bike i decided to ask for all your precious knowledge.

The bike previous owner did not seem to take very good care of it as it came to dirty and full of grime. There is no significant damage on the frame/components and surprisingly rust is not present at all given the fact that the bike was stored on a wet place. It came with a Idéale french leather saddle (came with such layer of firty that took forever to remove but, i belive it saved it from the elements and from total ruine) that i had to "restore" with brooks balm and lots of rubbing, a front and rear racked (removed as it was, in my opinion ugly) and some nice wood fenders and chain guard (saddly the later is broken but, restorable i belive).

Apart from being unable to find anything about the bike online, the interesting part is that there is a brass plate on the front wich numbers the bike as the 7 out of 500. There is also some engraving on the saddle tube (tried to take a pic poorly successed) but i shall try and decifer it better and post it.

The bike rides well and is confy. i changed the handlebars (as the ones befores where in bad shape as well as the brake levers, might add some dropbars later). Will add some new tyres, however im postponing it since the current ones are glued to the rim (and im feeling lazy)!

Please see the photos attached. All feedback is welcome

Thank you all!

xnapi

Guess the origins of this bike will remain a mistery

T-Mar

This looks Japanese (at least I've seen similar dropouts on numerous Japanese bicycles) and early to mid-1980s. However, assuming the Danish origin is legitimate, it will be easy to identify the year and whether it was contract built outside Denmark or not, as all bicycles sold in Denmark use a standardized serial number format. That should be it on the top, non-drive side of the seat tube but I can't make it out in the photo. Assuming Danish, the numbers in the stamping are unimportant. It's the prefix (1-3 letters) and suffix (1 letter) that are important.

The frame itself doesn't appear to be high end. It appears to upper entry level to lower mid-range and based on the cable stops on the down tube, was designed for handlebar (or stem) mounted shift levers. The seat post diameter will help to confirm the frame level. Consequently, given the numbered and limited run, I'm wondering if this is some kind of promotional bicycle and that Olesen might not have any direct ties to bicycles?

Velo Mule

Nice bike. Thanks for posting a link to pictures. I like the laminated wooden fenders and the matching chainguard. But, I don't know anything about this bike. Do you have a serial number anywhere on it? The seat tube diameter can sometimes be helpful for figuring out what tubing it might be made from.

It is too bad that bikes that sell in larger numbers get more recognition because they are known brands. Bikes like this are too few to get a following, unfortunately. That does not take anything away from the bike itself. It seems to be a good bike and made well.

Maybe someone else knows something.

At the very least, ride it and enjoy it.

CO_Hoya