non-fixie 

... and a few quick clicks on the computer screen and I am the owner of another bike frame.

That color! Chrome! Those curves! It's not high end and it's from Saint-Etienne, but I am so looking forward to this project.



More to come in a week or two, when the frame should be here.

markk900

ooooh - very nice!

cv350

That color is magnificent!

Dylansbob 

I blame those late evening impulse purchases on "drunk bidding", even though I haven't had a drop in nearly 5yrs. I just have to open a can of seltzer water, and my brain thinks it's cheap domestic swill.

gthomson

Wow that is a great colour and love the stripes. Looking forward to seeing the progress and the final project.

juvela

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produit de Manufrance peut-etre...?

non-fixie certainly needs one more!

perchance la triumverata can be enrolled to aid in the assembly...


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non-fixie 

Thank you for the kind words. I am quite smitten with it, but it is like falling in love with someone from a picture. You never know how you'll feel when they actually start talking ...

I am still figuring out who exactly made it. The names of Robert and Berger have popped up.

And yes, the usual staff members will no doubt be "involved" in the proceedings. Perhaps they can help with the shellac, but more likely it'll be usual running off with the cables and the bar tape ...

John E

What are you going to do with half a fork and half a set of stays?

juvela

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...ah yes, this sounds like the bicycle parts counterpart to:



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Charles Wahl

Jeunet? I vaguely remember seeing that "kumquat orange flamboyant" as one of their colors. They also used that sort of tape for trimming the paint/chrome transitions, though maybe that was a St Etienne "thing".

non-fixie 

I just got word that my purchase has been dropped off at a post office somewhere in France this morning, so I am beginning to feel confident that I will actually be holding it in my hands in maybe a week or so, Covid willing.

There's a bit more than just the chromed ends, BTW. Pic from the seller's ad:



From what little I have found online so far I have gathered that the Robust brand dates from about 1925. The original owner, a mr R. Robert, sold the company to Pierre Berger in the 1950's, who kept using the Robust brand name. It disappeared sometime in the late 1980's.

I also found a couple of old advertisements, which suggest my 200 lbs will not be a problem.

juvela

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in the photos available to you have you been able to make out the symbol shown in the fork blade transfer?

from what can make out appears to be a shield shape with a chevron in the centre

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XIII & I/II stone!

poor frame!

hope Robust employed their heavy gauge robust tubeset...

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wrt ongoing new arrivals -

am thinking mrs. non-fixie is going to take away your computer time

has the recently arrived "tree hidden in the forest" stayed hidden or has mrs. non-fixie exclaimed "what's that one over there honey, have not seen that one before?!"
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Charles Wahl

I like it!

non-fixie 

Correct. The decals look pretty generic and are, well, not the main reason for wanting the frame. This is what I have, until it gets here.



I have witnessed her looking at it, but she either didn't register it or decided not to. Probably the latter.

juvela

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...am thinking Monsieur Robust's birth annum was about A.D. 1973...

hast thee as yet begun assembling bits for his build in a boite des pieces?


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non-fixie 

I was thinking late sixties to early seventies, based both on the color and the decals, which seem to have been popular around that time. Any specific reason for '73?

WRT the boîte de pieces: bien sûr! In my mind anyway. The exact contents will depend on what the frame turns out to be, geometry-wise. Based on what the seller's pictures show, it looks to be fairly racy:

juvela

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thank you!

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canst envision it all nowe...

Titlist front mech

Allvit stern mech

Apex chainset

MAFAC calipers

Fratelli Pietra arrestor leve

Routens pillar

Tron e Berthet LXXX selle

pedales Lyotard Berthet

moyeux Maxicar

potence Philippe

jantes Record

rayons Robergel Trois Etioles

chaine Brampton (France)

roue libre Cyclo 64 cinque V

Verot P3 jeu de direction




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closeup of seat lug shows it to be BOCAMA model P/II

at first glance assumed frame ends to be NERVEX but the only model found a close match exhibits double eyelets rather than single, me reference material about one and one half decades earlier than frameset so perhaps a model launched subsequent to them...

expect a NERVOR steerer


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non-fixie 

Excellent list.

Some items, like a Thron & Berthet saddle, are fairly sure to end up on the bike, but others will be largely determined by the wheelbase.

If short, then light weight seems logical, so Simplex Prestige / MAFAC / Normandy high-flange / Stronglight 49D / Lyotard 460D come to mind. In the vein of this Liberia:



If slightly longer, a more touring-oriented selection would be nice, in which case Allvit / Léfol / Weinmann / TA / Lyotard Berthet / Maxi-car may be alternatives. More like this seventies' Singer:



And then there's the Third Way: go full BQ restomod, like this CYFAC (the brand Francis Quillon started after his career at Méral):

non-fixie 

The Package arrived this morning.

Took a quick look to see what I got:

non-fixie 

I had been putting off building this bike, not being able to decide what I wanted to do with it. Early on a string test had shown the alignment to be a fair bit off, and although a bout of wrestling with a vise and a two by four seemed to have yielded the desired result, I wasn't feeling entirely confident.

And, somewhat surprisingly, all threads turned out to be BSC, so I'm guessing the frame is a little younger than I originally thought.

In the end I decided I first wanted to know how good the frame actually is, and that the way to do that would be to build it in the same way I have built a couple of my favorite touring bikes, so I could compare the Robust to those without the distraction of exotic parts choices.

I have tried a few different things, but this is what I ended up with:

• Saddle: Idéale 90
• Stem: 3ttt (unknown model from the 1960's)
• Bars: 3ttt Competizione
• Brakes: Weinmann Vainqueur 750 (back and front)
• Levers: Campagnolo Daytona 9-speed brifters
• Dérailleurs: Shimano Deore LX rear, Shimano Deerhead front
• Cranks: Campagnolo Racing Triple
• Pedals: Lyotard Berthet, with Paturaud straps.
• BB: Miche
• Hubs: Maxi-car
• Rims: Mavic Module 4
• Bell: HEMA

The final test ride went pretty much according to plan: everything felt, clicked and sounded like it should.

I am happy enough to want see this build through. This means a bit of polishing and adding fenders. I want to use a set of Honjos I have, but I still need to figure out how to mount those in such a way they can be moved to another bike easily and without mutilating them should I want to.

iab

Now I know we are all too fat for this sport, but I find the brand a bit insulting.

non-fixie 

Final update, for now anyway. I added fenders and a couple of Zéfal bottle cages, replaced the Kalloy seatpost with an SR Campagnolo copy, the Idéale saddle with a Brooks Swift and took it for a test run. It doesn't feel particularly fast, but it rolls along nicely and smoothly, without feeling ponderous. So far I like it.

Couple of pics of the finished article:

juvela

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BSC!

Sacre bleu!

"who'd-a thunk it?!?!"

are tube diameters all BSC as well?

wonder if shell could have commenced life as a CH and someone ran some John Bull threaders through...wylde speculation on me part, como per normale


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JackJohn

Nice frame’s color and details, the final build too.
This is the page from « encyclo du vélo » (in French)
https://encycloduvelo.fr/robert-berger-cycles-robust/

randyjawa 

At one time all I looked for was top of the line exotic tubed bicycles. Now, like the OP, I have learned that I can have just as much fun finding, building and riding lower end, even entry level steeds. That gold beauty is, well, a gold beauty. Nice job!