Show us your Stormvogel!
 

A thread title couldn't be more hopeful than this one, I think. :)

I'd never heard of the brand before this bike came up for sale. Ever curious, I looked at the ad, the pics and the text and decided I wanted it.

Apparently is was the house brand of the Van den Eng shop in Gouda (yes, that Gouda) which sold household appliances and - for a while - bikes. Not uncommon before WWII, but after the war specialized bike shops took over all but the bottom end of the market. Even more surprising was that they sold serious racing bikes. According to the seller there was a tie-up with a local racing club.

This is what I picked up today. 63cm frame built with Reynolds 531 butted tubes, forks and stays:

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4b7fdb67b1.jpg


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d0858b69ca.jpg

The shop's name is prominently on the seat tube and top tube:

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1ef5e28fec.jpg

Whether "Stormvogel" (storm bird) is the brand name or the model name I'm not sure:

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0d8a7bab2a.jpg

The head "badge":

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6a7a16d0f2.jpg

Familiar dropouts. Normandy hubs that say "76". Atom freewheel:

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...05ab4db6c4.jpg

The Shimano cranks are from early 1981, which seems to fit in nicely with the frame's age. Tubular rims are Super Champions, shod with NOS Clement Grinta tubes:

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...cb878addda.jpg

Bars and stem were made by SR:
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...6993205f8d.jpg

After a quick once-over and a couple of small adjustments I took it for a short spin around the block, and it feels really nice. This will be a keeper.

So, anyone else got a Stormvogel?

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most handsome!

another wonderful find for non-fixie :thumb:

know what year the Super Champion Record rim received ferrules?

all of the previous ones seen were unferruled

https://velobase.com/CompImages/Rims...0829590F9.jpeg

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Thank you. I am quite happy with this find. No idea about the rims though. My knowledge of tubulars and corresponding rims is very limited. Although this might be an opportunity to get better acquainted with them ... :)

When I picked up the bike I had a look at the BB shell for a serial number, half expecting to find none. But there was one:

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ef36a91633.jpg

It looks like a date: 21 September 1979, which would fit nicely.

It also looked somewhat familiar ...

Late last night the coin dropped. I looked up the pics of another bike I have which also came from a shop in Gouda, and sure enough:

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...cce70250af.jpg

That would be 13 May 1978 then. Which also fits.

This is the bike, as bought almost ten years ago. A Rob van Oel:

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f4861d785c.jpg

On further inspection there appear to be many similarities between these two bikes, both in the way the frames are built and in the parts selection. Too many to be a coincidence, I would think.

Nice bike. The only Sturmvogel I've heard of was the ME262. And Gouda to me is a cheese. So you have a Luftwaffe jet fighter made of cheese!

Gouda: cheese and candles. And nice bikes, apparently. :)

BTW, if it had turned out to be an ME262 I'd have bought that too. Wouldn't have fit in my attic, but still.

Storm
 

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fine conversation piece if parked out front...

​​​​​​https://d3vgm3d4y7wwsq.cloudfront.ne...1366778824.jpg

(pilot likely in the middle of enjoying a Gouda sandwich)

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