1simplexnut

Working on a new project .
Courtois master pro
Could find very little information.
PO brought it in from overseas and said it was french .
Some of its quirks make it seem to be pretty likely .

27.2 mm seat post
25x1 french threaded fork
BSC bottom bracket ? (This surprised me but a known bsc BB threaded in fine)
128mm rear OLN .

Columbus decals on fork with a dove under the paint on the steerer
CAn I presume frame is Columbus also ?
Weight of frame and forks with BB installed was 3.11 kg on my scales .
Decent size frame at 60cm CtoC
BB and fork have matching serial number .
BB also has 1192 stamped in it . November 92 ?

No traditional seat binder bolt , just a grubscrew like the later Vius 979 used ,
I like the rear brake bridge and the cable guides under the BB .
Overall a tidy frame with some paint chips here and there.
Will probably build it up with some Shimano 105 bits I have kicking about.

Anyone out there come across the brand before ?
Any information to share ?

unworthy1

that
is
weird.
It certainty has some distinctive French details, but there are others that are baffling (and all over the EU map).
I think the seat cluster is the most telling feature (and looks vaguely like something we have seen before in this Forum, but...I don't even know where to start a search!)
It has SOME FR threading but the seat tube must be Imperial and the BB is "Brit/ISO", with those vertical DOs it is of an era when standards were in transition...but I have no help for you.
Paging MauriceMoss , we need The Batman here!

Lascauxcaveman 

Wow! That seat post retention setup is nuckin' futs!

1simplexnut

Naaaah its just FRENCH !!!!!!


vitus 979





84 PX10 Peugeot

unworthy1

Is that a (cracked) hardwood plug up the fork steerer base?
Also a French detail, more often Peugeot than any other French make, but others DID use them, too...for "safety"...
And what make are the semi-vertical dropouts? they look to have been subjected to some grinding, do they match the fork-ends?

1simplexnut

Hi - yes appears to be hardwood .
No makers name on dropouts . front are the same but without the chrome loss .

1simplexnut

Also for what it is worth , there is a signature? decal on the top tube

unworthy1

Okay, I'll bite (and release): anybody here that can read European Cursive want to take an educated guess at what that name is?

dedhed

If it wasn't French I'd say Zeus

scarlson 

Cycles Courtois was a retail shop in the Poitiers area (Chasseneuil du Poitou to be specific) and had their own marque. Who built it for them, I know not. But all those I have seen seemed pretty decent. I lived in Poitiers for a time for school, back in '08, and rode a Courtois I bought for a hundred Euro at a pawn shop.

The one you have looks like one of their higher-end offerings. The Courtois I had was not so nice as yours, but I was able to squeeze fenders and a dynamo lighting system on it, and it served me well as a commuter and all-rounder.

I can't say about the cursive. I've tried a few possibilities but can't make head nor tail of it.

1simplexnut

Finally got a chance to take it for a hurtle in between rain showers !

I quite like the ride. Feels especially responsive going uphill .
Need to tweak a couple of things .
Saddle needs to go back some
Realised I have large toeclips on it which are too long for my size 9s
Also still debating the Mavic wheels .
I have some black Shimano ones which may look better ? Decisions decisions.
bar tape to do now i am happy with lever position .
All good fun !

Allister Clark

Hi, I have one. It is a mid-80's track frame. It was custom made for French para-athlete Alain Renaux (I may have misspelt his surname) who broke the para-athlete World Hour Record on it in the mid-80's. He cycled ~38km with his one and only leg. Like yours, the frame has unusual features, in particular the curved top tube and the triple triangle, which I understand was for rigidity not least since the frame had to cope with what one must assume was a tremendous amount of power applied via one pedal only. From what I understand also Courtois was French, and it safe to assume he was capable of making awesome frames. Apparently I have to post at least 10 posts before I can upload photos (this is my first). Cheers and happy cycling, Allister.

Lattz

On French forum the people don't even agree where Courtois was (some say artisanal builder in Limoges others Claim Poitiers) and wondering if there was not more than one shop/builder under this name, see here:
Courtois (velovintageagogo.com)

whereas encyclo du vélo knows only about a Courtois & Wenger in '38 in Nancy, I don't think this has anything to do with the company who made yours.
COURTOIS ET WENGER - encyclo du vélo (encycloduvelo.fr)

But I didn't come empty handed..... check this, doesn't bring you closer to who made it, but it looks similar (closer to yours than the Vitus ones on VV á Go Go) although it has external TT cable guides, but confirms that the signature decal is original to the brand.
– 57cm – COURTEOUS (frenchwheels.com)

- Lattz -

1simplexnut

Hi thanks for the added information .
The white one has the same grubscrew seat post fixing as my frame .
Interesting stuff .

Hproduguidon

https://www.velovintageagogo.com/t7324-identification-courtois-px
https://www.velovintageagogo.com/t12737-courtois

Allister Clark

There is some info in the public domain referring to exactly the town you mention. Also, we can infer from the below Courtois was capable of making frames that competed at a high level. This includes my own Courtois Master Pro track bike which broke the para-athlete World Hour Record in the mid 1980s. Once I reach my newbie 10 posts I will post some photos of it.

"En 1980, Guy Courtois était un fabricant de cadres de vélo et avec Michel André ils ont monté le groupe extra-sportif « UNICO » avec Spidel et les cycles Courtois. Beaucoup de coureurs de la région Poitou-Charentes et Centre se sont mis à courir aux couleurs des cycles Courtois, il y avait une grande équipe à l’époque, composée de pas mal d’ex-pros, ils se déplaçaient quelques fois en Vendée, sur les courses difficiles du bocage, à la Pommeraie sur Sèvre, à Pouzauges, aux Châtelliers-Châteaumur, à Mallièvre-Treize-Vents, Mont des Alouettes , Moulin des Bois, La classique La Châtaigneraie-Les Herbiers puis Jard-Les Herbiers…"

Google translate:"In 1980, Guy Courtois was a manufacturer of bicycle frames and with Michel André they set up the extra-sporty group "UNICO" with Spidel and Courtois cycles. Many riders from the Poitou-Charentes and Center region started racing in the colors of the Courtois cycles, there was a great team at the time, made up of a lot of ex-pros, they traveled a few times to Vendée , on the difficult races of the bocage, at the Pommeraie sur Sèvre, at Pouzauges, at Châtelliers-Châteaumur, at Mallièvre-Treize-Vents, Mont des Alouettes, Moulin des Bois, The classic La Châtaigneraie-Les Herbiers then Jard-Les Herbiers…"

Source: ventiler.overblog.com/2015/03/fondateurs-de-grandes-structures-cyclistes-amateurs-annees-80.html

Soody

extremely cool. Iunno where you've gone with it but i'd keep those mavic wheels on, and de-sticker them