Follis on eBay
 

The pump pegs and lack of FD cable guide lead me to believe it's a '60s or early '70s build. Am I wrong? If it is that old, it must be a repaint.

http://tinyurl.com/bqkdw

What's the story on Durifort tubing? Was it made by Vitus? Is it good stuff?

I was looking at this and trying to figure out which one it is:

http://classicrendezvous.com/France/.../follis_ad.htm

I think the Simplex dropouts mean that it must be a 072, 072GL or 472.

I have an 072. This one is a little better than that.

Also, the paint on my Follis is quite good. The lug lining is consistent with what I have. The paint could well be original.

So, how does it ride?

I don't think it is a repaint, perhaps the head lugs, but I doubt it. Tubing was good, not as good as the Vitus line but just thicker in gauge, milled at the same plant as Vitus during this period. Follis was a kind a repechage brand that came to the USA in the 70's in a somewhat organized fashion, the importer sponsored a racing club in SoCal in the 70's for a while. As a comparison, I would place it above a Raleigh Super Course but, that could be argued. This bike would probably ride pretty well, one will have to tackle the French threading, seat post & stem size issues. Note that the seat stay "caps" are just part of the tube, cut and formed to appear as a cap. Would make a good fixed gear project, would cost more than it was worth to piece together accurately, maybe a good use for a French donor bike to supply parts and finish this one off.

To be honest, I saved it from going to the landfill, and it had some minor issues. I was able to ride it, even with those issues (derailleur jockeys were cracked and it needed a full overhaul) - but only for a short time. I would rate the ride of the 072 to be comparable to a Raleigh Grand Prix - maybe slightly better (frame is a little nicer, but components weren't). By extrapolating my experience, I'd think number6 is quite close to the mark.

I'm looking at French frames because I've collected a lot of French parts and I have nothing to hang them on. I'd like to find something that's finished better than my Gitane TdF or my Peugeot PX10. The lugwork on both of them is pitiful.

I had to look up repechage.