On this weekends ride, Cuda2K spotted a garage sale with some bikes. He already posted about these bikes in the found thread. Long story short, I ended up with a Falcon Europa. Today after work I moved the wheels off of my Trek 1200 over to the Falcon, matched up the measurements off of my Trek, adjusted saddle height, position and angle, and adjusted stem height. Took her for a short ride around the block and I am surprised by how nice the ride is and how well the bike fits.

It has Shimano Light Action shifter, a Shimano 105 RD, Sach Huret FD, Weinmann 570 TOP brakes, Strong Light crank. Cannot find any serial numbers, but did find what appears to be the number 94 on the bottom bracket where the drive side chain stay meets the BB. Since I cannot find any markings, I am guessing on the size but seems to be a 58 or 59 CM

I have attached a few pictures, any input on year model, etc. is greatly appreciated.

That there is what we call nice.

Oh yeah! I like the black/grey combo, set off by the different color decal. Very nice! I know where an orange falcon is, but he couldn't seem to decide on a price, or if he wanted to sell to begin with. It was buried in a stack against a wall.,,,,BD

Talk about a chance find. Garage sale was less than a block from the LBS, being held on Saturday when there's 4 different group rides heading right by the sale on the way out, and I know some of the returning riders came back by it on the way back. I'd stopped and looked at the Falcon and decided I A) didn't need another bike less my wife would make me sleep in the study with them... and B) it was a little big of a frame for what I would consider buying.

Instead I rode back with Jeff a few minutes later as I knew he'd been tossing the idea of a vintage build around for a while now while listening to me build up all my steel frames. Long story short, like I said in the Catch of the Day thread - we got the Falcon and a 56cm Trek 400 Elance for a whopping $30 between us. ($10 for the Falcon, $20 for the Trek).

Those wheels off your Trek 1200 look pretty sharp on that Falcon too. Good thing we caught that front tire going when we did though and not half way out to Sache next weekend. Hopefully your new tires arrive soon. And where we moved those bars to while I was over will probably make it feel a lot better too.

Oh, and thanks for catching the headset issue on the Schwinn. I got it tightened up first thing when I got home.

P.S. - at least with your odd mix of componets your rear derailleur and shifters actually matched! I had Sachs friction shifters, SunTour front derailleur and Shimano rear derailleur on that Schwinn of mine when I bought it!

Thanks. I did not like it when I saw it at first, but it has/is growing on me. Was planning on a black saddle and bar tape, as both the saddle and tape on there now are in very bad shape. Hoods are falling apart too, so gonna have to get some of those as well.

Here's some more shots of Jeff's new Falcon:

















(nice focus on that last picture of the 501 and "Made in England" decals there jeff)

Yeah, but the bricks in the background are nice and clear. Apparently I am not smart enough to operate a digital cam in auto mode.

Jeff, Nice score and welcome to the dark side. . .
pretty soon you'll be lurking on Classic Rendezvous, skulking about at yard
sales looking for the ultimate score (cali masi or confente for $10).
I think you'll find things different here in Cranky and Vintage we are way laid back
(after effect of the 60's?)

marty

The low point is when you come home with an armful of wheels you found in the trash and your roommate is having a party that you forgot about. So you have something like that to look forward to.

@ lotek & reverborama.

I'm still waiting to have a shed to fill up with bike parts so I come to the realization that I need a second shed!

Ooh, time for some Quick glo, and new cables, hehe. Looks like you have the same derailleurs as my PH-10. Looks very familiar anyway. I'm very happy with how they work. I can't really imagine better, but I guess it's possible, huh? So were Weinmann 570's made at the same time as 500's? They look slightly nicer, but share similar hardware.,,,,,BD

BD, Lotek, reverborama, thanks for the comments. Marty, I may be hitting you up for some wheels, or at least some input on the ones that came on it. Silver anodized with eyelets and it looks like lots of stress risers around the eyelets. Really want to get it rebuilt and rideable and take it on a longer ride instead of just around the block.

I took the shell off my truck before I sold it so I could make a shelter for my overflow bikes. It fits snugly between the shed and the fence and I can put it back far enough that it's not really visiable except from the side of the house. The wife isn't thrilled about the idea, but with the cold weather setting in, the bikes are selling slower and coming in faster. I should have a nice little inventory when spring rolls around.

Nice bike and great catch Jeff! Man, I'm going to have to start lurking around yard sales.

Jon, you should see the saddle tomorrow or Thursday.

No joke on the garage sales. A friend/LBS owner got a campy equipped roadie for $75. I started a new job yesterday, and the boss has a road bike his Dad bought 20 years ago, that he will sell. I said yes, definitely interested. I hinted about the weight by saying how light the peugeot was. He goes, yeah this one is pretty light also. Only one possible problem though.... I hope his Dad was taller, hehe.,,,,BD

This bike find keeps getting better and better. Cuda has come up with a saddle and shifter cables and I just got back from the LBS, who have checked out the rims and say that the rust on the eyelets is surface only and that rims are usable, same with the freewheel. They are truing and tensioning them and my tires are supposed to deliver tomorrow. Going to repack the hubs and headset, possibly tonight and hope to have her on the road by the end of the month!

Jeff, what wheels are on that thang?
one of the first "high end" bikes I ever lusted after was
a Falcon, sky blue San Remo I believe.

marty

Cannot remember the name off hand, they are at RBM right now gettnig trued. Double walled, eyeleted, silver anodized, 32 spoke I believe, pinned joints, maillard hubs, shimano 14-28 MF-Z012 freewheel, will post pics and name when I get them back tonight. The black wheels in the pics are the Alex AT450s off of my Trek.

Jeff, I should be home all evening, you're welcome to stop by and pick up any tools you may need.

And I think one of the saddles was attempted to be delivered today, but Margaret was out when they arrived and the office was closed at the time. They should try to redeliver tomorrow.

Rimtec 190SA by Mavic France

cool, so when are we riding at RBM white rock? I'll bring the Zman!

Soon, very soon. Just got the saddle swap done. Am just about done repacking front hub. It was super clean already, just wiped it down, cleaned up the seals, cone and bearings, getting ready to re grease and reassemble. Will get to back hub tonight or tomorrow. Tires are supposed to arrive tomorrow. Just need to recable and replace brake pads, and probably the levers as well, as I can get Tektro R200A's for $17 and new hoods alone for the rusty Weinmanns on it now cost $10.

I'm currently selling the Trek 400 I picked up at the same time as Jeff's Falcon. Before she's gone to finance the upgrades to the Gazelle here's a photo of the Trek:

Jon;
What size is that Trek?
Top

Jeff - how bout an update? I know you've been working hard on getting this Falcon rolling.

(Jeff should be along in a day or two with new photos of the bike. I know from inside information that he's got new Aero brake levers, new bar tape, and the original wheelset with new tires on the bike now)