Hey folks, not sure if I've even posted on this forum before, but I read it all the time as it actually has enjoyable and entertaining content, as well as the best looking bikes on the forum, hands down...

So here's my new predicament: I've moved on from being well employed to being an unemployed full time college student, unsurprisingly I'm broke all over again, mostly from spending my spare change on bikes. The other day I picked up an old Bertin (as far as I can tell). Painted over, but with the fancy Nervex lugs and BB, Simplex dropouts and what look like some more modern braze ons. Pictures will be up soon, I have to borrow the roomies camera.

Moving onward to the actual predicament, I've stripped the old, awful paint off of it, and I don't know what to do. I actually live near Dr. Deltron (Santa Cruz), and would really love to get him to paint it, but I think I might need to sell blood (maybe some bikes?) or something to cover it. Would it be too awful to rattlecan it? Even if I did a good job? Almost more importantly, does anyone have pictures of an old Bertin to give me some ideas for paint schemes and styles that fit what it would have likely come looking like originally?

I was thinking of a very dark green, with bronze or gold lug accents... but without decals I feel it'll be kind of empty in the middle. Also, one of the prior doofus owners cut off the head badge... ugh ... As I said, pictures tomorrowish.

I'm planning on rebuilding it with a hodgepodge of late 60s, early 70s French parts, probably Simplex and Mafac Racers, I got some funky old BSA cranks that kinda look like old Stronglights that'll do until I'm magically rich. I'm also going to build up some Normandy/modern 27" rim wheels for it, tan cable housing and shellac'd cotton bar tape.

This is my first time posting this kinda dealie on here, I just felt the urge, since I've moved away from all my bike friends, and I need someone to bounce ideas off of and talk about my great money sinkhole/passion/obsession &c.

....
/end rant/

here's my wife's early 80's c70.



there's pics of bertin cosmetic treatments here-(top 2 bikes are mid 80's, bottom is probably mid-late 70's)-

https://www.classicrendezvous.com/France/Bertin_main.htm

here's a clean one-

https://www.cyclofiend.com/cc/2005/cc...leman1105.html

and a current ebay auction-

https://cgi.benl.ebay.be/ANCIEN-CADRE...QQcmdZViewItem


Albert Hitchen (Porter 39-Bertin-Milremo) climbs one of the many hills in the tough Huddersfield 2-Day during the 1960's (UK)

Bertin made a full line of bicycles, parallel to most of Peugeot's offerings, but generally somewhat better finished. If yours takes a 26.4mm seatpost (assuming a very French 28.0mm outer seat tube diameter) and has an integral derailleur hanger, it is probably comparable to at least a PR-10/PKN-10, if not a PX-10, which means it would have come with Simplex Criterium derailleurs and aluminum Stronglight cranks.

I have one that is colored the basic dark green similar to the color of many 70's era Raleigh's (supercourse comes to mind). Bertins I have seen from that time period did not have metal or riveted/screwed on head badges, always a glued-on type affair. So dark green (forest green?) should be a good option.

That's one of my lines of reasoning in thinking that it's older than 70s, on the head tube there's two big rivet looking things that have been cut off and filed (badly) down. It'll show up in the pictures I post tonight. It's also got the non-threaded Simplex derailer hanger...

Thanks everyone for the input so far! I'm especially looking for 60's era Bertins, especially ones with Nervex lugs, to draw inspiration from...

ideally the op will be needing to post a pic to help determine what it is that he's got or to at least verify it's approx. vintage. i worked for the us bertin distributor in the early 80's and never once did we receive any dark green bikes or framesets. by far the most common colours at least from the second half of the 70's until the mid-80's were powdercoated solids in red, midnight blue, a light silvery metallic blue, white and black, all with gold lug outlining . there were also particular models that received a solid french blue, a cream yellow/beige, a light metallic mint green, silver and the metallic gold as on my wife's bike above.

the head rivets would indicate that it's of late 50's/60's vintage.beginning in the early 70's, andre bertins sported the chrome foil eagle decal on the headtube.

caterham, thanks for your response, you sound like quite the authority! After my roomate gets home, I can borrow his camera and get some pictures up, I'm quite curious to see what folks think. I'm glad to see and hear gold lug accents were the order of the day on old Bertins, as that's exactly where I wanted to go with it. Speaking of which, how well would powercoating, then painting accents and applying rattlecan clearcoat work? It seems to be a reasonable compromise to a pro paint job and my own spray paint butchery.

until later...

Caterham, I knew there was a reason why I should have visited your house as well! I LOVE your wife's Bertin, and really want to see that in person .

Frank, if you live near Dr. D you should go visit just to say hi. He's a great guy, and full of fun stories.

I don't think I've given you an official welcome, so here it is:

Welcome to BF!

East Hill

Wow! My very own pink carbon fiber star? How rad! So, as I promised here's pictures...

the whole frame


sans headbadge, but with Nervex lugs...


gratuitous lug shot, also cool pump peg


funny Simplex dropouts. Anyone know what that tab is for?


seat tube cluster, with the seatstay cap work that made think its a Bertin...


And that's all for now. The brownish color is stubborn primer I haven't sanded off yet, not rust, thankfully. So, what do folks make of the prolific braze ons? I think the shifter bosses are a later addition, as they fit normal shifters. Enjoy!

aside from the shift lever bosses & rear dropouts ( i love those), this illustration of the long running C37 model from the ron kitching milremo catalog sure looks close. just lovely,dude.

fwiw- the bertin team rider photo that i posted previously (showing top tube cable clips)was taken around 1963/4 with the implication that your frame is of later vintage.



ps- imo, a major clue to dating the frame is that solitary pump peg- it may indicate the switch from the traditional style pumps with flex hose to the integrated pump head variety-specifically, a milremo frame pump- the pump addition may also help explain the top tube guides as top tube clamps would interfere with the pump installation-

tho i have no direct knowledge of the bertins from this time period(60's), the bertin that i'm familiar with were very early adopters of the latest in frame fitments, trends & componentry on their top line bikes. in fact, the very first internal brake cable routed bikes as well as the first *production* 'aero' crimped tubings i ever saw were on bertins. they were also the first non-japanese production racebikes i ever saw factory fitted with full shimano dura ace EX, AX & 600 AX road groups.