I've been in touch with Nick at H Lloyd cycles in England, who has a selection of Viscount Aerospace decals (among many, many others), but the logistics of ordering and paying for them is proving to be more difficult than one would hope. I'm thinking if there's a domestic source, it would be a lot easier just to mail a check and be done with it.

Anybody know of a domestic source for these decals?

I've got my old college bike painted, polished and rigged up, and it sure would look nice with some authentic graphics.

It's two bikes, actually. The frame and chrome fork are from the base model Viscount, while the components, wheels, etc. are all from the pricier (red and white) model. Had to jettison the Fork of Death, though I bet it would look pretty sharp all polished up. New BB bearings and crank shaft, too. The chrome fork looks decent, and probably weighs less than the FOD, surprisingly.

I am restoring an Aerospace Pro and have been looking for various items. H Lloyd is the only place I have been able to find any decals.

After riding a Giant OCR 1 for the past few months, I'm curious to see how this ride differs. Been about 30 years since put any real miles on it. I took it for a quick spin before tearing it apart for cleaning, painting, etc., and it felt pretty good. I'd like to do a century on it next summer, but don't know if that's a realistic expectation. I guess it would have been back in the '70s, so why not now?

I'll post some pics when it's all done. I think mine is basically the Pro, although the frame is slightly different. The original Weinmann front brake won't work with the chrome fork, unfortunately, so I think I'll have to put the original Landar center-pull brakes from the base model on this one, which is a shame. But less of a shame than crashing, I guess.

Does your Pro have the Shimano Titelist RD? What's on the front? I've got a Suntour Spirt on mine, but I'm not sure if that's the original FD or not.

Fwiw, I've ordered transfers from Nick at Lloyd's and thought the overseas transaction was pretty straightforward and shipping was fast. Nick was very helpful.

Neal

He's got a new website, www.hlloydcycles.com

Because we are both 30 years older now.


I haven't yet been able to figure out what year my bike is. I think mine is from early after the Lambert to Viscount changeover.

My Aerospace Pro has Shimano Crane rear and Titlist front derailers, Shimano shifters, Viscount brakes, Lambert brake levers, Middlemore leather saddle (Brooks knockoff), Viscount pedals with Lambert toe clips. I believe this is all OEM.

It also has a Fiamme front and a Milremo rear wheel set up for tubulars. Not sure which, if either, are OEM.

Nice work!

Is that the Fork of Death? Looks like it.

I have the same crankset, looks like. Maybe the same aluminum rims.

Where did you get the two decals that cover the paint line transitions on the seat tube? I can't find them in the Lloyds catalog. If they're there, I don't know what they're called.

My rear freewheel is a little strange. It's a shimano, but the larger two gears have some kind of skip-tooth configuration, so there are fewer teeth per gear. Not like yours. The kid at my LBS said that was probably a weight-reduction design. Seems to work OK.

Yes it is. I'll be changing it out for a chromed steel one as part of the restoration.


I haven't bought anything for this bike yet. Those are the OEM stickers. Here is a pic in case you want to reproduce or match them.

Thanks. I don't believe Lloyds has those, but I bet we can come close with some other stock sticker. Too bad about the FOD. It's pretty. It was one of the really distinctive features of that particular bike.

Now the FORK OF DEATH is more notorious or infamous than distinctive.

Here's mine from around '73 or thereabouts, slightly modified but still have the TA-manufactured cranks and chainwheels and the Viscount centerpulls somewhere in the mess. Not sure of the exact vintage cause I acquired is from a buddy, so any help with an ID would be sweet. I think I was smoking too much back then....

Interesting. That looks like about the same vintage as mine. I notice it's got the chrome fork. The handle bars don't look OEM. And it looks like a fixie to me. Original paint job and decals, I think. Nice looking bike. I don't know about the vintage, but maybe somebody somewhere can match serial numbers up to production years. Looks like somebody upgraded the BB, too. Viscounts were built with sealed bearings in the BB and hubs.

I was under the impression that bikes marked Lambert came before Viscounts, and I have a 1975 Viscount advertisement (see below) that's been the time marker in my mind: pre-1975 = Lambert; post-1975 = Viscount; and by 1978, the company was essentialy killed off by Yahama. This is all guesstimation, and I'm happy to be set straight.

Neal

I bought my first Viscount in the summer of '76 and they were the hot new thing, at least according to the LBS that sold it to me. Similar to what the ad says. A couple of years later the BB bearings failed and I ruined the shaft trying to get it all apart. The company was out of business by then, and for some reason I couldn't find a new shaft. I bought a used, higher-end Viscount and that's what got me through college.

So I think your timeline is about right, Neal. I didn't even know about the Fork of Death until a few years ago when I Googled Viscount on a slow day at work. That's when I decided to build a new bike up from the original frame and components off the used bike, since the bike I bought in '76 had a chrome fork. Somewhere along the line I found replacement BB bearings and a new shaft, so that ought to be good for a few years, though I suspect the design leaves something to be desired. I think that thin-walled chrome moly steel BB housing needs a little more support than a couple of sealed bearings and a thin shaft. The only things holding it all together are two snap rings on the shaft.

Ahhh. Imagine how life would be different without Google during slow moments at work. Most of my best and worst decisions have begun with lines just like yours.

jim