I picked up an old "Facet Biotour 2000" bike for $20. It has Shimano DR's, Diacompe Center pull Brakes, a (surprisingly) lightweight lugged frame, Rigida steel rims, and it is made in the USA.
It is dirty and needs cables/tires but I felt it was worth saving.

I can find nothing on this marque.
Is there anyone out there who can tell me something about it?

Haven't solved the mystery yet but I cleaned it up and rode it - it didn't need a thing - Even the tires have another season left on them.
- And actually it's really really nice to ride - fast and nimble.

UPDATE: I recently happened across a SECOND Facet Biotour 2000 10-speed touring/road bike, in nice condition. It is just like my other one, which has come to be a favorite bike, so I decided to buy it, overhaul it and sell it to someone, (hopefully to break even) and do my bit for perpetuating the marque.

Since there is little documentation regarding the Facet brand, I decided I would detail what I have learned about these bikes here.
Both are red painted 23” (58.3 cm) frames.
Rear stays are 17.5” (44.5) cm
Made (or at least assembled) in USA with a Made in USA flag sticker on the seat tube.

Fully lugged, reasonably lightweight frame. (Complete bike weighs about 26 lbs)

Bottom bracket shell caps are marked Tange Industries (– seems to indicate that it is butted chrome-moly tubing, but I cannot confirm. I did learn though that TREK once made frames for Facet Industries, so this is a possibility.)

Takagi forged alloy cotterless cranks.
Shimano running gear, including stem mounted shifters, “FE” front derailleur, and a Shimano “RS” rear derailleur. Per the Disraeli Gears website, these were an improvement on their venerable Skylark design with the cable clamp mounted on a Centeron lever, allowing the derailleur to automatically compensate for the need to over-shift. (Anyway, it shifts very well.)

Rigida 27 x 1 ¼” steel wheels, laced to Shimano Suzue hubs.
Suzue front skewer.
One bike has an ACE quill type handlebar stem, the other an ALPS.
DiaCompe forged center-pull brakes and levers.
CHAIR touring pedals.
Mattress style racing seat.
Gumwall tires.
Black cable housing.
Originally came equipped with the 1980’s ubiquitous black sponge handlebar padding.

Very ergonomic feeling/riding bike - unusual frame geometry with the top tube canted downward just slightly. I have seen these same bikes recently listed for $150 on Craigs list In Seattle, Salt Lake city (though I cannot vouch for their condition). At that, I think these are sleepers on the market and would command a much higher price if they

Hey- I've got the same bike. And with the same amount of luck. I can't find any info. Mine was in pretty bad shape, so I've stripped it down to a single speed. (I'll post some pics when I'm done)

The little background I did find on Facet came from G. Oscars shop in Tulsa, OK. Who said it was actually a Tulsa company: Facet Cycle, Inc.

Tulsa, Seattle, Salt Lake City and TWO known sightings in my yard in Detroit Mich. They certainly got around and I have the feeling there are a lot more of them out there hiding, but with the paucity of literature on them they will never be as famous as...uh, Schwinn. Yeah, for sure, not as famous as Schwinn.

Maybe someone who worked at Facet Cycle or G Oscars bicycle shop would see this post and set the record straight. It would be nice if someone somewhere exhumed a catalog, or old price list, or anything.

BTW, I sold my second Biotour for $140 to guy from Mich State who was very happy to get it: He took a test ride on it, and was gone for so long that I almost posted his car on Autotrader. (I think it was just an indication of how thoroughly he enjoyed riding it.)

We will look forward to seeing pictures of yous, Clap Clap.

Bumping this thread wondering if anyone else has any information. My mom picked one out of the garbage in great condition (other than tire dry rot). Google is only turning up this thread and a couple links about patents from a Tulsa, OK company on what seems to be bio-pace style chainrings.

Hello bjoerges - I noticed you ( and presumably your mom ) are from SE Mich.

It's safe to conclude with 3 bikes surfacing in this same locale, that there must have been a store around here that was a Dealer for Facet . . If your bike has a store label on it ( mine does not ) AND if they are still in business, that would be a likely place to start looking for information.

PS - It would be good if you posted a picture of your trash-pickin' treasure!

Unfortunately, I can't get a Hi-Res shot anytime soon, so these from my phone will have to do for now.

Head Tube Badge:


Drive Train



Head Tube Lugs


Flared Rack/Fender Mount Eyelet

(sorry for foot and headphone cable in the picture)

Whole Bike:


Angled, Whole Bike



BB and Made in USA sticker

That's gorgeous in BLUE! What a find!

Once I stick some new tires on it I'm going to give it a thorough wash down. I plan to put the brake levers (basic Shimano levers with internal routing) on so I can grip the hoods comfortably. Big plans for this bike!

Do post the pics when your bike is completed!

Bumping this old thread, because I just came across some more information regarding the provenance of these Facet Biotour 2000 bikes: As clapclap had asserted earlier in this thread, these were in fact made by Facet Cycle of Tulsa Oklahoma, which I learned, was one and the same company as had manufactured the Facet Biocam 1000 circa 1980.

The frames for the Biocam were manufactured by Trek from Reynolds 531 and there were apparently a number of options available to buyers of this (very expensive for 1980) $2000 bike.

I found one for sale on eBay asking $1250, along with an exhaustive article on the technology in Sports Illustrated's archive .

I just picked up a red biotour 1000 in the trash the condition is great, It looks like the same exact bike as your 2000 it has the same derailleur, cranks and other components. The only difference I can see is the hubs what ever that means? I have been able to find nothing except what you already have. I was just wondering if it was worth cleaning and tuning up?


PS I am also from SE Michigan so there must be some one around that knows something.

Welcome to C&V Luke000 -
There certainly must have been someone around Detroit who was purveying them. (So far though, no one has admitted it!).
It is a very smooth riding bike - and I think it is well worth the effort to fix it up.
Please post some picks of your bike here - Drive side, and whatever other views you like.

I have one also - a biotour 1000 - frame looks about like the pics in the second post except for the top tube decal...1000/2000 - I got it as a single speed though. It has a Takae crank, diacompe brakes tange headset, that look alike also. The frame doesn't look too fancy - stamped lugs and very basic looking lugs, it rides fine though. In se wisconsin, no dealer labels or anything.

To add to the OP's component list, the headset and front fork look to be Tange, along with the bottom bracket.

-James

Hey I just found this on a website

*HISTORY MORE ABOUT FACET: FACET WAS SUCSESSFUL IN THE AUTOMOTIVE PARTS BUSINESS WITH OPERATIONS IN TULSA, OKLAHOMA IN THE LATE 1970'S. A FAILED MARKET ENTRY ATTEMPT WITH A "BIOCAM" CONTINIOUSLY VARIABLE CRANKSET DEVICE ALSO INCLUDED NEED FOR COMPLETE BICYCLES BY 1979. AQUISITION OF AN OLD FRAME MAKER BASED IN CHATSWORTH, CA LED TO THIS HAND
BRAZED FRAME AND A FEW HUNDRED OTHERS, BUILT ABOUT 1980 WITH A MID LEVEL PARTS FROM JAPAN. SOME SOLD, THEN SOME FINALLY FOUND THEIR WAY TO EMPLOYEES IN THE DETROIT & TULSA AREAS (BOTH FACILITIES OF
FACET) & EVENTUALLY FOR SALE 2ND HAND AROUND THE COUNTRY. FACET WAS OUT OF THE BICYCLE BUSINESS BY 1981.


PS im working on getting some pics of my 1000

I also have a blue version of the Facet Biotour 2000. My stepmother bought it in Tulsa, OK in the early 80's. I also have the owner's manual which has says Cal-Facet, Inc. A supsidiary (sic) of Facet Enterprises, Inc. with an address in Chatsworth, CA. If I measured correctly, it is a 54 cm C-T and is completely original except for the tires and tubes. It even still has the black foam bar padding, cables and chain. I can't read many of the markings, but it does have the prominent Made in the USA label on the seat tube. Looks identical to bjoerges above except for the rear chain catcher is clear plastic instead of chrome.

interesting, only things I can add are that I have used the Facet electric fuel pumps as after-market units on both a VW and a BMW (very reliable but very noisy!) and had never made the connection to any bicycle, but the logo on the headtubes matches their fuel pumps.
Also, I believe the Chatsworth company was Sentinel Bicyles, and there's an old thread in the archives that has info from the former owner of Sentinel. I actually had a 2 week summer job with Sentinel assembling their Japanese bikes with a crew of high school kids back in the bike boom era. Apparently they also made frames in the US, maybe even in Chatsworth, but I never saw any of those, just a lot of bike boxes from Japan.

I actually worked for Facet/Purolator for 22 years and have one of the blue Biotour 2000's hanging in my garage that I bought as an employee purchase. I found this thread just out of curiosity to see what the bicycle is worth. Facet was originally Fram Corporation, bought by Bendix and then was spun off from Bendix along with a couple of other Fram divisions due to an FTC ruling and that is when they changed the name to Facet. Facet stands for filters, automotive components, environmental technology. The division I worked for was predominately a private label oil and air filter manufacturing company, manufacturing filters for Kmart, Walmart, Pennzoil, Valvoline, Ford, etc.. The plants were in Dexter, MO and Salt Lake City, UT. Facet purchased Purolator Filters in 1987, changed the name to Purolator and then was purchased by Pennzoil in 1988 and again spun off in 1992 and purchased by MarkIV in 1994. See https://www.purolator-facet.com/profile2.htm. I don't remember much about these bikes except that one of the VP's thought it would be a great diversion to buy this biocam bicycle company and try to sell bikes. It didn't pan out for Facet but we got a great buy on a great bike as employees. I don't have any paperwork left but have the bike if anyone wants to buy it!!!! I don't think my bike was ridden more than a dozen times, sorry to say. I am still in Tulsa, OK.

rangraves -
Thank you for your post! - It finally puts the whole Facet story into some historical perspective for us. (In fact, you probably just made this thread the most authoritative source of information on the marque anywhere on the web.)

I realize the original post is over 6 months old but I just stumbled upon it while looking for something else. The "radbmx" Website has information regarding the Scorpion branded BMX bicycles that were manufactured by Cal Facet. If you look through the posts (about half way down the page), you will find a fairly good article about the factory and their manufacturing process.

https://www.radbmx.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=16255.0

Rizzo

very curious as to how that drivetrain works.

This is a very interesting thread. I wonder if any more have been found and whether there are still pockets of them around the Facet plants . Detroit is full of interesting stuff.

I think the thread has enough to start a cult.
Excellent read, and thanks for the internet.