dweenk 

Love the lights on the fenders.

papik

My last 2013 purchase, a 1977 MOTOCONFORT C2R ('R" for REYNOLDS (3 tubes)

auchencrow

Nice bike, nice backdrop. (Looks very French too. )

"Confort" means in English just what I surmised - A comfortable Moto, and I'll bet it lives up to its name.

papik

Thanks Auchencrow, MOTOCONFORT and MOTOBECANE was the same factory...the backdrop is the little harbour of CARQUEIRANNE on the south of France , the picture is a week old...

Daveyates

Here is a 1950s Stella race bike that i'm building at the moment.

Catnap

oh man, that Stella. yessss.

CV-6 

I like both the bike and the photography.

kroozer 

Dave, I go fifty shades of green with jealousy when I see your bikes, the likes of which very few ever make it across the Atlantic. Could you tell us a bit about the C&V scene in France? I get the impression that there is tons of stuff at very good prices.

repechage

Daveyates, that Stella just look so correct in geometry and proportion.

Daveyates

Well here is my take on the C&V scene here.
I think most people don't put any value on old bikes and that is why they can normally be found cheap compared to prices outside of France.
It is very common to see people riding new bikes and mostly high end bikes. At the weekend you can see many peletons riding their 2000 euro carbon bikes and the off rode guys riding their 1500 euro mountain bikes.
You also get the guys who ride fixed gear bikes and are willing to spend a lot of money in that area. Some of these guys have an interest in older bikes but generally don't understand the value of certain bikes or pieces.
Generally the vintage crowd here try to keep the prices down with each other. If you were to post a bike for sale on a French forum and the members deemed the price too high then you may get jumped on from all angles lol.
So on many forums the prices for bikes for sale are regulated by other members. This can make some forums seem very unwelcoming to new members. Some French guys can be a little over enthusiastic about their hobby ;-)
You then get other enthusiasts here who know the value outside of France and are willing to pay good money for bikes.

You can get some good bikes very cheaply on French Ebay or the Leboncoin website but for the high end stuff it's more difficult. Because as soon as a high end bike comes on for sale the seller can get inundated with many offers above his selling price.
So in a nutshell many people advertise old bikes very cheaply because to them they are worthless. If the advert is written very vaguely and the photos are very bad then you get people like me that can spot certain bikes or pieces from a mile away and can get a good bike that most other people have missed. I'm sure there are many people on this forum that can do the same. Once you start looking for certain things after a while you can notice them.
So i would say if you know what you are looking for and you are very lucky then yes you can get very good bargains here.

Daveyates

Oh and this Stella i bought from a friend as frame and fork only, it didn't even have a bb or headset.
I am building it up with parts that i have. I'm looking forward to riding it when it's finished.

non-fixie 

Nice analysis, Daveyates! We had the same situation in Holland five years ago. Then word got out and now everyone who finds an old bike with drop bars in the shed thinks he has a winning lottery ticket. 'Single speed' and 'fixie' are now officially Dutch words. The average asking price has gone from € 20 to € 150 or so. So scoop 'em up while you can.

Chombi

+1 on people mostly riding high end modern CF bikes in that part of the world. I desperately wanted to see groups of riders on C&V bikes when I was visited Spain and France for three weeks, two years ago,.....but the only bikes I saw being ridden in the city or countryside were town and folder bikes with unfamiliar name brands being used for commuting and grocery getting....and some racing clubs/teams training on their modern race bikes......
"Eroica" was nowhere to be seen.....

nerka105

1981 Peugeot sport Pl8M(or not pl8m?)

Catnap

On the subject of Leboncoin - do sellers on there often agree to ship to the USA? I had avoided it in the past because I assumed that it was more like local Craigslist in the USA and that most sellers want local pickup only.

papik

Fabulous bike ! with a perfect geometry ! Even in France now it is dificult to find a so beautiful STELLA ! congratulations !

papik

Yes, they ordinary want local pickup ...

Daveyates

Yes very true although i have had some that are willing to post items.
But the old saying that money talks is possible true and if you offer enough money then people might send.
Two possible things though, as else where people are generally suspicious of people from abroad offering a lot of money for something.
Especially people that don't have experience in selling abroad, generous offers might come across as a scam.
Also i have found that when you convince someone with no experience to send a big item the packaging can be very substandard.
So if the item has to go all the way to the states there is a high chance something could get bent or broke along the way.

Grand Bois

I was stationed in Vicenza, Italy in 1969 and I saw almost nothing but utilitarian bikes.

Daveyates

I think i may of been mistaken with this bike!

After researching online i came up with the decade 1950s for it as i saw a 1953 one which looked the same especially with the decals.
It is made with Durifort tubing and i also thought that narrowed down the era.
But the thing that has bugged me is the rear derailleur cable stop because it looks like a 1970s one.
After looking carefully again at the 1953 one it appears to not of that cable stop.

As i said i built this up from a bare frame and so don't let the older pieces cloud your judgement.
Would you guys say that this is a 50s bike or a later one?
Did Durifort tubing carry on into the 1970s?

Daveyates

Here is a link to the 1953 one https://velosvintage.over-blog.com/ar...-49620638.html

CMAW 

Yes, I have two "3 tubes R." bikes from the mid 70ies with Durifort fork and stays. I remember seeing all-Durifort frames too, complete with decals. Looking at the pics of E.A.'s Stella, it's hard to see details, but there must be some sort of RD cable stop there, judging by the cable route. They do seem like exact copies. Gorgeous too!

CMAW 

Or maybe E.A.'s Stella isn't from 1953 at all, look at the Stella posted here:

https://www.theracingbicycle.com/Gran_Sport.html

Daveyates

Yes i have just seen that one while researching!
After looking at Bobet photos i have noticed that he rode with a Huret rear derailleur that uses two cables.
That is the reason he has huret twin lever changers.

So the original one i posted seems to be a later frame like mine.
I have just seen another Stella from the 70s with half chrome front and back but it is made from Reynolds 531 and has heart shape cutouts.
I also came across another 70s Stella which is Reynolds 531 as well.

As a semi educated guess i'm gonna say that mine is a 1960s one and most probably a late 60s one.

I think i shall put my 50s equipment on another frame and put a late 60s group on the Stella and see how it looks!

Daveyates

I have used some of the pieces for this build.
I shall post the Stella again when it is built up with the correct parts for it's age.