cali2ia

I thought I was done with vintage bikes after buying my Jamis, but after an accident yesterday I suddenly found myself with n-1 bikes. I bought this garage find for less than the price of the Brooks I was planning to buy anyway.





I can find only scant info about these bikes online. How do I identify the model? The only description I can find about the Brand is that there was at least a Sport, a C-34, and a C-35.

Details:
Backstory: It was won by the mother of the seller in the 1971 Hilly Hundred, a touring race and/or ride held annually in Bloomington, Indiana. She added her name in decal form to the chainstays. The website for the event doesn't mention prizes, so I'm not sure of the accuracy of this.

Serial Number: 63564

Stamp on Nervex BB: 59(degree)3061(degree)022E35

Tubing: Qualite "A", Reynolds, Tube de Cadres. No model number. No mention of butting

Geometry:
58cm C-C Top Tube length.
62.5 cm C-T seat tube (!)
44.5 cm chainstays

28 lbs with non-original wheels, outfitted as shown.


Juy Simplex stamped onto fairly stout dropouts. I assume that they would be considered "forged". Derailleur is attached by a bolt-on hanger.

Huret derailleurs, shifters.

Imported by Cyclo-Pedia of Detroit, MI

Mafac centerpull brakes, levers. Calipers have forward-facing vertical adjustment slots... never seen that before.

Stronglight cottered crankset with 52 on the big ring, unknown count on the smaller.

Lyotard pedals, Christophe toe clips.

That Campagnolo bracket below the Reynolds sticker is the upper bracket for the Silca Imperio frame pump. I need to find a Schrader gasket for it.

I had read horror stories about French hubs & cranks, maintenance wise, so I was going to pass on this bike, but once I saw the Brooks Pro saddle I figured that I had nothing to lose. I got very lucky. The bike has upgraded wheels, with 27" alloy Fiamme rims, Phil Wood hubs, a 5-speed Maeda freewheel, Campagnolo skewers so no worry about finding tools to lube the wheel bearings. As for the crank, it appears that there is a grease fitting on the bottom bracket, so I think that the crank can stay attached for as long as I own her.

So... can anyone tell me the model?

& What's up with that crazy geometry? My other bikes have had roughly equal top tubes and seat tube lengths... I love it though. I am all leg & arms, with a relatively short torso. Tailors mock me.

& Reynolds "A" Series... is this the predecessor of a later line of tubing?

cali2ia

Also, on the brake photo, what is that thin clip between the forks for?

zigmin

Wow, what an interesting bicycle! Those phil wood hubs are pretty amazing.

oldbobcat

I remember these from the Cycl-Pedia catalogs I used to get, but I have no idea about the model designations. This one seems to be about a half-step up from a Peugeot UO-8.

The tubing is definitely not butted. Around this time Reynolds made a straight gauge version of 531 that was used on the Raleigh Super Course and Gran Sport, so this tube set may have been a predecessor or a left-over. The rear derailleur is an early Huret Allvit (without the "cover"). This complicated and flexy design swung the parallelogram from the bottom of the derailleur body rather than from the dropout, which allowed the jockey wheel to follow the taper of the freewheel cluster, much the way modern slant parallelograms do. The Brooks Pro saddle is an add-on.

The studded brake pad mounts, a feature on center-pulls exclusive to Mafac, allowed you to align the pads to the rims perfectly if you had the patience and manual dexterity for it. Weinmann and Universal center-pulls were less manipulable but easier to adjust.

Built for the US market, the nominal size of this bike would be 24.5". The top tube is relatively short because that's the way they built 'em back then, at least the less expensive French and British bikes. Around 22" you got your square geometry. Smaller, you got a longer top tube. Larger, the top tubes grew but at much slower rate. This may have been another adaptation to the US market.

The gearing is half-step, meaning that the freewheel cogs are incremented by two teeth (or more at the climbing end), with the gaps made up by flipping between the two chainrings. This system, with less chain slack to take up, is easier on rear derailleurs. On the other hand, dropping to a small chainring that is only three or four teeth smaller was often a hit-or-miss proposition. Peugeot was definitely more in tune with the US market with the "Alpine" 52-36 chainrings on its UO-8.

And the "clip" between the brakes is a tire sweeper. Attached to the fork by the brake bolt, it cleared debris from the tire, hopefully before it became embedded enough to cause a puncture. I used them for a while, but they slowed you down. They also didn't work all the time, so with the diminished vigilance they encouraged you'd get just as many flats.

Louison Bobet was a French three-time Tour de France winner.

Hush

Bonjour,
May be this clip is used to rub on the tyre to get rid of the little gravels and prevent punctures.
Excuse my poor english ... but the title in french "Est-ce une pipe ?" is grammaticaly correct .... but is (in french) rather a slang joke !!!
Hush

NormanF

Nice find though... the mild steel frame should ride beautifully with alloy wheels... it can't be too different from a Raleigh Superbe in terms of ride quality.

This is not a cheap gaspipe bicycle!

T-Mar

Umm, I don't think so. I'm pretty sure that's a Huret Luxe.

jonwvara 

Eugene Sloane's Complete Book of Bicycling, circa 1968 (of which I have a well-worn copy) listed three models of Louison Bobet bicycles, with specs. This one looks most like the C-34, which had a cottered Stronglight crankset, straight-gauge Reynolds frame, and was supposed to come with Campy Gran Sport derailleurs. It originally came with tubular tires--if that was the case with yours, someone must have changed them.
The book listed three quality levels of bikes--"Low Cost, Quality Derailleur Bicycles," which he gave as the Peugeot UO-8, the Louison-Bobet "Sports," and the Raleigh "Record." Then there were the "Moderate Cost, Good Quality Derailleur Bicycles," which were the Louison-Bobet C-34 (most similar to yours, listing for $115.00) and the Raleigh "Carlton" DL-100, which sounds about like a Super Course. When it came to the "Highest Quality Derailleur Bicycles," Sloane really went to town and listed six of them--PX-10Es, Paramounts, Cinelli, Frejus, Falcon, and another Louison-Bobet.
I remember it all very well because I was 14 in 1968 and desperately wanted the C-34--I thought sew-up tires were cool beyond belief (though I'd never used them), and the C-34 was the cheapest bike that seemed to have them. In the end, though, I got a $75.00 Raleigh Record as being more in my weekend newspaper-stuffing job price range.
The one you found is even my size. I would have pounced on that baby like a duck on a June bug. What'd you pay for it, if you don't mind my asking?
I don't have a good way to scan the pages from Sloane's book, but maybe some other good soul will do it.
Jon

cali2ia

$60, and I probably could have gotten it for half of that, but I wanted him to call back quickly. There is currently a 24 incher on the Omaha Craigslist for $325, if you're really keen.

auchencrow

I've heard a lot of people say that the Raleigh Grand Sports was straight-tubed, but my '73 has a butted Reynolds 531 frame (seat tube = 27.2 mm).

-Maybe mine is the exception, but just for the heck of it, I would check to see if your Bobet is also 27.2mm.

If not, don't despair: Even a non-butted Reynolds frame like a Supercourse is an exceptional bike!

Great snag ! Very interesting and good looking bike.

PS- Don't fret about French foibles - The horror stories are made up by people who don't KNOW what is different on their bike - or who feel compelled to load them up with Japanese parts. (I like to complain because my Japanese bikes don't accept French parts ).

My point is, just ride what's on it, and maintain it, and there is a good chance you won't need to replace anything.

cali2ia

Bon! I was hoping that the double entendre would be preserved... Is this trash, or is this "pleasure"?

jonwvara 

The shed is pretty full right now--it's a good thing I don't live near Omaha.

noglider 

It's a mid level bike that happens to be beautiful. Its ride is probably beautiful, too.

Right, it's a Huret Luxe derailleur.

The brakes are hard to adjust but quite worthwhile. They are fantastic.

Some Gran Sports bikes had straight gauge tubing, some had butted. It depends on the year.

You may want to replace the stem. That might be one of the models that are known for breaking spontaneously.

I agree that keeping the crank is a good idea. Don't do anything but add lubricant, either oil or grease.

Please keep us posted. This looks like a LOT of fun.

What's weird about the geometry? Is the top tube long or short?

redneckwes

I also believe that you have a model C-34 Amateur Road. Available at three price levels depending on group, the base model came with Huret.

It was still just one step down from the top of the Bobet line.

Bobet's are cool, not super common and different enough to stand out. Yours is in great shape.

dbakl

Yes, Bobet was a French racer who sold bikes under his name... probably made by whomever he raced for. My first 10-speed in the late 60s was one. I'd keep that more or less as is, good find. It's not topend, but in those days even the lowend stuff was pretty well made.

There are copies of the Cyclopedia catalogs out there... maybe you can find one.

Hush

Well, pipe in slang meaning "oral sex", we have been lucky that you did not write Louison Bobet : Est-ce une bonne pipe ?
Anyway, have fun.... riding the bike as it is... of course !!!
Hush

schwinnderella

I believe these were made by mercier.The shape of the badges are the same.Here is my mixte.

cyclotoine

SO you can deduce what grade of steel it is from the sticker? It says reynolds but I am guessing not 531?

cali2ia

Regarding the stem, it's the AVA that Saint Sheldon warns about. I haven't found anything worrying (or anything at all, really) about Kiprim stems.

As for the geometry... compared to my 80's bikes (Schwinn & Trek, I don't remember the Peugot), it seems quite tall for the length. My Le Tour had the same top tube length, but a much shorter seat tube, so once I jacked the seat up to fit there would be a lot of drop to the bars. It doesn't appear to be the case here, though I haven't taken it for a ride yet.

Bristol Brigand

There is a small museum in Britanny dedicated to Louison Bobet (and his less succesful brother) - its well worth a visit. I can dig out details if anybody is interested - see below. LB had a bad car accident and although he tried to race again he retired very soon after recovering from the accident

Here is a picture of one of his bikes that he won the TdF on.


https://www.bretagne35.com/decouverte...-louison-bobet

cranky old road 

The pages from Dr. Sloane's book referenced earlier. I don't know how to thumbnail them:

oldbobcat

You're right. I wasn't aware of a short-armed version of the Luxe. But here's the image:
The Allvit (first version) doesn't have that clean front plate:

dbakl

The Huret Luxe actually works not too badly...

T-Mar

I've seen it reported that Reynolds 'A' Quality tubing was a predecessor to Reynolds 531. It may well have been one of their early high manganese formulas but it definitely co-existed with 531. The Reynolds literature I've seen show 'A' Quality butted and plain gauge tubesets. There were at least two different versions of the 'A' Quality butted tubeset and both were thicker (and heavier) than butted 531. There was also 'A' and 'B' Quality plain gauge sets in three different versions. Unfortunately, the literature does not identify which are 'A' Quality and which are 'B' Quality and the thinnest is produced to the same wall thickness as 531 plain gauge.

Frankly, I don't ever recall seeing any 'A' Quality tubing in use during the early 1970s boom. I always associated it with 1950's non-pro bicycles. While the bicycle was obtained in 1971 it may have been old stock hanging around in the shop. After all, that's normally what they gave away as prizes, things they couldn't sell. Still, the prescence of a Luxe, assuming it is OEM, would indicate it is no older than 1967, according to Berto.

I can see why a Mercier (or Stella) would be the logical choice of manufacturer, given that these were the bicycles ridden by Bobet during his career. Still, I'm wondering if it's not a rebadged Bertin? They used the exact same model model numbers. And speaking of model numbers, might not the last two digits in the serial number be the model? I know the boom era C35 were 531 DB, but if it's older...

oldbobcat

Must have been the short-armed version. My Luxe Touring shifted like rubber bands.