Munny

The "L'express" reminds me something about a bike I completed last weekend...

L'express was in 1954 one of the many teams that as Plum-Vainqueur, had Jan Adriaensens as racer.

I use the spelling Plum-Vainqueur to distinguish it from the more prestigious Plume Sport, another Belgian bike maker.
I have several of both but while one of my winter bike is a Vainqueur, that one, from the late seventies (believed) has actually an Italian frame : what a pity ... all the belgian guys collecting recent Plum Vainqueur are collecting an etcetirini ...

The one completed last weekend was framed in Belgium, in the middle of the fifties and is a team bike



Team bike because these were the special team colors



Also, look at the steering tube.



The color patern match the belgian flag and at this time was reserved for teams having won a country championship or having represented the country in a specific competition.
No championship for Plum"e" Vainqueur but one of their 1955 racers, Jan Adriaensens was in the Belgian team of the tour (At that time, country teams only)

I can't believe this bike is from Jan : too big

non-fixie 

Terrific bike, @Munny, thanks for posting it. That's a very inspiring build too, pretty much the look I have in mind for the L'Express.

Munny

Then I need to post a larger picture of the jersey



A close look to the derailleurs will make you understand that it will not be so easy





The freewheel is an old model, but new, 4 speed Cyclo

And the hub, well, everyone should know...



Adriaensens was racing in the Bobet period. (you will remember Willy Vandersteen. Suske en Wiske translates in French to Bob et Bobet..te )



The chainset is from Huret but I'm not quite sure of the period.
Interestingly the holes allows for various sizes of 2nd gear. A much larger range than the period Campa (BCD 151)
This on Hermesse crancks, one of the belgian cranks brands and a balley willie crankshaft

pullup

Thanks for the detailled pics Munny. Beautiful bike and very interesting

non-fixie 

Thanks again, @Munny, for these close-ups. Very nice. For the L'Express I'm not looking for an exact copy but rather a similar look & feel. I will have go the all-Simplex route with what I've got:

- Simplex Juy 59 (I think) RD and shifter, Simplex Competition front changer ('suicide lever')
- Stronglight 55 cranks
- Simplex Competition chainset

Munny

A couple of years ago, I saw it advertised in north of France.
I emailed the seller who did not answer and the bike was sold.
6 months later, or more, it reappeared on the french "tonton" forum and the owner wanted to part of all the bits to make a fixie with modern stuff.
At the time, I wasn't yet excomunicated from that forum and tried to explain the value behind it to the fixist owner.
I lost my time.
Then another month later, I decided to ask him what he would sell of it. And then realized that he was just persistent on his fixie idea but that this could be another, more appropriate frame and component (someone told him that cottered cranks ...and he had already thrown away the stronglight cranks)
With a friend, we carefully selected appropriate bits for his dream and took the road.
The guy was as expected.
He had already built a fixed bike only to realize that he was too short for it, even with the seatpost totaly in...
Then I gave it to the friend who came with me.

At the time, it was still campa converted (derailleurs), in open C.

We were convinced that going back to the Huret Bobet derailleur was the way to go but the bits spent about 2 years by my friend who was not finding, nor the time, nor the missing components

Recently, I did find the shifters, told him but he was ready to part of it.
I didn't agree; gave him a set of modolo pro and took back the frame, brakes, steering, saddle, handlebars.
And set to rebuilt it.

So, as you have seen, the brakes are GB coureur plus







I made an error with the tan colored hoods since I also have a white set ... somewhere.

I also added matching toeclips and bar ends


I was surprised about these GB bar ends to read "Paris SGDG" as if these were french bits ?

Danbianchi881

My Eddy Merckx

Munny

Last christmas...
Looking on local second hand site, I decided to offer myself a present (here was supposed to be a smiley)

Why ?
A belgian randonneur ...
Very unusual since this shop was not supposed to have built bikes but to put the parts together.
A bit short, all was at my taste and I quickly agreed with the seller to pick up the bike.



The seller send me additional pictures and told me that he wasn't immediatelly available







Yes, "that" derailleur !



It has also to be noted that the frame allows for different components



And ...

no more replies...
I then contacted again the seller and ... sold !

Grrrr (here an upset smiley should have been but the rule of max pics # ...)


Yesterday , saw a friend.
I meet him at each vintage bike event and he is a builder of woden handlebars

He came with that bike !





yes and quite well made



The good thing is that the bike has found a good home (and here I had to delete a thumb up smiley... )

fiatjeepdriver

1985 Eddy Merckx

non-fixie 

Thanks for the story and the 'before' pics of that Teval, @Munny. Much appreciated.

I'm sorry you didn't get it, but hey, it's too small for you anyway.

non-fixie 

Nice Merckx's, @Danbianchi881 and @fiatjeepdriver! Thanks for posting them here.

Munny

Might have been too small but sometimes you need to deal with this

The derailleur Nivex alone was worth more than the asked price. Let alone the other components.

Sometimes you need to deal with short sizes and I may present another semi-Belgian bike which was worth lots of sizing efforts.

non-fixie 

But of course. I was just trying offer some consolation. I would have bought it as well, even though I ride the same size as you do, judging by the look of your Ward Sels inspired Superia.

non-fixie 

Please do!

Munny

If you want.

But many people will claim that this is not a belgian bike.

Although...
What makes the nationality of the bike ?
The team ?
The brand ?
The requester ?
The builder ?
The frame ?
or even the fork ?

Let's be realistic. Quite a number of french bikes were built in Belgium, Italy. Netherlands ? (that I don't know)
A number of Belgian bikes have been framed in Italy
A number of belgian framed bikes brands adopted Italian names just to pretend.
Lots of professionals were used to have frame builts by the best and repainted to their sponsor colors. (See Merckx Peugeot's)
In my village (hosting one of the most successfull cycling clubs of the country), from time to time, they organized a bus trip to a little shop under the vigorelli...

This is about a team bike of the team of the best ever cyclist by far.
Just before it went sadly.
I speak of the Merckx Fiat team of 1977.

I'm sure about it : not a bike bought on ebay or elsewhere but directly from a former Merckx team mate, Bernard Draux.

I met Bernard in a bike shop. We talk a bit but I didn't knew who he was and he spoke about selling one of his former bikes. I took note of his phone details and it was only after he left that the shop owner explained me...

Bernard Draux has been a member of Merckx Molteni in 1976 and of the Merckx Fiat in 1977.
Then a fall during the "tour de Suisse" had an important effect on him

He told me that as a base team mate, they received 1 bike every year. Not more.
None of the bikes had names on them (with the exception of Merckx and his close team mates)
The norm was to avoid too much attachement and that they were often asked to ride a bike of different size, just to be ready to give it in case of fall.

This is what I got





And how I completed it



It had been built at the time, by Charly Terryn, with a De Rosa frame but a Kessels fork.
Don't ask me why the Kessels fork and not a De Rosa fork. I don't know.
The original fork has not been replaced or been broken.

I've seen since then that a Merckx Molteni frame (without fork, a late Kessels) has been sold on ebay.
The only thing that I can say is that Bernard didn't mentionned it, contrarely to other bikes that he throwed away.

His name is written on that frame. In contradiction to what I've been told...
Is it like I did ?

Possibly but if you do this, try to first position the brake outer cable holders before choosing the location ...
(seems to indicate that in both cases, the name came later)

The frame is too short for me.
I added an extra cm through the crankset : Campa 180 instead of the usual 170.
The stem is a Cinelli 1A of 14 cm, the longest available but this is the original one.
And a bit out with the seatpost...

non-fixie 

Yes, thank you!

Now, this is an interesting question and more or less the reason I started this thread in the first place. I kept finding Dutch bikes from rather famous Dutch brands that turned out not to be very Dutch. A Jan Janssen? Yes, but the frame was made by Vaneenooghe. A Vittorio? Definitely. From Alkmaar? No, this frame was made in Belgium. A Jan de Reus? Certainly, but built with a Belgian frame. A Rob van Oel? Absolutely. And specified and assembled in Gouda, but the frame was made somewhere near Geraardsbergen, Belgium. A Giovanni? Yes, and a nice one too, but not from the shop in Heerhugowaard but built by Derycke.

And the list goes on.

The mystery was - at least partly - solved when I met Wout Verhoeven last fall. He was not only the Campagnolo distributor in Holland for a long time, which gave him access to all major bicycle firms, but he also imported decent quality 'no name' frames from Belgium. They were supplied by the likes of Eddy Martens, Dija and Derycke.


Nice! Even without your explanation this picture says a lot: "high-quality frame with a Kessels fork". Thanks for posting it.

non-fixie 

I just realized that I hadn't posted this one here yet: A Giovanni, from Heerhugowaard. The original supplier told me the these frames came from the aforementioned Wout Verhoeven and were actually raced by a local team. Fellow BF member @CMAW identified it as a Derycke-built frame.

juvela

Munny,

thanks so much for sharing the story and fotos of the Teval. very much appreciated here. a most fascinating cycle!

great to see she went to such a fine home, even if were not thine...

CMAW 

Great story on the De Rosa/Kessels/Terryn bike, Munny. "Training" teammates to adapt to different frame sizes, not just a colourfull detail, it gives me a better understanding of how 70ies pro cycling worked.

Munny

I agree. It was very interesting to hear.
Also some comments on other Belgian leaders (confirmed later by other sources)
Verbeeck, know for the adventures of his denture, presented as a true dictator, spending more time shouting and slamming his team mates that didn't push him quick enough uphill
You'd think that pushing was not allowed ? Apparently in some teams, a role was made before starting to know who will push which leader and when.
The Gios Brooklyn idol ... I prefer to keep the stories for myself to avoid the fan disputes.
And besides this, Merckx which has kept the overall respect for his attitude

Coming back on the Teval, the shop is certainly local. The frame ? Who made it with all the extra features ? Belgian, French ?
I have a "Perikel" (former prewar tour de france Belgian team member. He was assembling frames built in Charleroi (Belgium)
I have a "Cyclover". This one was framed in the frame builder workshop of Malek. But even Malek is said to have used French frame builders
I have 2 "Samyn". One of them has a frame definitively made by the workshop of E. Devischer but the other ? Exploration leads to some small St. Etienne artisan

and so on ...

Superia

Here's my Superia Apollo Superstar from the early 80's in very good condition, I only changed the seat and the bar tape.

non-fixie 

Welcome, @Superia! Nice machine you got there. I like those! Thanks for sharing it.

Superia

Thanks non-fixie

redcaymatt 

[IMG]J Demuysere Royalty Cycles by Mattballman, on Flickr[/IMG]

This is my J.Demuysere Royaly Cycles Belgian Bike. I think it is circa 1930's. Most of the parts seem to have been salvaged from a prewar British Track bike which for me was Ideal since I have a 1937 Bates that needed them. I'm slowly accumulating parts to bring this one back. Here is a link to the album on my Flickr page https://www.flickr.com/photos/908974...57645168856689

non-fixie 

^ Ah, yes. I remember that one. Thanks for posting it here, Matt! Looking forward to future developments.

For those who have missed the original thread on this cool machine, it's here.