Steve Whitlatch 

I bet the tires on your bike are 40 year old NOS too. You live for danger. LOL

How much does your bike weigh? Seems like they went all out for a weight weenie frame? The parts on Mikes seemed heavy to me. It did not feel or look high end? I`m not sure why it is even worth arguing over?

I guess it was just a bad corporate plan? Build a light weight frame that you could not put top end parts on? What were they thinking?

crank_addict

Viscount
Frame 22 1/2" ~~
1989gm and fork a heavy 894gm.
Total as built 23 3/4 lbs. with the regarded heavy but very robust Mixte rims. Advertised weight 23 lbs. and MSRP $250.

Not heavy in that price category of the day. What was the weight of a Raleigh International and MSRP?

After the Lambert fallout, the reorganized Viscount used Shimano, likely the most recognized component maker today, though not so much back in 1976.

Personally and of that era, I find Suntour a far better operating shift group. My build has the V Luxe rear and Comp V front, Suntour friction levers, Suntour 8.8.8. freewheel. Bicycling magazine described the Lambert ~ Viscount centerpull brakes as phenomenal. Are they heavy? Surely. Do they outperform the flimsy 'lightweight' side pulls of any brand you can dream of in 1976? Heck yes.

Do I care what others think? You know my answer ;")

I should add, the poster who was a dealer mentioned pedals. Anyone here have a comment about the dealer pedals .. er or lack of.. on any new $1000+ priced bike today? Funny

Steve Whitlatch 

Well when encouraging people to ride a bike with a fork known to have design flaws , and blaming it on the way someone rides, you may want to share the don`ts? Do you recommend high speed decent going into tight turns? Ride only on smooth fresh pavement? Walk your bike over any uneven road surface? What exactly do you mean by you don`t know how someone rides it? I`m assuming ride it like you stole it does not apply?

since6

Well for $56.00 someone has ended the discussion, if one of ours please do post pictures and your impressions, BUT don't forget the Death Fork and do work around/replace?!

Hope feathers unruffle, post was to point out a vintage English bike I''d never heard of and its condition, finding an intact set of decals on anything always catches the eye, enjoyed owners comments too.

Happy and Safe holidays to all

crank_addict

crank_addict

By 1976, the former Lambert evolved to Viscount was successful in racing, especially in cyclo-x. Unfortunately the short lived company and rest of the story about its company management demise is for another time.

Anyways, Mick Ives womped on the competition while riding Viscount bikes during that era.

About Mick | Mick Ives

Steve Whitlatch 

Did he keep the death fork on or did he get the replacement fork?

crank_addict

I don't know but in the U.K., Viscount continued to sell with the ------> replacement ALUMINUM <------ fork. This was the third version 'bloody' death fork.

In the US, Yamaha was the distributor and took >voluntary initiatives< as a recall in replacing the aluminum forks.

crank_addict

1976 Olympic trials

The 1976 Trials attracted not only the best cyclists in the United States but elite riders from all over the world. Since access to training centers in and near Montreal was limited, Saranac Lake welcomed international teams. England's highly rated Viscount Conventry Olympic Bicycle Racing team toured the U.S. and participated in Olympic Developmental races held in conjunction with the U.S. trials races. The British team contained four individual champions including Mick Bennett, a previous winner of the silver and bronze medals and the captain of the team.

crank_addict

John Atkins – Britain’s greatest ever cyclo-cross rider; 13 times a British Champion

Steve Whitlatch 

Looked at a few pictures. The Shimano team bikes looked good. I wonder who built them? ****

Steve Whitlatch 

Wow! You could get it in Columbus tubing too?

crank_addict

^^ Story end of the company is sketchy but supposedly that frame is from Italmanubri (ITM). Nothing in common with the middle 1970s bikes.

Also around 1980, Tony Doyle went pro and was sponsored by Viscount.

Steve Whitlatch 

I tried to find pictures of John Atkins on a Viscount but could not find one. I would love to see how his was set up? Was it off the rack or special build?

Hudson308 

I'm glad there are a foolish few (such as myself) still willing to work on and ride these. I love the strange and quirky stuff... which is why I'm looking forward to finishing and riding mine.
I stand by the hydraulic press comment, however. All seven of the Lambert/Viscount BBs I've disassembled required more force than a simple arbor press could provide. A STOUT arbor press with foot-wide neck. Spindle wouldn't budge. We had to resort to cutting one of the inner bearing shells off of one spindle using a lathe.

Hudson308 

I take that back... ^^^ When trying to cut that inner shell off the spindle, the bearing shell was as hard as the cutter bit. I then used a small Dremel cutoff wheel to carefully slice it in two places.

Steve Whitlatch 

I am guessing that the engineers never bothered talking to a mechanic before they ran with this?

Hudson308 

It's interesting that you say that. One of the applications listed for the bearings used in the Lambert/Viscount bottom bracket is for an automotive clutch pilot bearing. So it's possible an automotive mechanic would indeed suggest a similar solution. I appreciate that the Lambert engineers wanted to start with a clean sheet when designing these. My guess is they weren't counting on 40+ years of Minnesota road salt.

crank_addict

sykerocker 

Back during the Bike Boom, when I was living in Erie, PA, I took a leave of absence from A.R. Adams Cycle to help a Presque Isle Bicycle Club brother start a new shop. He took on Fuji and Atala, and then, figuring it was the greatest invention of the century, took on Lambert. To get the franchise he had to pay for the first order in advance. Which was only partially delivered (I think two or three bikes) because the company went belly up before that first order fully arrived.

Which left his fledgling company very cash poor and basically teetering on the edge all thru the Bike Boom. And as soon as the Boom was over, he was dead. Didn't have any available funds to ride out the first non-Boom year. By this time, I'd returned to Adams Cycle, and later worked in a ironworks, because when the Boom ended it absolutely crashed and halfway thru the first non-boom years I was cut back to part time. Thus the job change.

At the time, the only Lambert I'd ever seen on the road was one of the gold bikes at TOSRV 75. About eight years ago, I picked up a Lambert, one of the early lugged frames (threaded bottom bracket, not the sealed bearings) that had lots of different components. Over the years, I've been putting it back to original specs, and watching the performance of the bike deteriorate with every Lambert component added. Just the same, I love the bike as a rider and it's one of my permanent keepers. The only non-Lambert parts on it are the crank (I have a three ring crank, just never got around to changing it) and rear derailleur (if I ever find one, it goes in a glass case - the first bike the shop delivered had the derailleur fail within the first five miles of riding).

That frame is definitely sweet, though.

sykerocker 

Almost forgot: My other memory is my first instruction in the concept of "sexism". Seems like lots of female rider were more than a little put out regarding the inappropriately (for riding) dressed female in the original circulars.

Chombi1 

If those sealed bearing are a bear to take off, how did Lambert install them in the first place??
Also, you'd think that the Shimano components listed on that cetslov cut would have helped with the quality of the bike. Surprised to hear that the bike was quite a mess in stock form....

Hudson308 

The BB bearings likely went in (and came out) without much effort using a good vise or arbor press when they were new. @crank_addict sounds like he didn't have much trouble either. Wish I had been so lucky. In seven tries.

wawine