A.S. Gillott owners & appreciation club

Good luck with the sale.

Thanks. Sad to see it go, but need space.

Just back from a 200 mile trip around Belgium, over 5 days so not exactly impressive distances but enough with the mix of terrain we were confronted with.

Stocking up on cakes for the ride to Ghent from Lille

I had pictures of this bike set up with Dunlop 27.1.¼ rims laced to Airlite hubs a couple of pages back on this thread with aluminum mudguards but the guards were heavy and rattled and the wheels were not really a set, i also didn't fancy riding on old tryes so i replaced with these Constrictor 27.1.¼ HP rims, and modern Continental tyres. I also swapped the saddle for a B15 with saddle bag hooks.
Chain ring size was 46t and the cog was a 19t so ridiculously spinney and slow.
The saddle bag contained everything for the 5 days, much easier packing for a summer rather than winter trip, just shorts, shirts and some flip flops did the job.

Between Ghent and Bruges
Issues;
I will get the handlebars completely wrapped in tape and shellac, as I found it very uncomfortable holding the top of the bars for long stretches not sure why i didnt do that in the first place.

Loose chain, chipped paintwork, Chater lea cranks 165mm, Bayliss Axle, 15/17 gauge spokes and the Leopoldsvaart in the bank ground.

Fine job from the Lytaloy calipers and headset.

Well done - again.

Did the Belgians notice your bike?

Was there any particular philosphy behind your choice of sprockets? The gear is 65.4" which seems reasonable for touring with luggage on fixed although I know, in the past, you've tended to for bigger numbers. When I did that Oxford ride last December my fixed was 63", but then I was only trying to get to my destination without worrying about speed.

I note (third pic) that your spring link retaining spring is fitted with the open end facing forward. Traditionally it was always recommended that the closed end should face forward in case it caught on something which would pull it off. I must say I've never heard of that happening, but I suppose it is possible.

I have got a couple of rather neat bolt on saddle bag loops for a B17 which I won't use again - let me know if you want them.

Seems like a nice trip. Re paint chips, if I do a longish ride, I stick a chainstay protector on, one of the cycling magazine velcro freebies, ugly but it does the job just fine.

How did you find those tyres, I have bough a set , but have not yet tried them, compared to Paselas for an example?

I had initially intended to take another bike with simplex gearing which i know would have garnered plenty of interest as i have had previous experience.
however the bike had a flat tyre at the last minute so i decided it best to take this bike instead obviously having no gears or vintage french components nobody took a blind bit of notice.

My friends blinging Raleigh mixte frame from the eighties on the other hand was the star of the show and was of far more interest than mine. to be fair he had done a good job turning it into a single speed cruiser.
It was just the two of us on the trip and we were similarly well paced with my gearing as low as it was.

Continental tyres were fine ive used them plenty for commuting, i always think modern 27.1.1/4 tyres look big and clumsy compared to there vintage counterparts and they never look as good on older bikes but they are reliable i guess.

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Outskirts of Bruges and fb hub with double butted spokes.

Just picked up a Gillott-Continental model it seems. Originally was available as a stock frame in 4 colours including duck egg blue, which is showing through the peeling paint so hope it's all original underneath

One on FB? looks fab...just make sure lots of fresh air while using acetone ;)

Yep, that's the one. Hoping it will clean up well, not had the time to strip the parts and do it properly yet, but the bits i've done on the seat and downtube so far suggest it should

I thought I would finally crawl out of my embarrassed and regretful cave for not buying that red 60s Gillott a while back, because I feel @Foreigner65 deserves a very special mention here as an outstanding forum member. As a freelancer, I was going through a bit of tricky financial time and he was incredibly patient and nice.

The frame price was so low, which made it so tantalisingly mine, yet things remained awkward. In a brief irrational moment, I looked at vintage parts pricing and rashly gave up on the while idea. That was stupid of course, because I had 80s parts to at least tie me over until I could exchange them for more appropriate ones. And then I realised I had quite a bit of old audio equipment to sell which in itself would have covered the costs.

Things have since improved greatly. Lots of new work coming in. Hopefully another chance will come along. It is rare, though, to see a frame of that age in such spotless original condition and very beautiful patina. Anyway, I am sure somebody is enjoying the bike and that's a good thing in the great scheme of things.