Pre 1950s rides of LFGSS: old bikes, vintage rats, classic lightweights

the 36H option

None of that Continental rubbish in this thread please 😀

They are French, must not do as British do 😀

Anybody have a pair of 650B wheels or rims for this wee french beauty? 1949

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Are the rims shown in the photos knackered? They seem a good fit.

Looks to be an excellent project!

Posted in retro already, but just in case - anyone has an axle or rear Campaq 120mm hub?

I believe I do have a Campag axle for a 120 mm hub, if you are still looking

Yes please, still looking :)

These are 26x1-1/4

They kind of fit but they deserve the real deal! I think the current ones are a bit narrow

I rather like 26x 1.25", at least I would if I could get decent tyres in this size.

It has never occurred to me that they are too narrow, but I realise that's just my viewpoint - possibly dating from a time in the past when our roads weren't quite so badly broken up.

So I suggest you try those wheels - anyway, that would tell you whether you like the bike in practice before you go to a lot of trouble over it.

I suspect that back wheel is dished and spaced for a five block - your derailleur is probably a 3 speed for a 1/8" chain. This may well involve some modification, but I'm sure you will want to keep that antique rear mech.

A small point - be careful to preserve that gear control cable. They can fail and it will be difficult to replace since the positions of the 'nipples' which fit into the pullies are critical. Make sure the derailleur end on the cable is well lubricated and not chafing.

Hard disagree. I shellac'ed the orange newbaums on my first ever build and it came out looking rather excellent, even if I do say so myself. It would periodically fade, then a reapplication would bring back the lustre.

However, not particularly comfy as quite hard. I'd have been more bothered if my hands didn't already have callouses.

Worn out or worn in ?

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Looks pretty worn out judging by the chain wear on the backs of the teeth.

Looks a bit far gone to me, although as it's a single freewheel you might gar away with it as no gear changing etc

I had to look up "orange newbaums" as its the first ive heard of them. Very nice and i like the colour will try that next time.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285361412395?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=veVVD7jpTAK&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=zb3kpnpgQlG&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Utterly knackered .. from what we can see. Looks like the chain side plates are going to hit the body of the cog, so slippage and noise will occur. Post a pic of where the teeth come out of the sprocket body, I expect there will be chain marks on it.

Would anyone have wheelset with a 116mm OLD rear hub they might be looking to move on?
Am looking to run a four (which I gather might be the limit) speed setup (not SA) on a 1951 frame, not in a super hurry rush to get something so thought it best to get things rolling here before asking a little more widely

Not quite showing wear on the body worn out indeed.
It makes a handy paperweight / noise maker.

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That'll be 115 set up for SA, you may try a 120mm one removing a spacer on each side, easier to do than finding Arlite or similar appropriate hub. Mind you, I'm waiting for 120mm Campag one for some time now...

Ah, now that’s a thought, thanks Brane
I possibly have a set of early Records at 120, will check

And if you have a spare 120mm axle 😁

Ha, will also check this weekend :)

Uh o…

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1954 gillott Continental all finished for now bar mudguards for winter commuting. The saddle and bars are place holders borrowed from my (currently broken) JRJ frame, but will do for now until something appropriate becomes available. May change the brakes out for some Mafacs too if these don't cope well with a wet commute! Also, put the little fork decals in the wrong spot/angle so will need to remove them at some point, and try and find an actual head badge..,.

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That looks ace and its going to be a fun commute, i love those simplex front derailleurs.
Incidentally how far is the commute?

It's about 1o-11miles each way. Chingford to Trafalgar Square. A nice distance to get into the ride but not so far it takes ages.

Is that the blue finish that you have recovered from the white overpainting? If so you've certainly done a good job.

Those Simplex front changers are a bit more tricky to adjust than later versions and they're a bit on the heavy side, but I note the French pros went on using them well into the 543 era, so they must have something going for them.

One small point: the chain looks too short, but the back wheel is as far back as possible in the fork end. This is not how those long ends are intended to be used with gears - they are not like vertical drop outs! If you just bring the wheel forward so it's about the middle of the slot I think you will find everything looks and works a bit better.

If you now use an imperial tape measure and look at the distance between the front and rear spindle centres, I bet you will find it's either 40, 41 or 42" which would have been a normal wheel bases for this type of frame. (This is assuming the top tube isn't bent).