Viscount

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Picked up this Viscount over the weekend from Gumtree for 50 quid. Am pretty sure its okay, I met the owner at his house. He didnt look as if he needed to nick bikes and sell them on as it was in a very affluent area. He has changed to a hybrid and wanted to get rid. Have done a bit of stripping down already, any info on this marque would be appreciated. Have already checked out Classic Rendezvous. I am sure I remember seeing a few of you on here say you have Viscounts.

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that's weird, i found an abandoned viscount down by blackfriars last week. just the frame and forks with a rusted old chain hanging off it. it was in pretty good cosmetic condition tho. i almost took it with me but was put off by the relatively heavy plain steel frame and the fact it was on the small side for me. if either one of these factors had been different i probably would have taken it. it clearly bene there (unlocked and unloved) for a while. it may even still be there if anyone's interested? it was by a bike rack next to some scaffolding on blackfriars road just north west of the bridge.

My first conversion was a viscount tony doyle

i found this at my local tip at the weekend... I'm thinking of converting to a fixie - am I potentially wasting money and are these the notorious 'death forks'? love to hear any feedback/suggestions... J

That looks like a standard steel fork. The death fork is pictured extensively here: http://uvasux.googlepages.com/viscountbicycle

Presuming there isn't any terrible rusting/bending/dents/cracks/fucked threads it looks like a perfectly acceptable frame. In any case anything you buy to convert it will be equally applicable to other old road frames, so you could always swap for another frame if something better comes up.

Death fork is one peice, that clearly has lugging therefore not death fork.
(my dad's still got his I think)

But, the bb's are proprietary aren't they? Which would be a problem?

thanks for the speedy feedback and link. shame the death forks are so dangerous they actually look pretty cool. any suggestions on someone to remove brazed on road bits and respray? - for a reasonable price of course...

Hacksaw + rattle car

:-)

I'd leave the braze-ons alone, meself. A conversion is always going to look like a conversion, so you're just buggering up the versatility of the frame to no purpose IMHO. Armourtex are the usual recommendation for decent powdercoating, I believe, but get it built and check you like it before spending money on aesthetics.

i have one of those pursuit frames converted to SS. found it in a skip and spent months tweaking and riding it to what it is today. after several years of good service im thinking of doing it up with a really nice paintjob and better componants. its not a light frame but it rides nice, it has sentimental value to me, but im not sure i would drop coin on it otherwise.

if your interested i have several sets of diffrent viscount graphics printed on vinyl. i sourced the different graphics from all the viscounts ive seen around cornwall. theyre very common down there.

ive also had a lovely yellow and chrome viscount which i loved, but eventially had to let go of becuase it was far too small for me.

if anyone has a viscount frame in fairly good condition ill be willing to take it off your hands. large size 57-60.

There was two for sale last week on Fleebay Melon. They may have been re-listed?

http://http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=21010

A lot of info here from CTC forum regarding Viscounts.

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Picked up this Viscount over the weekend from Gumtree for 50 quid. Am pretty sure its okay, I met the owner at his house. He didnt look as if he needed to nick bikes and sell them on as it was in a very affluent area. He has changed to a hybrid and wanted to get rid. Have done a bit of stripping down already, any info on this marque would be appreciated. Have already checked out Classic Rendezvous. I am sure I remember seeing a few of you on here say you have Viscounts.

What you have is a 1978 Viscount Sebring. I used to have one of these until some txxt stole it. They were made by Trusty Viscount at the Potters Bar factory. Sadly Viscount folded in 1983. The Sebring's frame was made in Taiwan for Viscount. The steel was not Reynolds, Columbus, etc. or Viscount's own 'Aerospace' brand. The Sebring cost £95 in 1978 and was an amazing bargain (came with Shimano 600 gears and nice SR parts). It sold really well in the USA probably helped by the low price, great spec. and coooool looks.

HI, I have recently got hold of a viscount, but I'm having real trouble working out what model it is! It looks very imilar to the one P!MP has, with Huret deraliuer, weinmann brakes, but it has viscount supersport on the decals! The frame is lugged rather than welded and the frame is steel. Any one have any ideas???

Thanks

DT

I picked up a Lambert Grand Prix recently. Heard about these "death forks", so I tested with a magnet... Guess I need new forks. :/

Would I be able to use any 1" steel forks in replacement? Does anyone have something like this they'd be willing to offer? :)

How are they "death forks"? easily bent or something?

Apparently they were prone to breakage, leading to a manufacturer recall after Yamaha took over the company.

These were prone to breakage too, I pitied the kids without proper lunch boxes.

I just sold a Viscount last week, here.

HI, I have recently got hold of a viscount, but I'm having real trouble working out what model it is! It looks very imilar to the one P!MP has, with Huret deraliuer, weinmann brakes, but it has viscount supersport on the decals! The frame is lugged rather than welded and the frame is steel. Any one have any ideas???

Thanks

DT

this frame?

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pFNOUDyy4s4/S__LLBpFw2I/AAAAAAAAA0k/4tFZTGXPK-A/s1600/28052010176.jpg

this was a viscount with Huret before i butchered it.

These were prone to breakage too, I pitied the kids without proper lunch boxes.

I haven't seen one of those in ages! haha

I just sold a Viscount last week, here.

Did you replace the forks or the previous owner(s)? I'm trying to get a handle on what I need to buy.

this frame?

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_pFNOUDyy4s4/S__LLBpFw2I/AAAAAAAAA0k/4tFZTGXPK-A/s1600/28052010176.jpg

this was a viscount with Huret before i butchered it.

Nice. That's almost exactly what I want to build, something clean and unassuming for getting to work and back. What type of brakes did you end up putting on it? Mine are fairly shot so I was thinking of replacing with modern, more efficient equivalents.

Is it a good idea of match the front and rear brakes (ie. buy a set), or should I spend more on the front brake and get a cheaper rear since it's not as crucial?

Did you replace the forks or the previous owner(s)? I'm trying to get a handle on what I need to buy.

Compare the picture to the ones linked to in post 5. Not death forks. They were recalled in 1978. I'd be surprised if you found a set of death forks these days.

These were prone to breakage too, I pitied the kids without proper lunch boxes.

I tried these the other day. Not as good as a Mint Slice (obviously) but for once a worthy substitute in foreign lands..

Orange were best. I vant vone.

Compare the picture to the ones linked to in post 5. Not death forks. They were recalled in 1978. I'd be surprised if you found a set of death forks these days.

Ah, I must have been unlucky - mine are definitely alu (checked with a magnet). :/

I'm not sure whether I need to replace the headset along with the forks. This is what the original fork looks like, can I get any similarly sized 1" threaded fork and get my LBS to fit?

Cheers