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Another buy where size and colour, rather than perceived quality, were the deciding factors. A Jacques Anquetil frameset with a strong Belgian vibe. I have been told that the Destoop firm in Ghent had a license to sell Anquetil-branded bicycles, and that Martens of Zwevezele provided the frames...

Could have bought a very nice Reynolds or Columbus frameset for the price, but didn't. Bought this instead: a French Robust of indeterminate tubing. Because SHINY! I spent quite a bit of time getting the bar tape color where I wanted it: It is not particularly light, partly because of...

Classy! 👍

Don't underestimate those machines! They were raced BITD, both on the road ... ... and on the track:

$80 would be more than fair market value in most markets. OTOH, if you've got a spare $80, a box of parts and you like the frame ... it's not GIOS money either. I have not too long ago paid €130 plus shipping from France for a frame of similar quality (gas pipe) just because I liked its color...

Thanks. Somewhat put off by the prices of décaleurs and my wanting to be able to switch bags between (many) bikes, I decided to cobble something together using an 8 euro Minoura SwingGrip and 20 cents worth of aluminium tubing: The bag is held by its own straps and as the support is...

It does indeed look to be a Flandria. Not their cheapest model, as the chrome looks to be real (as opposed to silver paint) and the dropouts look to be forged items with adjusters. It could also be one of the early Jan Janssen bikes which were built by Flandria. If it were my size and less than...

It certainly helps. Mlle Hélène Dutrieu did quite a bit of flying on her bike:

Looks nice, but there's something not quite right. The last Pro-Racer dates from 1979, and it was orange. French bars? No picture of the BB shell either, which would help identify the model and give the exact build year. Perhaps a restoration that is not entirely faithful?

Willy Sluiter's sketches for an advertisement from 1908. "A helping hand": The resulting ad for Bakker's Tyres:

Me too. :)

I like MAFAC cantilevers and run them on several of my touring bikes and, because with those period-correctness is less of a consideration, I like to combine them with early Campagnolo Ergo levers. Besides their ability to shift vintage 5 and 6-speed transmissions, they are more comfortable...

I have both and haven't noticed a difference in performance, but I haven't actually done a proper comparison test either. They do feel different, though. I find the flatter tops of the Universal bodies, combined with the full covers, a bit more comfortable than the MAFAC levers. Here's the...

It is a Comodo:

I've looked at the Miyata and Koga-Miyata 1981 catalogues, and didn't find a match in either one. So it could indeed be a frame Miyata built for a third party, such as Univega, Mikado or Specialized. Or, the cantilever bosses were a later addition to the frame. This could explain the absence of...

1981 Miyata, would be my bet. With a replacement fork.

Actually, you may well be correct. During the first years after WWII decent bicycle tyres were very hard to get in France, and the rule makers at the Concours de Machines, where weight was an important consideration, decided it would be fairer to compare the entrants without tyres. So yes, a...

Good question. Especially because their Carbolite racing machines did come in larger sizes. My 63cm '93 RoadWinner in zippy local transport mode:

Horses for courses. The Cresta GT is an excellent light touring machine, but trying to make it into an urban pothole conqueror is like trying to teach a pig to sing: it wastes your time and it annoys the pig.

Chapelle Saint-Gabriel de Tarascon: