Early 50s La Gazelle - Eau-de-Nil 🛠️ The Merlot Aftermath 🍷

Woz said:
Thanks for looking. I just butchered a shitty old pressed steel Motobecane multitool road repair thing. Angle grinder to make 10mm -> 12mm.

You know the type of spanner, useless as fcuk normally. The kind of thing free with the bike and never get's used.

Just got to tweak some loose spokes, otherwise the front wheel is done now. Quality metals have cleaned up good, spins smooth now :)
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always a silver lining somewhere innit

now drink
 
Imlach said:
always a silver lining somewhere innit

now drink
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Oh yes. Just cracked open a beer.

Can't believe how long everything takes with this bike, and I'm not even doing one of those mega immaculate pristine restoration projects. Even the most neglected 90s MTB would have been finished ages ago since I've got all the tools, knowledge and parts bins full of spares.
 
Throwing this out - does anyone have an idea of the definitive year when 5 speed freewheels came along, and was used in say the Tour de France?
 
Ooouf. Trawling the usual French forums, and I'm not the first to raise the question. So far, the best answer is 1950.

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There seems to be an infinity of time though before 5 speed went down to amateur and everyday level, and during this time 3 and 4 speed were still very common. I'm suspecting by the time 5 speed blocks got to amateur level rear mechs had well moved on to parallelogram.

The main reason for the question is I'm messing around with this "new" vintage wheelset where I can't find much date information. I can't make head nor tail of the thinking behind putting a 4 speed block on a Exceltoo 120mm OLN rear hub which was most certainly designed and left the factory for 5 speed. To get everything "right" for 4 speed, I've had to swap spacers and cones around, reduce the dish, and then add a washer behind the 4 speed freewheel to make the freewheel sit closer to the drop-out. It's been a PITA but at least now the chain line is where I want it to be.
 
Woz said:
Ooouf. Trawling the usual French forums, and I'm not the first to raise the question. So far, the best answer is 1950.

View attachment 679799

There seems to be an infinity of time though before 5 speed went down to amateur and everyday level, and during this time 3 and 4 speed were still very common. I'm suspecting by the time 5 speed blocks got to amateur level rear mechs had well moved on to parallelogram.

The main reason for the question is I'm messing around with this "new" vintage wheelset where I can't find much date information. I can't make head nor tail of the thinking behind putting a 4 speed block on a Exceltoo 120mm OLN rear hub which was most certainly designed and left the factory for 5 speed. To get everything "right" for 4 speed, I've had to swap spacers and cones around, reduce the dish, and then add a washer behind the 4 speed freewheel to make the freewheel sit closer to the drop-out. It's been a PITA but at least now the chain line is where I want it to be.
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French.
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Woz
Also spent a large part of a great lovely day going through what 4 speed freewheels would have been available, messing around with St. Sheldon gear calculator, figuring out the best options going forward. A normal person would have said arse holes to it, grabbed any bike and gone for a ride. I'll never learn.

Reality is 4 cogs and a frame with as good as a dedicated hanger for a rear mech with a god awful max sprocket and capacity rating doesn't give much spread. While not the best of the bunch by only three teeth, I'm going to run with what I've acquired and use this proper late 1940s freewheel. Flushed it all out and drip fed it a mix of light mineral and high viscose oil. It's oozing Frenchness, and a shame all the lovely writing is hidden. Again the quality of metals is second to none. Ticks like a good-un now :)

Made by J. Moyne - considered very high quality, and alas, even Cyclo couldn't save them. The family company folded in the early 80s. A spread of 15-17-19-21 will be just OK provided I get a 38 or 40 chain-ring up front. Basically on the flat and tootling in urbania it will be in the 15 or 17 sprocket, leaving the 19-21 for the hills.

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EDIT: These were produced into the 50s and possibly the 60s too. The later ones say in English "Made in France", so this early example is a bit swanky if you like all that sort of stuff :LOL:
 
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Got to say, this bike is falling at a transitional period. It's a very very odd period due to WW2. On one side not much bicycle tech happened in the late 40s and documentation is thin on the ground, but when industry and competitive cycling started up again there were advances but nothing really really radical. More like a perfection of older designs. It seems a great period in the sense there was better knowledge of metal working. I can't help but think this bike was purchased in a period just post WW2 and they did the best of taking the best of the crop, but still the really top flight cutting edge stuff of the very early 50s was unobtainium for an non-professional. Perhaps due to cost and availability, a bit like today?

I'm struggling and I get from the French forums it's really not at all a straight forward time period. This - as what was identified original - was dated 1940 - 1946 and is a quality bike with only a 3 speed block and single chain-ring.

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Learned that if you put a plastic bottle on a bike in this period you will be Guillotined with no remorse and right to a defence, but quick release skewers seems acceptable :) Tdf 1948 - top shot Jean Robic with double chain rings but number of cogs on the back? - he was the winner in 1947, the first Tdf post war.

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