French Barn Find - Buckets of Patina!

[Woz]

When men were men, and proper racers slammed their seat-posts and didn't have braze-on cable guides or cable clips.

Just a light hearted update to keep the thread going.

 

[KermitGKona88]

Re:

That bloke is well 'ard just look what he's done to those cranks :shock: :shock:

 

[26er]

That bloke is well 'ard just look what he's done to those cranks :shock: :shock:

OMG!!! Froooomey should fit these to his oval chain rings to confuse everyone evenmore evenpoel style. If he ever comes back to real racing...

 

[Southwestslacker1]

Re:

That was some pothole to do that to the forks too!

 

[KermitGKona88]

Re:

I just love the fact everything seems to be hugely raked or curved except one thing that should be .........

Also does anyone else think he looks a lot like Ed Balls. ...... :facepalm:

 

[Woz]

Nice to see some banter and love for really old gems. Got to say this barn find uncovers some interesting
spin-offs the more I look at bike technology from the turn of last century.

Starting to get itchy and want to crack on with this build, however I'm already into one week of lock-down, about
1400 Km from home, and getting back looks like I will be running the gauntlet. Only me could decide to go traveling
in the south of mainland Europe at this point in time. At least I've got a gravel / do it all bike with me to go
on very very very deserted roads off-the beaten track, but no chances of getting a mid ride beer.

This seems appropriate right now. Here is a post-card of the De Dion - Bouton factory on strike. Looks
also to be a great photo opportunity for the local police to look busy. Only the French could immortalise
direct industrial action through a post-card. Difficult to imagine choosing this post-card in the newsagent
since the Eiffel Tower was completed only about 15 years earlier.

 

[KermitGKona88]

Re:

Keep safe and well, looking forward to more of this thread

 

[Woz]

Re: Re:

I just love the fact everything seems to be hugely raked or curved except one thing that should be .........

Yeah, the ergonomics of the brake levers are well off.....not a big issue I suppose if you are
obsessed with self propulsion and have hands like a butcher

 

[26er]

Only me could decide to go traveling
in the south of mainland Europe at this point in time.

You crack me up, buddy. So totally you, indeed...

 

[Woz]

From the first post of this thread:

It's ages since I've done a build thread, so here goes.

The back story:

A neighbor who knows I'm into tinkering with bikes asked me if I was interested in two old bikes found in a barn attic he's clearing out. When I asked "just how old", I get the smart arse answer "when a Frenchman was winning the Tour de France".

Now I've been here long enough not to get any hopes up of finding a pristine Hinault TVT frame with a full Campag gruppo hung on it and thought it best to edge my bets safely on a pathetic Motobecane copy from the Anquetil era to avoid any disappointment. These types of bikes are 10 to the penny around here and I have very little interest in them.

So, as for the barn owner, originally from Paris he is now almost 90 years old; the only way into the barn attic is by an outside ladder and according to him he hasn't been up there since moving to Burgundy 40 years ago. Once up the attic, and with a flash light, I can make out a little pile of "bikes" in a state I've never witnessed before. In a bad way.

There and then I convinced myself there would be no way I would be drawn in and they are going to the tip without guilt. However....in daylight and after three consecutive days of WD40 soaking and squirting what should be moving parts I think it's "game on" after today's effort. :facepalm:

This project is well on the back burner. Hit with several technical issues, plus with the Covid-19 the charity stores and tips have had no new raw materials supplies entering. Ebay in France practically dried up and it's only now the post service is returning to normality. This build will be a game of patience from now on. There but not forgotten, and I will
chip away at it when opportunity presents itself.

The reason I quote my first post, is that something was bugging me regarding the dates. I assisted at the official sale of the barn last week (where I "found" the bikes) and after it was an opportunity to meet and chat to the now previous owner - in fact, I was the main witness of the barn sale and had to sign various officialdom on the old mans behalf.

He bought the property in 1983, and his 90 years old, born in Paris. The De Dion - Bouton bike from Paris is fairly reliable dated between 1910 and 1920. The dates don't add up. He was clearly not the original owner - at least in the sense to purchase the bike.

The old man can still knock back the whiskeys, and celebrating being rich after selling his real estate, conversation was flowing, and when I raised the subject of the bikes in the barn attic, I get the reply "oh those......they must be ancient. I bought the barn with them, and never got rid of them and just left them".

So, a verbal account that the bikes never moved for some 35+ years. He then later explained part of the barn purchase also included an old Bistro / Hotel (pub) in the village and at one time was popular with cyclists. He believed it was probably left by a client on the way to Lyon, never collected, and got stuffed in the barn. Imagine that. So pissed and hungover and it's so damn hilly here you couldn't be arsed to ride 46 x 18T fixed gear any further and so left it at the pub and took the train back to Paris!

The old man know's his bike stuff and .... well .... perhaps being French he is an avid cycle sport fan but not a cyclist. He guessed right that it was more fixed gear and knew very well the old De Dion - Bouton factory. He used to be a bus driver in Paris and often go past it.

Well, all said and done, there's some history, and I thoroughly enjoyed knowing more about the bike and how it possibly ended up here in the sticks in deep Burgundy.