This summer we went on holiday to France. My holiday reading was Tim Moore's Gironimo, so not surprisingly, a visit to a brocante resulted in me buying this bike, with romantic notions of restoring it and doing a bit of a tour of my own.
Roll on a few months and I've got as far as cleaning it up a fair bit, but there's still quite a lot to do - not least, sorting out the wheels.
The hub bearings are very worn (with lots of play), the rim is damaged on the front wheel (see pic) and the spokes could do with freshening
I don't know masses about the bike, but i believe it's a Rochet Paris from the late 40s/early 50s. It's got a four speed rear cassette with a Simplex mech.
A particularly interesting feature is the gear lever on the top tube rather the usual down tube.
The dimpled aluminium/alloy mudguards are pretty neat, as it the unusual chainguard
The front light/dynamo don't work as far as I can tell (not least because the wires have been cut)
Although I love the idea of restoring it, I have to confess to possessing second-rate mechanical skills, so unless I pay someone to to it for me, it's likely to stay this way for now. With that in mind, I'm now thinking of selling it (I want a turbo trainer for winter), but don't really have an idea of whether anyone would be interested or what value it might realise.
Any feedback would be appreciated.
Dafydd
Roll on a few months and I've got as far as cleaning it up a fair bit, but there's still quite a lot to do - not least, sorting out the wheels.
The hub bearings are very worn (with lots of play), the rim is damaged on the front wheel (see pic) and the spokes could do with freshening
I don't know masses about the bike, but i believe it's a Rochet Paris from the late 40s/early 50s. It's got a four speed rear cassette with a Simplex mech.
A particularly interesting feature is the gear lever on the top tube rather the usual down tube.
The dimpled aluminium/alloy mudguards are pretty neat, as it the unusual chainguard
The front light/dynamo don't work as far as I can tell (not least because the wires have been cut)
Although I love the idea of restoring it, I have to confess to possessing second-rate mechanical skills, so unless I pay someone to to it for me, it's likely to stay this way for now. With that in mind, I'm now thinking of selling it (I want a turbo trainer for winter), but don't really have an idea of whether anyone would be interested or what value it might realise.
Any feedback would be appreciated.
Dafydd
