Vintage Falcon Road Bike
- Thread starter Snooksy
- Start date
pwebb
Retro Guru
step your way through this thread https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/vintage-falcon-road-bikes.230481/ and hopefully you will spot some identifying items - from what I can deduce yours will be late 70s or early 80s judging by lugwork and seat tube
I think the restoration included swapping out your brake calipers so you wont be able to get a precise date from the back of those
some say its tell-tale to look inside the seat tube to see if there is a seam - indicated rolled not drawn steel and thus 1978 onwards
- I have learned that frame numbers are a bit random with falcon and the original components varied a lot as did the frame and forks. I also think this is a later example of olympic or black diamond as the frame does not have wrap around seat stays as the earlier ones did. Others will doubtless help with what is a difficult task of precisely identifying this eclectic brand - I am trying to do the same myself with what I think is a 1977 example - good luck.
I think the restoration included swapping out your brake calipers so you wont be able to get a precise date from the back of those
some say its tell-tale to look inside the seat tube to see if there is a seam - indicated rolled not drawn steel and thus 1978 onwards
- I have learned that frame numbers are a bit random with falcon and the original components varied a lot as did the frame and forks. I also think this is a later example of olympic or black diamond as the frame does not have wrap around seat stays as the earlier ones did. Others will doubtless help with what is a difficult task of precisely identifying this eclectic brand - I am trying to do the same myself with what I think is a 1977 example - good luck.
jim haseltine
Senior Retro Guru
Can't help with the model, just a bit with the date - it's after 1985. I worked for Falcon in 80/81 (maybe into 82) then left the cycle trade completely in 85 and never in that time saw a Falcon with that head badge or decals, they all had the foil head badge with Olympic rings and the decals were either Falcon script or tacky black & white block capitals depending on model.
Mandobob
VCC Falcon ME
Sorry I missed this earlier posting. It looks a real mix. The head badge was used on bikes between about 1985 and 1990 and I would guess it was just used to finish the refurbishment without being period correct. The components are interesting with what looks like a Campagnolo rear mech and an SR Apex trillium chainset. However these were never fitted to the same bike by Falcon so feel like an owner's upgrades. Maybe it was built up from just the frame? I can't quite identify the brakes but they look newer than the frame.
The reason I suggest the frame is clearly much earlier than the head badge is that it does not have brazings for the rear brake cable, which were usually fitted from September 1980. There are also no brazings at all and nutted brakes, all seeming like a 1970s frame. I have never seen the seat post decal (and I have photo records of over 1,000 Falcons) which is definitely not a Falcon one. It was probably a one-off just for this refurb.
What is the decal on the top of the seat tube? Is it a dealer's label? If it were one of Falcon's better models it would have had a Reynolds 531 decal and if the original had one, why wouldn't one put a replacement as part of the refurb? The weight of the frame on its own and the seat tube internal diameter would tell if it were Reynolds tubing. Consequently it is impossible for me to identify the original model.
Final thought, does it have a frame number under the bottom bracket?
The reason I suggest the frame is clearly much earlier than the head badge is that it does not have brazings for the rear brake cable, which were usually fitted from September 1980. There are also no brazings at all and nutted brakes, all seeming like a 1970s frame. I have never seen the seat post decal (and I have photo records of over 1,000 Falcons) which is definitely not a Falcon one. It was probably a one-off just for this refurb.
What is the decal on the top of the seat tube? Is it a dealer's label? If it were one of Falcon's better models it would have had a Reynolds 531 decal and if the original had one, why wouldn't one put a replacement as part of the refurb? The weight of the frame on its own and the seat tube internal diameter would tell if it were Reynolds tubing. Consequently it is impossible for me to identify the original model.
Final thought, does it have a frame number under the bottom bracket?
