pwebb
Retro Guru
incroyable
Vintage French randonneuer's and porteurs.
- Thread starter Guinessisgoodforyou
- Start date
If you showed me something modern like that, I would have called bullshit. Just inversing tooth and register for the sake of it.
1902 though ...... that is serious experimenting and questioning. It is lovely. It is very lovely like you say. It's really hard to imagine the intricate work gone on there in a workshop and the tooling required to do that.
What repeatedly astounds me is since practically the birth of the bicycle the French went on a quest to shed any gram they saw possible, and with a style. It often feels like there was never a movement of whittling down to practically nothingness based empirically, but more like puny skinny and in it's last breath was a starting point. Probably more like can it get away with murder up front, and save the hassle shaving lard off. I think a combination of madness, faith in new human achievement and knowledge of metals must have been the pillars. You look at the cranks and pedals on that and it looks like it was on a weight watchers program for 50 years prior but it wasn't. It is documented that selling brakes early on was hindered by the extra associated weight - freewheels and gears changed all that.
https://encycloduvelo.fr/terrot/
Guinessisgoodforyou
rBotM Winner
Guinessisgoodforyou
rBotM Winner
Sometimes referred to as a silent chain.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/26688895...Lg==|tkp:Bk9SR_ic54DFZA&LH_ItemCondition=3000
Tall and short, post 650b era Routens!
Tall and short, post 650b era Routens!
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The French are masters at innovation and weight saving. I picked up these CLB Professional brakes, every single but and bolt is aluminium right down to the all aluminium brake block holders. They even trimmed the size of the brake blocks. I'm not saying they're the best brakes available, but they will stop you you!
178gr the pair...
178gr the pair...
Attachments
Pretty much. They're not as bad as Mafac centre pulls or Deltas and they squeak a fair bit on descending, but 178gr.... Incredible for the era.
Hopefully considered relevant to the thread, anyone know of anyone making more intresting 50.4 bcd rings. Looks like Sun XCD have ceased to exist.
I know you can use T.A. or Velo Orange rings. Currently running 10 speed at the back, but am going to move away from Brifters and go bar end, so am weighing up the options related to a triple (microshift do a 2/3 indexed bar end shifter), so could consider going back down to a 8 speed set up if had a triple.
I know you can use T.A. or Velo Orange rings. Currently running 10 speed at the back, but am going to move away from Brifters and go bar end, so am weighing up the options related to a triple (microshift do a 2/3 indexed bar end shifter), so could consider going back down to a 8 speed set up if had a triple.
Helmut Head
Dirt Disciple
Although not really vintage - this JP Routens Grand Chemin from 1994 is 30 years old.
Built with Columbus Thron with mainly Campag groupset it will be used by my better half for camping / touring. She's not keen on the drop bars so will be changing them to butterfly bars - not original but more useable. 26" wheelset is Mavic 501 with Ambrosia CC22 rims.
Built with Columbus Thron with mainly Campag groupset it will be used by my better half for camping / touring. She's not keen on the drop bars so will be changing them to butterfly bars - not original but more useable. 26" wheelset is Mavic 501 with Ambrosia CC22 rims.
