My other half's 3 speed Motoconfort. Dealer sticker for St. Pol sur Mer, a suburb of Dunkirk - just across the water from us - where the lady who sold it to us bought it in a charity shop.
Not quite a randonneur but an interesting stayer. A good photo of the two men with Mr Derossi in the middle. Circa1926. Note the taped to the rim rear tyre.
An unknown randonneur with the Derossi system. Translation below.
Here's a bike which is equipped with the Derossi gear multiplier. It's a very special system, if not brilliant.
To sum up, it's a system that, by adding 2 reduction cogs, allows :- either to have enormous development without having a very large bottom bracket. (I assume chainwheel size, gigfy) or, on the contrary, to have a very small development
As in this case, (If not mistaken, author) to be able to quickly change the development of your machine by only changing the intermediate cog, fixed to the base tube (Chain stay? gigfy). This base tube also has an oblong hole that allows the axle of this extra pair of pinions to be moved. If this oblong hole was used to tension the chain, then it is likely that the change was made for the pair of intermediate sprockets and not just one. By removing just one bolt, you could then prepare your machine for a ride in Beauce or the Pyrenees.
I'll have to take the system apart to confirm these points.
This Derossi system was patented around 1927. There are no visible marks on the bike. It has been completely stripped by the previous owner. I didn't see any holes on the steering column to accommodate a brand plate. The Cyclo derailleur, which looks to be original from the welding of the lugs on the down tube, must date from the late 1920s or early 1930s (Cyclo derailleur specialists will be able to clarify or correct this if necessary). The rear light, on the other hand, looks more recent to me.
Charles Pellissier randonneur with twin laterals @ImlachTranslation below.
I travelled 500 km there and back to pick up this slightly rusty bike (This sounds a little too familiar gigfy) . I came across a very nice couple who told me that when they bought the barn next door, they discovered this bike that had been in storage for years. It's going to be cleaned, greased and kept in its original condition.
This is my 4th bike from the Pélissier brothers.
The grips man, the grips. What an age to trying out this new thing of plastics. Ruined trackmits or blisters must have been a very personal choice. Jesus H Christ - to renovate those will be a mammoth task. Tooth brush and Dettol and various specialist stuff.
They look like a skunk that got lost and was discovered too late in the Matrix and reproduced it's skin ten fold.