Guinessisgoodforyou
rBotM Winner
Vintage French randonneuer's and porteurs.
- Thread starter Guinessisgoodforyou
- Start date
PhillB
GT Fan
That is simply beautiful, not only does it have a certain je ne sais quoi, but it is also triple triangle
Guinessisgoodforyou
rBotM Winner
Not that you're a GT fanThat is simply beautiful, not only does it have a certain je ne sais quoi, but it is also triple triangle
Guinessisgoodforyou
rBotM Winner
Paris - Roubaix 1966. It's my intention to scan the magazines I have. This is from The sporting cyclist June 1966.
Guinessisgoodforyou
rBotM Winner
This is one mans search for a good touring bike, the search, buying, research and the slow realization what he'd bought. A long story and a good time for the restoration too. What a result though.
Imagine how he felt when he heard the words "You're the proud owner of an Alex Singer!" Translation below.
Hello everyone.
It's almost a year to the day since I bought this bike.
That evening, I didn't know exactly what I was buying and even less what I was going to get into.
I had a collection of racing bikes and only one touring bike, the Gandi, which I'd paid a fortune for and which turned out to be too poorly equipped to seriously consider investing in it for touring.
So, without really believing it, I was looking for a nice touring bike. Like you, I'd been fantasizing for a long time about the best bikes, Alex Singer and René Herse, not forgetting Jo Routens and the many craftsmen who made the ‘golden age’ between Paris and Lyon.
And so that evening, I found this bike. Having narrowly escaped the scrap heap, it ended up on a pile of bikes to be recycled. I found it lying on top of the others, in the semi-darkness.
It was in a pitiful state, I could hardly make out anything, the bike was faded pink, the tyres, pannier and handlebars were mouldy and gave off a disgusting smell.
The chrome on the luggage racks was peeling off, and the Ideal saddle was obviously unsalvageable, even with the best techniques.
I saw this bike as a potential touring bike, with work, lots of work, but nothing more than that.
It was only under the neon lights in my garage that I had any doubts.
First I cleaned the frame roughly with a cloth, then the hubs and finally the derailleurs. The first disappointment was that the front wheel wasn't original, just a chrome steel city wheel that doesn't belong on a touring bike. Strangely, the rear derailleur, even when cleaned, is very grey....but of course it's a Huret Success, so it's made of Titanium!
That's the trigger!
The front derailleur doesn't have a clamp but is clamped on studs brazed to the frame. The lugs are reinforced, and what's more, the strange shape of the cut-out, Nervex? No, it isn't! I'd seen it elsewhere, but where exactly?
The rear drop-outs are straight, which is unusual. Also strange is the brake cable routing in the centre of the tube. And the rear hub under its layer of grease is a Maxi Car! And the electric wire running inside the luggage tube? And how do the struts fit into the tube?
Blimey, the Mafac Racer's are on brazed-on studs!
I stopped for a moment, certain that I'd seen that somewhere before.
For two whole days, from morning to night, I scoured the internet, I looked for everything, even on Japanese websites in Japanese, that's to say...
Uncertainty in short, a real investigation. I asked around on forums to find out the numbering of the major manufacturers.
To find out who hit what and where on the bike. Not easy at all. False leads etc.
As I went along I drew up a list of possible manufacturers. By cross-referencing the information I then eliminated them. From ten the list was quickly reduced to 5.
During those two days I went back and forth, bike-check-google, bike-check-google.
I decided, despite the state of the bike, to try it and see, incredible but true after all these years and under their layers of grease the derailleurs still worked very well. On the other hand, the bike was big, maybe a bit too big, or not really, I was fine on it in the end, strange and I'll come back to that.
After further analysis, it turned out that the bike's enameling was in fact a beautiful fuchsia which, with the help of UV, turned pink and even white in places. The first thing I knew for sure was that I had to paint it.
In reality, all this research has turned up nothing. Having seen many bikes over and over again, having consulted as many archives as possible, nothing, nothing conclusive.
At a loss, there was only one solution left. A bike shop could help me, any bike shop, just one.
Before doing so, I noted down all the details of the bike, the brands of all the accessories and the measurements of the frame.
Once that was done, all I had to do was pick up the phone.
After the usual formulas, I ask the person I'm speaking to for more details:
Me : I've found a touring bike, I think it's possible that it came from you.
V : Does it have brazed-on cleats?
Me : Yes, and I've also got a number on the left rear wheel.
After giving the number, V replies: OK, I'll check the archives....
And for 1 or 2 minutes I heard nothing, then the sound of pages being turned, again and again and again.
V : Yes, so it's in 62?
Me : Absolutely, with Huret Titanium, TA crankset....
V: Philippe stem, maxi car hubs, Idéale 90 saddle...
Me : Saddlebag and luggage rack....
V : Indeed.
Me : Er, so, it's..., it's good....
V : You're the proud owner of an Alex Singer!
When I called I asked for prices. Time to decide on the colour of the frame. It was out of the question to leave it with that horrible fuchsia colour and out of the question to have it repainted somewhere other than the parent company!
In fact, the bike was originally Bic orange when it left the workshops on rue Victor Hugo.
All I had to do was organise everything, plan everything, find all the missing or damaged parts, if possible NOS/NIB, and finance everything.
So a year ago I found myself with a Singer to rebuild. The equipment on it was worn, to say the least.
What to do knowing that everything mounted on it is rare or impossible to find. My intention is to reassemble it as close as possible to the original. Knowing that for once I could know exactly how it was thanks to the original order from the Alex Singer archives.
Non-exhaustive checklist:
Frame and fork: ok, to be re-sprayed
Luggage racks: ok, to be re-chromed
Front ‘V’ luggage racks: Missing, to be redone by Alex Singer
Crankset: Crank threads worn, chainrings worn,
Pedals: Too worn.
Rear derailleur: OK to overhaul
Front derailleur: Very rusty, to be re-chromed or replaced by a new one
Handlebars: bent
Stem: Engraved with the name of the first owner, to be replaced.
Headset: to be overhauled, ideally replaced by a new one
Seatpost: Not original
Saddle: To be replaced
Mudguards: To be replaced
Maxi Car hubs: Rear ok, find a front hub from the same series in good condition.
Cercle Super Champion arr : To be replaced.
Headlight : out of order
Dynamo : out of order
TA bag : out of order
Torch and additional headlight rear: ok
Brakes: to be overhauled
Bottom bracket : To be redone, SKF bearings : To be made by Alex Singer
The hunt was on for rare NOS/NIB parts...
The worst was yet to come: the choice of colour!
The original colour? Why not, but I really didn't like the orange Bic. It was garish for my taste.
I had a solution, a beautiful metallic orange.
The Alex Singer is running, well more than running, it's flying.
I'm just making the final adjustments and for the moment I'm admiring the machine's stability, it's rigid and comfortable, it's a dream.
For details on the equipment:
Reynolds 531 frame and fork
Alex Singer fittings, brazed-on cleats. (I can't find a good translation for cleat therefore unsure what part is being referred to GIGFY)
Re-enamelling in ‘perfect’ blue to replace the original bic orange, then fuchsia, gold box and lug lining.
Front and rear luggage racks and re-fabrication of the front because they were missing when the bike was recovered.
Maxi Car hubs, the rear hub is original, the front was found by myself as it was missing when I recovered the bike.
The basic hoops were super champion, worn at the rear, wheel missing at the front, so the wheels were fitted with Mavic Open pro wheels.
DT Swiss stainless steel spokes, by Cavazzana in Annecy.
Grands Bois Cerf 700-28C tyres, Schwalbe tubes.
Stronglight A9 headset, the original one was a Stronglight Super Complétion, worn out, I had it changed at Alex Singer.
TA crankset, I found cranks identical to the original ones but in very good condition, length 170, chainrings and bolts are new.
SKF bearings replaced by new ones at Alex Singer.
Original MAFAC Racer brakes, re-chromed screws and bolts, aluminium polished in my workshop.
Philippe 110 stem, identical to the original but shorter, and engraved with my name in Geneva.
Philippe Pro hanger, identical to the original, which was warped.
Simplex seatpost, missing I found it in very good condition, Brooks Team Pro Chrome saddle, the original Ideal 90 saddle was out of order.
Latest model MAFAC brake levers, the original ones were completely worn out.
Huret Success derailleurs, the rear is original, the front has been replaced by a new one because the original was too rusty and it was eaten away... Polishing the levers.
Atom 700 pedals, identical to the original ones, replaced as they were badly worn.
Zefal toe clips, straps, Christophe and bottle cage.
HONJO mudguard.
NOS headlights, identical to the original ones.
Nitto handlebar ends.
NOS Reynolds chain.
Berthoud av bag, original TA worn, original Mazda torch.
Two years almost day for day to get to this point...
Imagine how he felt when he heard the words "You're the proud owner of an Alex Singer!" Translation below.
Hello everyone.
It's almost a year to the day since I bought this bike.
That evening, I didn't know exactly what I was buying and even less what I was going to get into.
I had a collection of racing bikes and only one touring bike, the Gandi, which I'd paid a fortune for and which turned out to be too poorly equipped to seriously consider investing in it for touring.
So, without really believing it, I was looking for a nice touring bike. Like you, I'd been fantasizing for a long time about the best bikes, Alex Singer and René Herse, not forgetting Jo Routens and the many craftsmen who made the ‘golden age’ between Paris and Lyon.
And so that evening, I found this bike. Having narrowly escaped the scrap heap, it ended up on a pile of bikes to be recycled. I found it lying on top of the others, in the semi-darkness.
It was in a pitiful state, I could hardly make out anything, the bike was faded pink, the tyres, pannier and handlebars were mouldy and gave off a disgusting smell.
The chrome on the luggage racks was peeling off, and the Ideal saddle was obviously unsalvageable, even with the best techniques.
I saw this bike as a potential touring bike, with work, lots of work, but nothing more than that.
It was only under the neon lights in my garage that I had any doubts.
First I cleaned the frame roughly with a cloth, then the hubs and finally the derailleurs. The first disappointment was that the front wheel wasn't original, just a chrome steel city wheel that doesn't belong on a touring bike. Strangely, the rear derailleur, even when cleaned, is very grey....but of course it's a Huret Success, so it's made of Titanium!
That's the trigger!
The front derailleur doesn't have a clamp but is clamped on studs brazed to the frame. The lugs are reinforced, and what's more, the strange shape of the cut-out, Nervex? No, it isn't! I'd seen it elsewhere, but where exactly?
The rear drop-outs are straight, which is unusual. Also strange is the brake cable routing in the centre of the tube. And the rear hub under its layer of grease is a Maxi Car! And the electric wire running inside the luggage tube? And how do the struts fit into the tube?
Blimey, the Mafac Racer's are on brazed-on studs!
I stopped for a moment, certain that I'd seen that somewhere before.
For two whole days, from morning to night, I scoured the internet, I looked for everything, even on Japanese websites in Japanese, that's to say...
Uncertainty in short, a real investigation. I asked around on forums to find out the numbering of the major manufacturers.
To find out who hit what and where on the bike. Not easy at all. False leads etc.
As I went along I drew up a list of possible manufacturers. By cross-referencing the information I then eliminated them. From ten the list was quickly reduced to 5.
During those two days I went back and forth, bike-check-google, bike-check-google.
I decided, despite the state of the bike, to try it and see, incredible but true after all these years and under their layers of grease the derailleurs still worked very well. On the other hand, the bike was big, maybe a bit too big, or not really, I was fine on it in the end, strange and I'll come back to that.
After further analysis, it turned out that the bike's enameling was in fact a beautiful fuchsia which, with the help of UV, turned pink and even white in places. The first thing I knew for sure was that I had to paint it.
In reality, all this research has turned up nothing. Having seen many bikes over and over again, having consulted as many archives as possible, nothing, nothing conclusive.
At a loss, there was only one solution left. A bike shop could help me, any bike shop, just one.
Before doing so, I noted down all the details of the bike, the brands of all the accessories and the measurements of the frame.
Once that was done, all I had to do was pick up the phone.
After the usual formulas, I ask the person I'm speaking to for more details:
Me : I've found a touring bike, I think it's possible that it came from you.
V : Does it have brazed-on cleats?
Me : Yes, and I've also got a number on the left rear wheel.
After giving the number, V replies: OK, I'll check the archives....
And for 1 or 2 minutes I heard nothing, then the sound of pages being turned, again and again and again.
V : Yes, so it's in 62?
Me : Absolutely, with Huret Titanium, TA crankset....
V: Philippe stem, maxi car hubs, Idéale 90 saddle...
Me : Saddlebag and luggage rack....
V : Indeed.
Me : Er, so, it's..., it's good....
V : You're the proud owner of an Alex Singer!
When I called I asked for prices. Time to decide on the colour of the frame. It was out of the question to leave it with that horrible fuchsia colour and out of the question to have it repainted somewhere other than the parent company!
In fact, the bike was originally Bic orange when it left the workshops on rue Victor Hugo.
All I had to do was organise everything, plan everything, find all the missing or damaged parts, if possible NOS/NIB, and finance everything.
So a year ago I found myself with a Singer to rebuild. The equipment on it was worn, to say the least.
What to do knowing that everything mounted on it is rare or impossible to find. My intention is to reassemble it as close as possible to the original. Knowing that for once I could know exactly how it was thanks to the original order from the Alex Singer archives.
Non-exhaustive checklist:
Frame and fork: ok, to be re-sprayed
Luggage racks: ok, to be re-chromed
Front ‘V’ luggage racks: Missing, to be redone by Alex Singer
Crankset: Crank threads worn, chainrings worn,
Pedals: Too worn.
Rear derailleur: OK to overhaul
Front derailleur: Very rusty, to be re-chromed or replaced by a new one
Handlebars: bent
Stem: Engraved with the name of the first owner, to be replaced.
Headset: to be overhauled, ideally replaced by a new one
Seatpost: Not original
Saddle: To be replaced
Mudguards: To be replaced
Maxi Car hubs: Rear ok, find a front hub from the same series in good condition.
Cercle Super Champion arr : To be replaced.
Headlight : out of order
Dynamo : out of order
TA bag : out of order
Torch and additional headlight rear: ok
Brakes: to be overhauled
Bottom bracket : To be redone, SKF bearings : To be made by Alex Singer
The hunt was on for rare NOS/NIB parts...
The worst was yet to come: the choice of colour!
The original colour? Why not, but I really didn't like the orange Bic. It was garish for my taste.
I had a solution, a beautiful metallic orange.
The Alex Singer is running, well more than running, it's flying.
I'm just making the final adjustments and for the moment I'm admiring the machine's stability, it's rigid and comfortable, it's a dream.
For details on the equipment:
Reynolds 531 frame and fork
Alex Singer fittings, brazed-on cleats. (I can't find a good translation for cleat therefore unsure what part is being referred to GIGFY)
Re-enamelling in ‘perfect’ blue to replace the original bic orange, then fuchsia, gold box and lug lining.
Front and rear luggage racks and re-fabrication of the front because they were missing when the bike was recovered.
Maxi Car hubs, the rear hub is original, the front was found by myself as it was missing when I recovered the bike.
The basic hoops were super champion, worn at the rear, wheel missing at the front, so the wheels were fitted with Mavic Open pro wheels.
DT Swiss stainless steel spokes, by Cavazzana in Annecy.
Grands Bois Cerf 700-28C tyres, Schwalbe tubes.
Stronglight A9 headset, the original one was a Stronglight Super Complétion, worn out, I had it changed at Alex Singer.
TA crankset, I found cranks identical to the original ones but in very good condition, length 170, chainrings and bolts are new.
SKF bearings replaced by new ones at Alex Singer.
Original MAFAC Racer brakes, re-chromed screws and bolts, aluminium polished in my workshop.
Philippe 110 stem, identical to the original but shorter, and engraved with my name in Geneva.
Philippe Pro hanger, identical to the original, which was warped.
Simplex seatpost, missing I found it in very good condition, Brooks Team Pro Chrome saddle, the original Ideal 90 saddle was out of order.
Latest model MAFAC brake levers, the original ones were completely worn out.
Huret Success derailleurs, the rear is original, the front has been replaced by a new one because the original was too rusty and it was eaten away... Polishing the levers.
Atom 700 pedals, identical to the original ones, replaced as they were badly worn.
Zefal toe clips, straps, Christophe and bottle cage.
HONJO mudguard.
NOS headlights, identical to the original ones.
Nitto handlebar ends.
NOS Reynolds chain.
Berthoud av bag, original TA worn, original Mazda torch.
Two years almost day for day to get to this point...
Guinessisgoodforyou
rBotM Winner
Fin.
Guinessisgoodforyou
rBotM Winner
Alex Singer 1979.
Guinessisgoodforyou
rBotM Winner
Alex Singer dated 1972 and is marked E.Csuka (the father) builder.
Guinessisgoodforyou
rBotM Winner
Jo Routens 1980s. Note how neat and small the fillets are. Illustrating that the large fillets you see on a lot of fillet brazed frames though pretty are not necessary.
Guinessisgoodforyou
rBotM Winner
Fillet brazed Giles Berthoud randonneur 2010.
