Guinessisgoodforyou
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Vintage French randonneuer's and porteurs.
- Thread starter Guinessisgoodforyou
- Start date
Guinessisgoodforyou
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Guinessisgoodforyou
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A 1951 Andre Lefort 61cm Randonneur, original and complete with its original bags. A very rare find. Owners translation below.
Good evening,
I took my time but here she is, all beautiful, everything has been dismantled, every bolt has been polished and cleaned, I have redone the threads and so on and so forth.
well I didn't make a restoration file like as I still don't have a good camera and moreover when I'm inside I don't think about it and I'm fully into my thing.
In any case there's a hell of a lot of hours, I'm pissed the most difficult is to replace the derailleur cable, because put back the original cable no problem I've done it several times, on the other hand change the cable because the original one was all frayed, hello crisis. Well as you can see I just have to finish the handlebars with the shellac, a bit of varnish on some bolts, and on the rear luggage rack, which was all rusty and the chrome lint, so I stripped it and I polished it.
I'm going to nickle it a bit later with my nickel plating kit, and then I've also cleaned the panniers that the previous owner gave me with it.
Good evening,
I took my time but here she is, all beautiful, everything has been dismantled, every bolt has been polished and cleaned, I have redone the threads and so on and so forth.
well I didn't make a restoration file like as I still don't have a good camera and moreover when I'm inside I don't think about it and I'm fully into my thing.
In any case there's a hell of a lot of hours, I'm pissed the most difficult is to replace the derailleur cable, because put back the original cable no problem I've done it several times, on the other hand change the cable because the original one was all frayed, hello crisis. Well as you can see I just have to finish the handlebars with the shellac, a bit of varnish on some bolts, and on the rear luggage rack, which was all rusty and the chrome lint, so I stripped it and I polished it.
I'm going to nickle it a bit later with my nickel plating kit, and then I've also cleaned the panniers that the previous owner gave me with it.
Guinessisgoodforyou
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Plus.
Guinessisgoodforyou
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Fin.
bikeworkshop
Old School Grand Master
Before we had kids i cycled 1000s of miles in France, 90s, early 2000s, never once did I meet a French cycle tourist.
(although now they are back
)
Where did they all go?
Or was I just unlucky?
Did the French love of leisure cycling collapse in the 70s/80s, like in Britain?
Is this reflected in the availability of these randonneurs?
(although now they are back
)Where did they all go?
Or was I just unlucky?
Did the French love of leisure cycling collapse in the 70s/80s, like in Britain?
Is this reflected in the availability of these randonneurs?
Guinessisgoodforyou
rBotM Winner
Possibly the advent of more affordable motoring played it's part. I'm not sure there is a definitive answer.Before we had kids i cycled 1000s of miles in France, 90s, early 2000s, never once did I meet a French cycle tourist.
(although now they are back
Where did they all go?
Or was I just unlucky?
Did the French love of leisure cycling collapse in the 70s/80s, like in Britain?
Is this reflected in the availability of these randonneurs?
Before we had kids i cycled 1000s of miles in France, 90s, early 2000s, never once did I meet a French cycle tourist.
(although now they are back
Where did they all go?
Or was I just unlucky?
Did the French love of leisure cycling collapse in the 70s/80s, like in Britain?
Is this reflected in the availability of these randonneurs?
Depended where you went. Possibly. Maybe?
Essentially by the early 90s, I would need to be honest, and say, a combo of car and a lightweight "racer" velo had replaced a lot.
If the Cols a la TdF was the thing, frankly, by the 90s time had moved on - most roads are fit for a tour bus for the ski stations in Winter. 650B would make it lardy on classic Cols, but still there was remaining smaller roads in the main mountain regions but well off the beaten track, and I would add your normal 10 speed racer would be useless still in 90s. The Jura possibly had something left, and even in 2010 I found stuff banned from cars because of avalanche risk and some sensational stuff with no one around. Certainly some parts of Auvergne with homework attractive as it always was. Dordogne and Loire valley always popular - more rambling and rolling. Brittany not so much because it pisses it down, but still some lovely coast to discover and some off beat places in-land can actually be a challenge - I would want a proper a tourer their.
Burgundy, is dreadful. The cycling is great, got it all, but the food and wine make it so much so who could be arsed? Just joking. There are many developed cycling tourist routes based on very old circuits. Canals, Morvan (hilly as fcuk), Vinyards - in fact, it is now the most encouraged way to see the region. Most certainly the machines seen in this thread would actually do it all here in style - the up / down the paved and unpaved roads, but alas, distances can be big.
I think one thing that hit the cyclo tourism industry especially in off-beat areas, is a decline in those "village" / "small town" family hotels. At one time you would never get hungry nor not find somewhere to crash the night anywhere in France - without reservation or appointment. Sadly this also declined by 90s.
Also, there is some stunning bikes posted again.
Over and over again, we learn how broad and how the quality is exceptional from lesser known brands, regional and local builders. It is mind blowing and once again a lifetime can be spent understanding what was produced and remotely having a grasp on the past French bike industry.
Everyday a school day here.
Also, @Filochard on board is great
. Stunning bicycles you have posted, and I think you would be able to give valuable comments.
Over and over again, we learn how broad and how the quality is exceptional from lesser known brands, regional and local builders. It is mind blowing and once again a lifetime can be spent understanding what was produced and remotely having a grasp on the past French bike industry.
Everyday a school day here.
Also, @Filochard on board is great
. Stunning bicycles you have posted, and I think you would be able to give valuable comments.
