Specification:
- Serial No: 4567V, stamped under bottom bracket
- Frame: Unknown tubing, welded construction; Seat Tube: 57.5 cm ctc; Top Tube 58.5 cm ctc; Head Angle: 72 deg; Seat Angle: 71 deg; Wheelbase: 106 cm.
- Crankset: Stronglight aluminium alloy; square taper attachment; 49/46t aluminium alloy chainrings
- Pedals: Lyotard Type 45
- Gears: Simplex Tour de France rear derailleur, Simplex rod front shifter
- Wheels: Mavic rims on Porthor small flange hubs; 36 spoke front and rear; Huret wing nuts
- Brakes: Lam Super Dural
- Handlebars and Stem: AVA bars on Philippe stem
- Saddle:
Notes:
This bike has had 3 previous owners. The first owner, in France, said that he had the bike new from 1946 or 7. The next owner,now deceased, wrote that the bike came with some non-original and incorrect parts, but unfortunately did not specify what they were. He replaced parts, not known which, to make it what he considered was period correct, and the next owner kept it substantially the same as when he acquired it from the previous owner.
The most obvious deviation from original specification is the slightly later Simplex rear derailleur and 5-speed block.
Stronglight aluminium alloy cranks were available when this bike was built, but they are unlikely to have been part of the original specification and, as far as I can judge from photos, were not fitted to Alcyon team bikes. The current plan is to fit steel 3-arm cottered cranks and I am trying to discern what was fitted to team bikes, or at least what was available in 1946/47.
Another part that may not have been available in 1946/7 is the Philippe aluminium alloy stem. If the AVA bars are correct, I would have expected the stem to be AVA too as on the only slightly later Follis on this website.
The shorty front mudguard is going to come off. It might keep a certain amount of dirt and muck away from the lower headset bearing, but just has no place on a professional racing bike.
More Photographs:
