Originally Posted by tallbikeman

Thanks for the update. I forgot about the Vitus tubing on French bikes. I don't remember Weinmann sidepull brakes but I've owned Weinmann center pull brakes. They are awesome. Dia Comp started making Weinmann pattern centerpulls and I have two bicycles equipped with them to this day. A lot of those old Suntour derailluers were made of steel and all that I've run into these days were perfectly serviceable. They just don't seem to wear out. They work as good as anything available these days. But they usually don't have the longer cages I need to run MTB type gearing and I swap them out. I still use two Suntour front derailleurs on my older bicycles and they are great. So good to have such a nice direct connection to your father. I have a guitar from my dad and I think of him when I play it. The 27" wheel is something I have become more interested in. I have one bike flat bar bike that has 27" wheels and it is as fast as my drop bar bike. I read somewhere there is a built in efficiency of several percentage points for 27" wheels over 700c. I can tell when I'm riding the 27" that it pulls very easily. Glad to hear that you still ride this bike. That is what they need.