Originally Posted by
merziac
No worries, SP if original would have a very small Simplex badge at the top front of it, on this bike Sp and binder bolt, toptube cable clips, F+RD, shifters, skewers and dropouts would all be Simplex if original, it was all very lightweight and parts of them could be somewhat fragile when proper care was not taken during repair and adjustment. So when we see some that has survived well it's a bonus.
The Avocet is a good saddle and a find if in good shape as well, original would have been a Brooks Pro I believe.
Seat post is definitely
not Simplex, but all the other parts are; they don't look to be too fragile, but we have only cleaned it up and have done nothing to recondition the bike. You're correct, one of the skewer nuts has been replaced with a plastic & brass butterfly nut. I'm told the original saddle was indeed a Brooks, but it wore out (must have been some time ago if it was replaced with an Avocet Touring I. I had an Avocet Touring II on my Vitus that I really liked (but have since discovered Brooks!), so the saddle is a nice replacement in good condition (if not a Brooks).
It was originally the bike of my friend's Mom, who gave it to her as a commuter when my friend was in grad school in the late 90's. It was ridden through her post-doc fellowship until she got a faculty position. She's a biomechanist, so is pretty good with maintaining gizmos and hardware. The bike has the remnants of a university or town registration sticker on the top tube, but it appears to be paper so should come off fairly easily. Hasn't been ridden in 15 years or so. She has a box of old bike stuff, including several folded-up tubular tires that have gotten totally rigid. That's why I'm amazed that the tires on the bike still hold air (they were pumped up a month ago and are holding pressure!).