UMRKtestsubject

You still have the two 'new in boxes'? I owned a Favorit in the early '70s, bought new from the father of a buddy. He was some kind of entrepreneur and bought a boxcar load of Favorits in 1970 or so. I got the model with copies of Campy components and lightweight aluminum wheels with tubulars. It was a great ride. I would love to see photos, if you are willing. Thanks for the memories.

tiger1964 

In the spring of 1974, a customer came in to the shop I worked at, had bought a "high end" Favorit from somewhere; over some # of months he embarked on a program of Campification. I bought or was given a few of the cast-off components and I still have the bars & stem (odd stem, steel vertical and aluminum "I-beam" horizontal part) on a track bike. Sadly, lost track of the other parts (hey, I was 17 at the time).

I recall he then bought an Alan frame from us and switched the components over, completing the metamorphosis.

juvela

on the Favorit P-W-B model rear deraillleur the letters stand for Prague, Warsaw, Berlin. this is a race that was a kind of eastbloc Tour de France as mentioned by ComPH in his post above.

Just-A-Bike

Hi,
I will take one of the bikes out of the box and snap a few photo's.

non-fixie 

Last year some NIB Favorits have shown up in the local classifieds here in Holland as well. They were low-end models, and I managed to constrain myself, but it was tempting at € 125.

jpzummo

See the pictures.. You' are welcome .

JPZUMMO

randyjawa 

I have owned four or five Favorit bicycles in days gone bye. This one is, perhaps, the nicest of the bunch but it is nothing high end...

EhGiOeS

The CZ52 is way cooler. Ed

sykerocker 

Lucky guy. I'm still looking for a bike or frame for my collection, 56cm preferred. Everything I've run across are track frames, at an asking price of $450.00 and up, which is way too expensive considering what they sold for when new.

Graveldog

My dad purchased a Favorit in Montreal 1972. I was a young teen and maybe my dad thought I would be taller. In the end I peaked at 5'8" - the frame is 56cm - so the seat post was set low and I was stretched.

I am an active Sportif rider for the last 28years. My proper size is anywhere from 52cm - 54cm depending on the frame geometry.

i have since passed the 56cm blue favorit to my buddy because the frame had always been too big for me. He claimed to have it on his revive list, but it still sleeps deep in his garage (dark corner). All parts are favorit - am not sure if it is the pseudo campy stuff.
i can check if he is ready to sell or maybe one day revive. - let me know skyerocker if you are interested - it will be up to my buddy if he wants to let it go ( since I gave it to him gratis ).

Graveldog

Skyerocker - just looked at your bike list -

my buddy has a 1988 Rossin w/ Shimano Sante groupo
fancy paint job on the top tube / seat tube with multiple color checkered pattern - the balance of the paint job is white

davei

I too have a Favorit Rokycany beginning with 73 on the serial number. The story is not great as it was trash picked by my wife (she'll trash pick anything), & now I'm thinking about turning it into my daily rider. Is the 73 the year it was manufactured? It appears original with the exception of the seat, the rims & the tires. Any info is appreciated.

juvela

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Hello davi and welcome to the forum

The third character in the serial appears to be a circle rather than a naught or a letter o. Wonder if it is an overstrike as it appears there may be something underneath. Numbers appear to have been put in post painting. This could mean they were not placed by the manufacturer.

Hope you will be able to post further images of your example. Thanks for sharing it.

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randyjawa 

A few Favorit bicycles have come my way but nothing that fits into the exotic category...

davei

Here are some more pictures; any info anyone might have would be appreciated.

non-fixie 

Thanks for the additional pictures, @davei! Nice to see so many original details, and everything seems to be in pretty good shape too. Your wife has good taste. At least in trash.

T-Mar

That is a legitimate serial number. The first two characters represent the year of manufacture, so it is a 1973 or 1974 model. The third character is the Favorit trademark, being a lower case 'f' within a circle, just like on the brake levers.

As for the model, it may be an F9. During the boom, that was their entry level model with side-pull brakes.

juvela

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Thanks very much T-Mar!

Favorit information is not easy to come by.

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T-Mar

Juvela, here's a better photograph of a Favorit trademark in the serial number. It's an earlier version and a slightly different style but you get the idea. I assume the shells were pre-stamped with the trademark, which would account for differences in the actual impressions.

juvela

Thank you T-Mar.

Owned a NOS Favorit from ~1972-73 that was the entry level racing model, similar in the lineup to a Peugeot PA10 or Gitane Interclub. A friend bought it from me about twenty-five years ago and cannot now recall how its serial was done. Also there be a frame from a Rapido or Jawa five speed from about the same time hanging in the racks. Will have to check it to see what its serial looks like.

Much appreciated.

If you have any catalogues/literature from this time I wonder if they show a road model which was offered that had a Reynolds 531 eleven tube frame fitted out with a mix of Campag NR and Favorit fittings. My local Favorit agent had one of these about 1972. Recall it was red flambouyant. Have never known a model name/number for this cycle.

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T-Mar

Favorit may have been a little more popular or better distributed in Canada. I believe they were imported and distributed by Jim Miele's father. There were also sister brands, Rapido and Eska

I recall the professional model you describe. It was the least expensive Campagnolo NR bicycle available. Several of my competitors rode them. My recollection is that it was complete Campagnolo except for the Favorit centre-pull brakes. At the time we called it the Favorit F1 or Favorit Pro. However, I've got an undated Favorit spec sheet that shows the F1 to use Favorit components and doesn't mention Reynolds. It's the only tubular tyre equipped bicycle, so it may have been the model you owned. Still, there's no Campagnolo equipped bicycle listed (and I doubt we're both imaging things), so maybe there was some juggling of model names as the lineup changed?

The Rapido should have a similar S/N format, thought, depending on the era, the 3rd character may be a stylized 'R' within a circle, as they had multiple factories at one point.

davei

All,

thanks for the great Favorit info. I found some additional details on Wikiwand & I believe the yellow one I posted pictures of is an F10. Please see the info below & the attached picture.

Dave


favorite F10

Technical data: size 580 mm. Sports dural handlebars, polished, textile wrapping. Aluminum rims, polished 27 "x1 1/8" quick release hubs. Gears 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 47/51 dvojtalíř. Levers 171 mm. Caliper brakes, leather or plastic seat Favorit. Chain 1/2 "x 3/32" 110 articles. 10 transfers. 11.10 kg, metallic paint or enamel paint.

Description: Sport touring bike, 70s, using heavy pipe diameter than F1, seatpost diameter 25.7, a longer wheelbase, rear building set in the clutch, clutch incised silver stickers, weight 13.8 kg

♦

T-Mar

It could be an F10, depending on year to year variation. However, the F10 pictured has centre-pull brakes, while your bicycle has side-pull brakes. There was an F9 that was very similar to the F10 but it had side-pull brakes.

juvela

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Curious that davei's bike exhibits a Shimano spoke disc. Unlikely to be OEM one would think.

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T-Mar

Is it actually Shimano or just another Favourit copy? The trademark looks like it could be Shimano's 3.3.3 but the resolution is insufficient to be positive. The posted photo of the F10 appears to be from some Favorit literature and appears to use the same spoke protector, so I wouldn't rule out it being OEM and a clone.