mechanicmatt

I love these threads

unworthy1

Wow. Just Wow.
Again.
I recall when la Perle was first brought up in this forum and it was a decade ago! Long enough ago that I don't even recall the exact year, but it was a marque unknown to most of us at the time.

juvela

-----

WOW!

DCI Maurice does it again.



---

Have a local collector friend who owns a 1950's La Perle in the same red flambouyant with cream trim livery as Maurice's example frame. Yet it failed to make a dent in me dull "braine."

-----

MiloFrance

Amazing work @MauriceMoss. Gobsmacking in fact.

verktyg 

@MauriceMoss

"We're not worthy, we're not worthy"!

Yes I agree, the OP's frame has all of the hallmarks of your La Perle.

Disregard the paint, it's an old respray.

I'd guess that the frame is from the early to mid 1960's.

The Campy drive side 1010 dropout has a spring hole for an uncommon low end Campy derailleur from the early 60's.



The hole was discontinued by the 1970's and the boss design changed to this.



Fish mouthed fork blades and rear stays were common on better quality French bikes for decades, not just on Bernard Carre frames. The process takes a little longer to do right so you don't see it on many less expensive frames.

The "dots" in the fork crown where the lower bearing race mounts were done with a punch to increase the diameter. Most French bikes used headsets with 27mm fork crown races. Campy and most non French headsets used 26.4mm or 26.5mm crown races. Common practice BITD.

The punch marks in the bottom bracket shell may have been put in to reduce the inside diameter size to compensate for loose threads so the cup fits tighter. Also a common practice.

Many quality French frames were made with very thin walled tubing - Reynolds 531, Vitus or some other French maker. Rene Herse and Singer made many frames with light gauge tubing.

On the other hand, who knows what kind or wall thickness tubing this frame is made of. I've seen quality French and Italian frames from that era made with heavy gas pipe tubes.

The standard Reynolds 531 tubing used up into the 80's had butted wall thicknesses of 1.0mm x 0.7mm in the 3 main tubes. Frames made with this thickness seat tubes would take a 26.4mm seatpost when they were properly rounded and reamed.

Light gauge Reynolds 531 would take a 26.6mm or even a 26.8mm seat post.

Straight gauge French carbon steel tubing usually used a 25.8mm seat tube.

The French rarely used straight gauge Reynolds 531.

Also, up through the 1970's bike boom fad, many quality French bikes came with frames made of butted Reynolds 531 main tubes and Durifort forks and rear stays.

Just because a frame has a small seatpost doesn't mean that it's made of cheap tubing. Frequently (as mentioned above) the seat tube is out of round or the seat lug "ears" have been overtightened to fit a smaller seatpost.

The first thing to check is the gap in the rear of the seat lug. When it's collapsed like this, the bike has an undersized seatpost.



The seat lug can be out of round or have a bulge inside.





There are ways to fix the problem but I'm not going to get into that here. First recommendation though is to round out the top of the seat tube before using a reamer or hone.

Hope this helps,

verktyg

J.Higgins 

I'm impressed with the knowledge and dedication to detail from all of the people here. I've been into bicycles since I was a kid in the '60's, and I thought that I knew it all. Yeah right. I'm stunned by the magnitude of experience here. I'm humbled.

wschellen

Yes @MauriceMoss
I would say you hit the nail on the head. I am very excited to know so much history about this old frame. I assembled it just enough yesterday to ride around the neighborhood to confirm it is not bent. It rides and handles wonderfully and is a perfect size for me. Thanks to all who read and gave insight. Now I need to find some brakes with the anchor arm on the opposite side?

J.Higgins 

@wshellen, are you going to try to source a headbadge? Will you be trying to restore this bike to its former glory? I'm really smitten with the artistic qualities of this frame!

wschellen

Yes I would like to try and restore it. Do you know a source for a headbadge? I agree it was the subtle "artistic qualities" that drew me to the frame. Now that I have ridden it and feel like it is in sound condition I will try and restore it. Thanks

Reynolds 531 

dam you guys are GOOOOOOOD

bikemig 

3d printer?

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...headbadge.html

Duke7777

Here's one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Plaque-emai...e/303346361232

For the stated frame weight of 4.25 lb, I would be surprised if the ID of the seat tube is not 26.8mm if you measure it about two or three inches down from the seat lug. Normally a seat post of 26.6mm would be used in this gauge of seat tube. The tubing is probably Vitus, which is usually indicated by a stamping in the steerer tube.

John E

Another highly educational thread, and great solution to a mystery. My helmet is off to you guys.

KenNC

Can't wait to see what your restoration looks like!

JohnDThompson 

I can't explain the letters and numbers, but the divots on the drive side are likely staking to prevent the French-thread fixed cup from loosening over time.

juvela

-----

A La Perle road machine of 1953 as displayed at an exhibition -







---

Dating -

agree with Chas. that frame appears "'60's"

as Maurice mentioned, La Perle nominally folded tent in 1955 yet La Perle cycles continued to show up from the later 1950's and into the 1960's

perhaps CR list readers will be able to check on this and see if it has been discussed by Norris...

one of the features which makes me think '60's is the presence of the housing stops on the downtube for fingertip cables. the height of popularity for fingertips in road racing seems to have been reached in the mid-1960's.

-----

wschellen

Thanks for the photos. I like that red and cream color, I think that is what I will try and replicate. Those pin stripes though??? Anyone have experience trying that? I have painted several frames now and have been happy with the results, but I have never tried pin striping. As for the dating, since no one will probably ever know for sure I am going to say 1963. That year is special to me.

juvela

-----

Here is another example of the red with cream livery; once again earlier than subject frameset.

As found by enthusiast -










Following disassembly, cleaning & refurbishment -








[pedals, saddle top and rear mech changed]


-----

TXsailor

Reading this thread I realize again that every person posting on it had forgot more about bikes than I know.

wschellen

Sand blasted the fork today and found the words REYNOLDS BUTTED half way up the steer tube. It looks like the word REYNOLDS is proceeded by a fractional number starting with 16/ and the word BUTTED is followed by more letters that I can not quite make out, maybe HM or HV ??? I tried to photo it, but it was to faint to capture with my camera. I did get a few shots of those lovely dropout joints and fork crown though.

juvela

-----

Thanks so much for this update.

Wonderful to see things moving forward.

Lest readers think all La Perle cycles red I did come across a blue and a green...





Advert of 1950 -




-----

wschellen

Wow I really dig that blue La Perle, it even has cantilever bosses. Maybe my bike should be a nice French Blue with Cream color panels. Thanks for the photos.

Duke7777

Pinstriping (or box lining) freehand with a brush takes a lot of practice. The advice I heard was to buy a gallon of paint and a pinstriping brush. When the gallon is gone, you will be ready. Well I don't have the patience for that so I developed a few tricks. I use an enamel paint pen. For longitudinal lines I use lengths of 3/4 x 3/4 x 1/16 aluminum angle as straight edges. For circumferential lines I use a heavy zap strap wrapped around the tube to guide the pen. For curved lines I use either a French curve, or one of those bendable guides. The paint pens do quite a nice job, and mistakes can be wiped off with a cloth dampened with solvent, even up to an hour or so after application. The main problem is that it looks too precise. You don't get the slight variations that you see in a "professional" brush job. But I found it was much better than what I could accomplish with a brush, given the amount of practice time I was willing to do. Here are a couple of shots of my Metropole. More here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/577760...h/44939316235/

wschellen

Looks incredible. Did you do the lines around the lugs freehand? Is a zap strap the same as a zip tie? I would love to see more pictures of your actual process to make sure I understand. Thanks for the photos.

Duke7777

Yes, I use the same paint pens for the lug lining. It works great if the lug work is clean. Here are all the tools I use. The paint pens are Sharpie Extra Fine, although others may work too. I haven't needed the French curves or the snake much for any of my bikes. The aluminum angle lies perfectly straight along the frame tube. (My friend Paul Brodie actually suggested this idea.) I use masking tape at each end to hold the angle securely in place. The edge of the angle sits just off the surface of the tube, so the paint doesn't wick underneath. Sometimes I put a second coat on the lines to increase the density, once the first coat has dried for a few hours. The method is precise enough that you can do this successfully.


I also invented this clever-looking little sled. It guides the pinstriping brush handle in a perfectly straight line along the tube, using the aluminum angle as a guide. Unfortunately, it utterly fails to make a straight or uniform pinstripe!