Wileyone 

Any information on these Bikes would be greatly appreciated. Perhaps @T-Mar or other experts may be of service.
Too me the History of the bikes is half the fun. The other half is getting them rolling again.
This particular bike was saved from the smelter by my Daughter in Western Canada. So we traded frames, a Flying Scot for Her and the Croc for me.
The "before" pics of the Croc unfortunatly have been put in a file that I can't find... So this is the "parts bin" finished product. My apologies to the paint police but with this one I had no choice. It's a rattle can job so don't be too critical.

Wileyone 

More pics

Wileyone 

Forgot to mention it is Columbus SL And it has a very tight geometry but is a joy to ride.

Fahrenheit531 

1st gen Cyclone. That's the good stuff right there! Pretty sweet-looking bike.

jamesdak 

Wow, I like it! I also know nothing about them, sorry

Wileyone 

Good stuff and light too. The bike weighs 19.25 lbs.

Drillium Dude 

I like it - nice mix of parts. Don't know why you're apologizing for the paint because it looks very nice, too. That's a bike to be proud of, tho I'll say what others are thinking: shorten the brake cable housings

DD

Wileyone 

I should have mentioned the cables. I have some Yellow on order.

Lascauxcaveman 

Dig those chain rings; those things are bonkers. Don't see those very day. Unless you own the bike, I guess.

Wileyone 

The Stem is also Panto. So I really lucked out on these.

https://

clubman 

What a pretty bike. I think all I remember about these bikes is they're from the Montreal vicinity and they're top shelf. Looks about right to me.

Drillium Dude 

Gotcha. I still think that if that's a rattle-can paint job (assuming you did the decals, too?) it looks superb. No way I'd get such a smooth finish. I've been looking over the pics closely and I simply can't see anything to complain about paint-wise.

Any background to share about this builder's name/logo? I've seen reference to them only once or twice before.

DD

Wileyone 

The Decals were done by a local company here in London Ontario, Mike Lewis of MDL Graphics. He did a terrific job of reproducing some pretty complex artwork. His actually look better than the originals. This is the 7th Bike I have Rattle Canned. I finished the last clear coat 2 weeks ago and it has been "baking" in my home made oven at 140 degrees since then. It's a little grainy in spots so I still have some buffing out to do, I have read that there was only 8-900 made in total mine is in the 0630's so dating somewhere in the late 70's.
Heres a bit of History on the Lecroco brand I pulled off the Internet.

Here's some history on Le Croco from labicycletta.ca:

Le Croco bikes were made in Montreal and apparently got their name from the legend of the Brno Dragon, a monster that lived on the banks of the River Svratka in Brno and was slain during the Middle Ages.

During the 70's, a Czech expatriate named Jorge Horacek opened a bike store in Vancouver called Brno Bikes. He had contact with a group of ex-pat Czech bike builders including a guy named Sandy Tvrdik in Montreal who started Le Croco bikes. Along with Tvrdik, Krompolc Cestmir is listed as a director of the company. Another fellow who may have been involved in Le Croco was an ex-pat Brit named Bill Fletcher who coached the CCA National Road Team during the early 80's so a lot of National Team riders rode Le Crocos. Fletcher also built his own frames out of Reynolds 753 and 853 and Henry James lugs in Yarker, Ontario.

Jorge Horacek sold Le Crocos in his shop in Vancouver during the early 80's.

mikemowbz

Wow, that's stunning.

I don't think I can offer much beyond what you've cited from the very good 'Canadian Builders' article on labicycletta.ca, but I can confirm that I've seen these come up occasionally both in Montréal (where I lived 6 years) and here in Vancouver (where I have resided since 2010). My understanding is that the bikes were built in Montréal and brought to Vancouver by Horacek. I've had conversations with folks who remember folks racing on Le Croco here in Vancouver in the 1980s.

For some more pertinent discussion, see this old thread from right here on C&V:

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...oco-bikes.html

Yours is one of the absolute nicest I have seen, from general condition of frame and components to the panto stem and chainring.

We have an old red Le Croco on display in the technician's area at the shop I work at in East Vancouver - I may see if I can sneak a pic to add here...

Wileyone 

Thanks Mike any info would be appreciated.

Stevensb 

exmechanic89

Very nice.

Aerobots

Scotty, it turned out amazing.
I'm definitely impressed with your rattlecanning, that's for sure.
Glad to see the decals came out really nice as well - what material were they printed to?

Wileyone 

Thanks Dave much appreciated. The Decal material used was 2 Mil 3M Vinyl. Then clear coated with Max 2k clear gloss.

Aerobots

Excellent.
I'm stoked you saved this little beauty.

Tha Bastard

I live in the Montreal area and I've been actively looking for any vintage bike on the local ad sites (kijiji, Lespacs etc..) for 2 years now, and I have never seen a LeCroco bike for sale. So it's safe to say those are pretty rare nowadays!

Very nice bike BTW

Aerobots

Hello, all.

Just thought I'd post that there is a Le Croco for sale on Vancouver Island right now, if of interest to any of you.
A little banged up, but still! There can't be many of these bikes left...

https://victoria.craigslist.org/bik/...861415357.html

mokala

Finally finished up the Le Croco I have had stashed away for a few years. Some of the best graphics on these bikes!!

https://www.pedalroom.com/bike/le-cr...-7200-ex-44614

noobinsf 

That fade paint is exquisite. Gorgeous bike!

mokala

They had some great Paint Fades!! Below is my Croco MTB and one that's been on Kijiji for some time.

https://www.pedalroom.com/bike/le-cr...chs-5000-42977
https://www.kijiji.ca/v-road-bike/ci...4217?undefined