Pcampeau

So this bike has been posted here previously by its former owner. I acquired this today and I’m quite excited about it! There are some rust issues to sort out and it could get pricey, but hopefully, when I’m done it’ll work out nicely. Obviously the seat post and brake levers/calipers are not original and I’d like to find those. I assume the brakes are probably GB? The front wing nuts and rims are not original either. I think Rustoleum and simichrome will come in handy but I don’t expect the bike to look new when I’m done with it. I’ll look into re-chrome prices but I already know that would cost a fortune. For now I’ll be happy just to arrest the rust problems and keep it from deteriorating any further. This will be a fair weather, occasional use bike. I don’t need showroom condition. I’ll post more pics when I tear the bike down for refurbishing.

bikemig 

That bike is hot but please lose the seatpost,

Sometimes I'm grateful that I live in Des Moines and not the twin cities. I'd go broke living there with a volume of old bikes that show up regularly. The inventory of old bikes is understandably a lot smaller where I live.

Pcampeau

Yes definitely, as soon as I measure what size it is. That’ll be the first thing I do.

GrainBrain

I'm sick with envy!!

GrainBrain

I'm blessed to ride a 55cm so they get snapped up before I can try

bikemig 

I ride a 57 so I don't see how that's possible,

Dylansbob 

Looks good and like you have alot of the hard to find bits still.

Looks like a good candidate for an evaporust soak.

Pcampeau

Yes, I’m thinking the same thing. Tell me if you can, there is some fine red lug lining that may not be all that easily visible in my photos, will I lose that with Evaporust?

Velikus

Awesome, love this. That chrome will look much better with some metal polish and elbow grease. The chrome fork and stays on my Allegro were like that and 90% of those little spots disappeared with Brasso. Looking forward to seeing your 'after' pics. Congrats!

Dylansbob 

I don't *think* so, but I've never done it.

Of the 5 bikes I recently bought, 4 of them really need it so I'm hoping to do them one/day with the same fluid sometime next week.

bulgie 

What a cool bike, coolest I've seen in a while. Those pump peg braze-ons slay me!

I have soaked only one complete frame in it, but I've done a lot of other painted items over the years. I have never known it to attack paint at all, or decals. If the steel underneath is very rusted, you may find bits of chrome or paint come off, if there's nothing underneath that they're connected to anymore. But a frame that rusty has other things to worry about beside paint striping, like structural integrity. Yours is nowhere near that point. I predict no problem at all, but still maybe test it in an inconspicuous are before committing the whole frame.

BTW if I may be allowed to make a suggestion, I also found the anachronistic "branded" cable housing to be a bit jarring. Finding early '50s stuff isn't easy, but finding stuff that's stylistically closer isn't too hard, like plain unbranded housing and maybe some '70s Weinmann levers to replace those red Modolo? I find those Weinmanns in decent shape all the time, leftovers from the millions they brought in during the '70s bike boom. They're similar in construction to the old GB brand. Searching out some cable housing with the ribbed shape molded into the vinyl sheath might be worthwhile, a subtle touch that love to see on vintage restorations. It's still being made in Japan but I forget the brand name or where to buy it; someone here will know. I have enough of a stash for personal use that I haven't had to shop for it in a looong time.

When it comes time to take the Gnutti cranks off, be aware it requires a unique remover. I have one, but sorry I don't lend it out, and I doubt you want to ship me the frame just to take the cranks off, so you'll probably be looking at removing the cranks with some sort of gear puller. It would be a shame to damage the cranks while getting them off, so it might be worthwhile to have a machinist make you a proper extractor. I can take some measurements off mine if needed, let me know.

Beware, the left side crank arm fixing bolt is a left-hand thread. I can't imagine whey they would have done that, left crank bolts that are right-hand threaded (that is, every single other cotterless crankset ever made) don't tend to loosen up. It's just wacky.

One last minor point, the rear derailer cage is upside down.

-Mark B

Pcampeau

Thanks bulgie! Yes, those pump pegs are quite fetching. Pulling the cranks is the part I’m most afraid of. I do have a 3 arm puller from Harbor Freight that I’ve successfully used on a few other cranksets, but it’s not without risk. Your insights and suggestions are much appreciated!

obrentharris 

What a great bike! Thanks for posting it here. I’m looking forward to the in-progress photos.

Adding to the comments by @bulgie about the rear derailleur; this model, the Juy51 had a split cable. One half controlled the in/out movement of the cage. The other half adjusted the cage spring tension. There are a couple of photos/diagrams on Velobase that illustrate this nicely. Since the Rotrax does not have two holes to accommodate the split cable in the cable stop on the chain stay I would guess that the derailleur is not original. The original could have been the Simplex “Tour de France” model.

others will be better able than I to fix a production date to this bike which will give us a better idea of the original equipment.
Brent

cocoabeachcrab 

a brass wool session on that seatpost will erase the UNO lettering pretty easily.

obrentharris 

My apologies. I missed the fact that you already know the production date to be 1953. This would be right in line with the production of the Juy 51. Are there two holes in the cable stop hidden by the ferrule in the photo?
Brent

Pcampeau

It certainly would, and I may do that momentarily, but that seat post is not staying on this bike any longer than is absolutely necessary.

Pcampeau

I’ll have to check later on tonight. I’m not with the bike right now.

KenNC

That is a lovely bike, and I do agree that some work on the chrome will have it looking very good. Then perhaps Renaissance wax to protect? BTW, noticed a red Rotrax downtube decal at H. Lloyd, and a couple options for seat tube decals, but no idea if they are period correct:

https://h-lloyd-cycles.myshopify.com...-page?q=rotrax

microcord

A lovely bike . . . but is the rear axle long enough?

Pcampeau

I’m not sure yet. A full disassembly will tell the tale. I agree, from the photos I’ve posted that a slightly longer axle may be preferable. I’ll have to look closely and see how many threads those wing nuts are actually grabbing.

Pcampeau

Thanks for the link. I’ll have to do some research regarding decals. I’d like some decals if I can be sure they are correct, but I’m perfectly happy leaving the frame naked and just letting the headbadge tell the story if I can’t sort it out.

AustinFitz

I used to have an early '50s Saeta with the Juy 51 rear mech. It had a weird split cable setup with a single cable stop. Here are a few pics.

Pcampeau

Just a little additional info for those who are curious: 50t and 47t up front and a 4 speed 14t, 18t, 20t, 22t Regina Gran Sport Course freewheel. Dropouts are Agrati. Wingnuts are GB in front and Huret Luxe in the rear. I’m not sure if either set is original to the bike but the Huret set looks better to my eyes.

bikemig 

This bike is such a great find. I'm enjoying this thread. Yeah chain rings close together were a thing back in the day. I have two bikes with cottered cranks set up that way (a 1968 Schwinn Paramount and a 1960 Olmo gran sport) I think the FDs from that era weren't meant to handle much of a jump and it facilitates half step gearing if you want to go that route.

I thought--perhaps incorrectly--that wingnuts were not a great idea for the rear wheel.

tiger1964 

Yes it will. I got back from the chrome shop yesterday morning, yikes. ON addition to two sets of forks and misc small parts, the same crank arms that you have. Turned out very pretty.