sd5782 

Hello and advice wanted on value of this bike. I purchased it awhile ago and have posted and received info on the C&V forum. A lot more particulars will be there with searching, but I'm sure the same people will chime in here I hope. The only new info is that the hub locknut on front wheel says '63.

Already determined is non Columbus tubing. Vintage French non stock rims and pedals. I did get rid of the Schwinn safety levers and put on the Dia Comps and new hoods along with new brake cables and housings and tape to at least make it rideable and a bit more presentable. I took off the rack and generator that was on it at time of purchase and cleaned it up. Tires are old and I put on one new tube. 26.5 lbs as it sits now.










Bike looks very much like this one from another site.


Standover is 33.75". The gearing is also too tall for me. I am new at this, so don't flame me too bad please. I did have much fun with what I did.

KonAaron Snake 

Pretty bike - I have a similar one, though your fenders are in nicer shape. I think I paid 600ish, but got a lot of extra parts as well. Tubing is Reynolds 531.

KonAaron Snake 

I think yours was a model or two down from mine, and I’m not sure if it would have the 531.

3alarmer 

...I have a similar 60's Frejus, and I too cannot recall the exact price I paid because it was four or five years ago. Somewhere between 500 and 600 dollars IIRC. $600 seems about right.

I think a lot of these have different parts on them at this point, because stuff wears out.

sd5782 

Yes, more midrange on tubing. Falke tubing has been mentioned, and stamped lugs which that add seems to say. Seat post is 26.45mm also reflecting a less thin tubing from what I understand. Fairly light though considering the steel crank and seat tube. Prices seem all over the place on these.

3alarmer 

...Falck was used by them for a long time. And it had certain dimensions. I'm not certain when Reynolds became available as an option, but if they are anything like Legnano in history, (and they were made by the same guys for a long period of time), it was not until later in the 60's.

For example< I own two Legnano's, one Reynolds, and one not. It does not distinguish them in terms of where they sat in quality lineup, but rather the time period of frame manufacture. Look here.

thatoreoguy

that is pretty. Is there a guide to finding pretty crank sets?

sd5782 

Thanks much for the frame info link. I did have a couple questions. Why no oval on the seat post lug? I have seen pics of others without the oval on Classic Rendezvous though. Also, this bike seemingly is from 1964, so was the steel crank and sprocket a step down at the time and maybe being phased out? That crank seems more common on older ones.

zukahn1 

The sizing is consistent with both 531 strait guage French/Italian metric sized tubes and nicer Falk french so it doesn't tell much other than early 60's higher end model. It's a great looking bike on cosmetics alone I would put it in the $300-400 range

3alarmer 

....in 1964, the good bikes like this one were built up in various ways by owner preference. If you look on that Condorino site, there's an article on NOS mystery Legnano's that explains some of what was going on. And a lot of people who were serious about going fast did not yet trust cotterless cranks. Your bike appears to have a half step racing setup as far as gearing goes, so I guess whoever was using it was a gofast guy.

The seatpost lugs varied over the years, and also with both brand and frame tubing. I think they were more common on Legnano's, but I have only seen two of each (2 Legnano and 2 Frejus) in person. So I'm not exactly the expert here on these. @juvela probably can tell you some more, and the guy with the condorino site and collection has a BF account and sometimes appears magically.

I can't exactly tell, but it's possible your value estmate might be a little less in the current market and depending on your paint issues. There are not that many around for sale at any given time, so establishing a cash value is kind of iffy. They ride very nicely for a bicycle of that time period, and if you are a fan of that long, lean, open Italian frame with slacker angles than was in vogue from the late 70's onward, they're fun to ride. Yours' looks like it wold only be fun to ride on a flat course, but there are some creative ways to extend the gearing range. I just ride mine pretty much along the river here, and any hills are short enough that I can stand up in the pedals and push on through.

Condorino also has at least one or two entries on Frejus bikes, because Bozzi.

sd5782 

I do like the gearing on your bike better. That looks like a triple on front, and quite a bit more range on the back than mine which is a 14-22.

Thanks also 3alarm. I am looking at condorino site also: very interesting. I will bookmark too. It seems as though there is much more info on the Legnano brand.

juvela

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Prior discussion threads on this machine, for anyone who may have missed them, abide here -

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...53-frejus.html

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...did-i-buy.html

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...de-france.html

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