LBCwanabe 

Are the forks bent backwards or is this a design trait? I’m unfamiliar with this brand/era of bicycles.

thanks!

unworthy1

definitely NOT a design choice, this Follis has front-end damage...skip it.

bear_a_bug 

Looks damaged to me. Hard to look at that downtube just below the headtube lug in your 3rd pic and not see the tube clearly bulged. Front-end collision highly likely.

Trakhak

Badly bent frame. No question.

The proportion of bent lightweight steel frames from the '70s that are still turning up is amazing. Maybe lots of people graduated from electroforged Schwinns and didn't understand that European racing bikes couldn't be treated like battering rams without some consequences. And there were drugs, too, of course.

Pcampeau

In addition to the wavy tubing on the underside, judging by the angle of the fork blades from the head tube down, it looks to me like the steerer is bent too.

Bad Lag

The damage is so obvious, why is this even a question?

USAZorro

Wind chimes

3alarmer 

SurferRosa

That frame is like that ... by design. Yeah, that's it. Makes it ... go faster. Yeah...

rhm

Not much to be saved off that one. Whoever was riding it didn't pay much attention to the front derailleur either.
​

nlerner

Intentional design, yes, if you mean intentionally crashed into a wall.

RustyJames 

Is it just me? Every time I see a bike pic and there is some sort of lock attached or otherwise dangling there is noticeable frame damage

zukahn1 

It is not you old thing based in the military people would put a fixed cheap lock on a bicycle, car, truck, or other stuff to indicate something is broken and likely unsafe.. The above bike is unsafe.

rustystrings61 

I'm the crazy guy who would bend it back into shape and see how it turned out. The Mercier below was a success.

Kabuki12

Yes , that is a toe biter , for sure.

Kabuki12

ok , I see the set up but how did you pull it back? Floor Jack under the BB ?

rustystrings61 

Nope. I literally grabbed the frame by the chainstays right in front of the rear dropouts and pulled upwards. Once. I was actually shocked to discover that was all it took. The frame came right back into alignment. The frame is built with Mercier's "LuxTube" generic gaspipe tubing and it might have taken a bit more force with 531, but maybe not.

I will note that when I did that, I had made sure the headset cups were squarely in place ot prevent any ovalization of the head tube - they're loose in the photo.

Kabuki12

Wow , I am surprised that worked given the impact it takes to bend one of these. I had a friend that t-boned a car causing him to "fly" over the car to the pavement on the other side. It was a full Columbus Tube , Tange fork bike. I looked it over and no visible damage to the frame! It just bent the wheel in half and I figured the front wheel absorbed the full impact. A year later , while riding his bike , the head tube cracked open. I never saw that coming!

Bad Lag

The Campagnolo seat post is worth saving, as are the brakes, the wheels, the stem and bars, the freewheel,... actually it looks okay except for the frame damage.

The derailleurs go to the Museum of Bicycles for their 'Worst Designs EVER!" wing.

SurferRosa

chain_whipped

The Follis make had quite a successful history in producing quality motorcycles and bicycles, also with achievements in professional racing. Large enough in production numbers to export throughout the World.

Unfortunately your example was for the lower end market and filler during the bike boom. Read into the chrome cover over the fork crown.

Unless there's a sentimental value, pull it for a few parts such as the brakes and toss it. Or, practice the skill to straighten the fork. Hose it down with a rust preventative and lube. Air up the tires. Leave it at the curb.

LBCwanabe 

Which direction is the bottom bracket thread?

3alarmer 

...French threading, so RH threads on both sides.

Bad Lag

Oh, I see it now. I thought it was just in backwards but it isn't one at all but it is in backwards.