alexander55

This Falcon is a clean little bike. Having a hard time finding information regarding the different models and potential age of the bike.

531 frame. Maxy cranks. Front says Shimano 50. Rear says Shimano 500. Wright saddle. Suntour hubs. Weinmann 750 Vanqueur 999 brakes.

Thoughts regarding age, model or value? THANK YOU!

I have lots more pictures if they would be useful.

juvela

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Lugset Prugnat, crown Agrati.

Suspect we are near to 1973-74 here.

As mentioned with Bertin you asked about, wheel rims may provide a date specific.

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big chainring 

Falcon Black Diamond. 3 tubes 531. Similar to Raleigh Super Course.

big chainring 

And yes, more pictures please.

big chainring 

Value - I have one in gold paint that I bought last summer for $90. With the fenders, nice saddle and in what looks like excellent condition, I think yours is worth $200.

alexander55

Thank you for the information. Pleased that it is of similar quality to the Super Course. Here are some more pictures.

juvela

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IIRC Black Diamond was hitensile tubing at this time.

wrt dating - forgot to mention earlier that you should be able to get a date from the code on the back side of the cycle's crank arms. Scroll down to section titled "Sugino" here to see the secret decoder ring:

https://www.vintage-trek.com/component_dates.htm

We need to hear from @T-Mar, he has the raptor models down cold...just like everything else!

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big chainring 

Correction!!!!
Thats an Olympic 78 model. 78 is not the year. Found a Bicycling Road Test article of the Olympic 78 online. Dated 1975.

Trakhak

In support of juvela's post above, claw adaptor for derailleur also indicates high-tensile steel rather than 531.

9volt 

The freewheel looks interesting. If you take the wheel off can you post a picture of that?

I think I see a 531 sticker behind the crank. Would be interesting to see if there is a derailleur hanger behind the claw.

big chainring 

Mine has remnents of a 3 tubes 531 sticker ubder seatlug. Identical parts to OP.

juvela

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Not in this case.

This model three-tube 531.

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alexander55

Here are a few more pictures if they help. I really appreciate your all sharing your knowledge. I am learning a lot.

juvela

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Am wondering if 531 transfer original.

Placement is odd.

As I recall this model they were three tube 531 plain gauge, rather than eleven tube DB as indicated by this transfer.

Not a Falcon expert, alas.

"The Marshall" will straighten us out no doubt. ;^ )

Presence of Rigida SUPERCHROMIX steel wheel rims does not fit with this model. They should be Weinmann alloy.

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alexander55

Interesting juvela.

The date code on the Sugino crank indicates 1974 (if I followed the on-line literature on the codes correctly).

juvela

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The Black Diamond model mentioned above was parallel to the Peugeot A08 and Raleigh Record at this time. It came with a hitensile frame, cottered steel chainset, no chrome, and solid axle hubs.

Puzzled by the wheels we have here. They should have Weinmann alloy rims and the Suzue hubs do not really fit in either. If it were a year or two earlier the hubs would have been Normandy Sport. Can imagine Shimano here since we have a Shimano gear ensemble. OTOH Sugino was Maeda's chainset partner - part of the same keiretsu. Shimano's chainset partner at this level was Takagi. It is of course possible that the fittings combination we have is OEM but it does seem unlikely. Typcially a cycle manufacturer will purchase fittings from one "export group" in the case of europe or from one "keiretsu" in the case of Japan in order to get a better price. In general, if a cycle manufacturer wishes to "mix" fittings from two keiretsu or export groups they get less "bang for their buck." France's two export groups at this epoch were GEFFAC and FREXA. One in Italy was Brevo Italia.

The absence of a date inside the diamonds on the wheel rims may indicate that the wheels are slightly earlier than the bike. By 1973 these rims were getting the date marking.

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ramzilla

Falcon bicycles were considered top of the line stuff back in the 60's & 70's. Bike stores would put them on display in the front window. They were expensive high quality items. To the right vintage collector it could go for $350 or more.

Slash5

Exact description of mine:

juvela

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In case anyone is interested there is a nice collection of Falcon paper over at velo-pages.com. Went there to search for information of the Olympic 78 model. They have factory catalogues for both the 1973 and 1974 years but I was unable to find the model listed in either. Wondered if perhaps this may be due to differences between domestic and export models...

https://www.velo-pages.com/main.php?g2_itemId=26656

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branko_76 

That's a beautifully restored Falcon you have there! Whoever did it took the liberty of upgrading the Reynolds decal. As mentioned by some previous posters, it should either be 531 frame tubes only (at best), possibly Hi-Ten. The lack of the wrap around seat stays and derailleur cable braze-on's indicate a low-end Falcon.

What is the diameter of the seat-post?

Colnago Mixte

Apparently, Falcons are not popular in Fresno, CA. This one has been languishing for months at $199:



https://fresno.craigslist.org/bik/d/...634674171.html

3alarmer 

...the Falcon name shows up on a different range of bikes over the years. IIRC, someone bought the company and the name, with a resulting decline in quality.
But the better ones from the era of that headbadge in the OP were fine bikes, and I went to the trouble of restoring one here with straight gauge 531 tubing and a wrap around seat stay treatment.

There's great variation in the lineup and model names over the years, and for a while they had a deal with Eddy, so the whole line turned Molteni orange. they turn up here from time to time, but not in great abundance. I agree that the OP bike appears to be a restoration/ repaint from the photos and components. They seem to fly under the radar, so even the top of the line San Remo models often go unnoticed and unloved in today's cruel world.

As received:





Currently :

gdelnero

There is no derailleur hanger. There is also no braze-on RD cable stop. That's built into the claw, as seen in the pic. I've never seen that before.

gdelnero

That seat post is 26.2mm. I wondered about the RD braze-on as well. How can you tell a Hi-Ten from a straight gage 531 Falcon?

zukahn1 

Not sure of the model either but the frame looks consistent with a 531. I suspect a lot of the parts are none original since it has a forged dropout likely with a hanger but currently has a DR with a claw hanger also the crank set and wheels just don't look OEM to me. I could Be wrong but I'm thinking it would have sewup/tubies a nicer cottered English crankset and Huret DR's originally similar to the bike Slash5 posted.