curbtender

I almost went for this but saw you were interested. I know you'll do it right. I use evaporust on parts with mixed materials. Amazing stuff. Good luck.

juvela

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Salamandrine inquired as to les jantes...

me guess, and it be only that, is that they are SAMIR SAMINIX 36 hole 27" chromed steel
this maker employs a unique serration pattern on the braking surface of their rims

note the presence of Schrader valve tubes on both wheels

this suggests an export model, so likely a 27" wheel size pour L'Amerique Du Nord

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the Lyotard model 460D pedals give some clues -

note that both pedals wear a single CIBIE reflector

they likely formerly were fitted with toeclips

when clips were removed the remover did not bother to refit the reflectors

they look to be in very fine shape in relation to their age, vis a vis the machine's other fitments...

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one curiosity is presence of an ESGE propstand from Allemagne on an otherwise all french cycle

a testament to its life in North America

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USAZorro

That front shifter looks like a Simplex Competition - which were around quite a long time - being manufactured into the early 70's. Probably more fruitful to establish the dating from other components.

orcas island 

I swung by Sacramento on my way up to Portland today to pick up the bike because I just didn’t want to wait any longer. It’s a mess, as expected, but I managed to scrub a bit of rust and mung off of a few parts while Im in my motel room in an effort to to answer a few questions about components.
The front shifter and rear derailleur are Simplex models, as is the down tube shift lever.
The chainset has a DURAX arm and Simplex chainrings as Juvela suspected. Front and rear hubs are labeled either “Excella” or ”Excello” in a fancy cursive script. It’s wearing a set of woeful 700c tires; too much tarnish on the rims to determine their maker at this point. The stem is an Ava model. The headset is a “Lightrace” , as was suggested
Best news so far is that the seatpost came right out with just a slight twist! I was afraid it would have welded itself in place considering how rusty it is! Off to a good start so far... The chrome and paint are in really rough shape; we’ll see what happens after applying lots of elbow grease and OA.

Forgive the crappy photos. Low light motel room with brown carpet and mocha colored walls didn’t help the picture quality.

bulgie 

Any chance that could be ”Exceltoo”? I'm familiar with their hubs from later, like '60s and '70s, but I think they were around when your bike was made.

Glad to see the brakes are Beborex. Your pic doesn't show where the cable attaches -- does it use their unique roller on an extra idler arm?

Do you know what rust-removal method you will use? Evaporust, or electrolysis, or...?

Congrats on getting the seatpost out. Now we are all wondering how easy the stem and the crank cotters will come out. Good luck!

Mark Bulgier
Irony Cycles
Seattle

francophile 

Oh, that's gonna clean up nicely. Looks like it had lots of barn funk to protect the important bits. I think you'll be shocked at how much will come off if you just spray it to get it wet, let it sit for 5-10 mins for the munge to soak up some water, then hit it again with a spray nozzle and a soft brush. Chainset will probably be gleaming.

Do you have an ultrasonic cleaner by chance?

juvela

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wrt the cycle's Juy manual front mech -

VB lists seven iterations of the Competition front mech with a date of manufacture range from 1949 to 1961. there were none "into the early 1970's":

https://velobase.com/ListComponents.a...5-248e2f8090bb

rather than a Competition model it appears to be a Randonneur series mech. this manufacturer's catalogue page of 1960 illustrates a Competition model side-by-side with a Randonneur:

Simplex - Changements de Vitesses page 6

have not as yet been able to locate the specific model worn by the Follis...

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orcas island 

I think it’s time for me to break down and buy a cheap ultrasonic cleaner from Harbor Freight. I was thinking about trying Evaporust on this, but haven’t found it in local hardware stores. Can you buy it online?

orcas island 

Mark- “Exceltoo” sounds right. Still lots of tarnish (read: rust) on the hub bodies and it’s hard to make out the lettering

tiger1964 

Just checked my derailleur box. No idea why but I happen to have one of those rear derailleurs, identical or very similar, in decent shape (cage near top pulley stamped SIMPLEX RIGIDEX 35). The decorative end cap is intact (sadly, won't fit my Simplex 543!). So it you need it for parts, PM me.

orcas island 

Thanks so much! PM sent

curbtender

https://www.amazon.com/Evapo-Rust-Or.../dp/B00M0TLQ66

WGB 

If the rims are old enough to be OEM and if they are 700 not 27s, is it likely it was made for the French and not USA market?? I can't recall seeing that many pre 1970 bikes marketed for North America with 700 instead of 27 wheels and it's clearly not an exotic racing bike.

juvela

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hubs note -

Exceltoo is one of the badges belonging to Etablissements Perrin (Pelissier, Plume, New Star & others) and goes back quite a ways.

Here is a REXOR catalogue page from 1925 illustrating one model together with a photo of a set -





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several models are covered at VB -


https://velobase.com/ListComponents.a...6-1c513c422607


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rust removal note -

when done with the Evaporust et al you may wish to seal the results in some way to protect surfaces against further corrosion. the forum had a recent thread in which a poster wrote of good results with boiled linseed oil. (yes, i was surprised too.)


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3alarmer 

...Home Depot sells it here in Sacramento. I bought some there about 6-8 months ago.

juvela

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date bracketing note -

the listings at VB give a production range for the Rigidex 35 series of models from 1954 to 1961 (disraeligears doth cover not the Juy bell crank models).

the Randonneur model front mech would seem to be the key for narrowing things down. thus far know only it was current in 1960 but do not as yet know start/stop dates.

this Peugeot model PLC50 cycle is dated by its owner as 1959-60 and wears a Randonneur model 22 front mech in the braze-on version:





full discussion of this machine located here -

https://forum.tontonvelo.com/viewtop...36315&p=378673

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discovered that Norris Lockley's flickr has a Follis album which includes three images of a gents model which exhibits numerous similarities to the subject bicycle -

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cyclecrank/sets

it is identified simply as a "1950's randonneur"

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juvela

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Juy catalogue page of 1960 -




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juvela

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Information here on marque, founder, company and products.


https://anciensveloslyonnais.weebly....el-follis.html



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orcas island 

Thank you for posting that. I just got home with the bike, and hope to have a few hours today to start scrubbing it up.

Hudson308 

orcas island 

Make sure you get the large tub of popcorn; this is going to take a while!
First pass at the large chainring and crankarm with some bronze wool and WD-40 reveal that most of the chainwheel discoloration was road grime rather than rust. So, off to a good start there!
More gunk removal (with my best friend WD-40) allowed me to get the chain and rear derailleur to move and actually shift through all of the five rear gears. Mon dieu; an absolute miracle!!
The chrome on the fork legs is cleaning up enough to pass the “vintage rider” 5’ test. I’m thinking that the same will not be able to be said for the chrome on the sweeping tubes that join the rear dropouts. It’s a bit hard to tell in the photos that they actually were shiny chrome at one point; now they are essentially the color as the rest of the brown frame.
Ridiculously pebbly Brooks B-15 saddle. City of Oakland bicycle license dated Dec 1963 stuck to the seat tube. The bolt holding the stem in place is frozen. I’ve started the Liquid wrench treatment. We shall see....

francophile 

I think you'll find 0000 bronze wool with soapy (dawn or other) water gently passed over the tubes will release a lot of debris from the tubing. Under the chainstay is a good sample place to test out effectiveness. I've done this countless times on rusty frames and it knocks down the pitting without impacting the paint, but admittedly I've primarily done this on clearcoated or lacquered bikes versus pre-60's stuff that's probably a single-stage spray. After the fact, I'll take a good polishing compound and gently rub it out. 0000 bronze wool with gentle pressure won't significantly haze a clearcoat but will absolutely get impurities and abnormalities out.

I try to wet the tubing really well before taking the soapy water to it. Not dissimilar to how I shave. Just seems to make things glide more smoothly.

Hudson308 

I love this! I call it "mechanical archeology". I personally wouldn't use even 0000 bronze wool on paint, especially really old paint. I prefer to be patient with mineral spirits on a cotton rag.

orcas island 

The bronze wool is just for the shiny (not so shiny right now?) bits. I haven’t even looked at the paint yet

Hudson308 

Yep... perfect! I love using bronze wool and WD-40 on chrome. I was responding to another suggestion to use it on painted areas. IMHO the paint on this survivor is far too fragile for that.