Originally Posted by
juvela
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dates on headplate -
these refer to victories achieved on Frejus branded cycles
the year markings are not all inclusive, nor do they go on forever
your head emblem can be a useful tool in date bracketing the cycle
as you examine the examples available online and here at the forum you can check to see what the next later date is that appears on a Frejus headplate to bracket the date of manufacture of your example
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chainset and mech capacity -
if you go to three-bolt chainwheels the chainset's 116mm BCD has a lower limit of 36T
you will need the check the back side of the spider arms to see if they are machined to accept a chainwheel directly up against them...and then there is the matter of spacing between the chainwheels...
if you elect to change you can also go to a smaller outer which will make things both easier on you and on the cycle's Campag GS front mech
it is perfectly adequate to handle the ten tooth difference of a 36-46 chainwheel set for example
its later cousin, the mechanically identical Campag Valentino front mech, was routinely fitted to cycles which came with a 40-52 chainset
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Great info.
I derived '54 by the same methodology you mention. Specifically, the last date on mine is 1953, and I had found this image of a later model, clearly including '54.
I assume that the prior year's victory would only begin appearing on the subsequent year model. Therefore, since both '53 and '54 are found on the later headbadge, I believe mine to be a '54 since the last date shown is 1953.
