Andy_K 

Yes, that's the case with mine. Even with the air out it's a tight squeeze.

73StellaSX76

I did the mod of trimming the lower leading edge of the dropouts on mine years ago so that I could remove the wheel without deflation. It was around when I switched from 1” Michelin Elans to 1-1/8” Paselas. But I’ve also moved the d.o. adjuster spring to the outside so I could lengthen the wheelbase for more stability for rides like the cal eroica.

capnjonny 

Here are a few pics of the Stella Mixte. I did a "resto mod " on it. Sorry purists. I can't help my self. It got a new silver paint job ( I kept the original decals hence the black pinstriping on the downtube) . I replaced the cottered crank with a Stronglight aluminum unit and the steel wheels with some sweet aluminum gentleman rims on Suzui hubs. The old Campi derailleur became Suntour and the down tube shifters became Sunrace thumbies. I replaced the Weinman brakes with Mafacs and put on reverse levers I have had for a while and have been dying to try.

Post Script
This summer(2022) I went to Burning Man as a volunteer on the Gate crew. One night as I was taking a break from taking tickets I happened to be talking with a woman who was telling me about her bicycle. She said she had bought it from The Bike Exchange where I volunteer and that she loved it. It was the Stella shown here. I told her all about the restration and it's rarity and she was mightily impressed.

capnjonny 

One thing about the mixte. Anyone have a guess how rare it is. I have scoured the net trying to find another one and can't. Could it be the last surviving example? At least in the US? a 73 model? the factory burned down in 75' so it has to be one of the last built .

ollo_ollo

Here's another pic of my Stella, currently still in Cino setup: Shimano Deore triple crank + long cage derailleur + 32c Gravel Kings.

1971 Stella

Louison Bobet
If I go with a different bike for Cino 2022, I'll reinstall the Campagnolo parts. B&W pic of Bobet on TdF Stella, either 1953 or 1954. There is a hand colored version of this floating around somewhere, but I can't find it right now. Don

Kabuki12

Every time I see this thread , I have to look. Mine is the mid-level bike , probably about 1971. I have already posted pics some time ago. The old entry level Campy drive still works fine but I changed out the handle bars and laced the wheels with butted SS spokes to Wienman alloy wheels and kept the High Flange Campagnolo Tipo hubs. I just wish it were my size! It was a gift from a friend I used to ride with when we were younger and it needs to be ridden more.

kissnos

I Love these old Stellas
the high end race bikes are real rare

kissnos

Have an old TDF Special Magazin Mirroir du Sport from 1954 with an old original autograph from Bobet

kissnos

Who produced the frames for Louison Bobet?
Rode he real Stallas or who build his frames? Herse - CNC - Goeland ....???

unworthy1

AND Local pick-up in the SF Bay Area is strongly encouraged, you'll save on shipping; I might even be convinced to deliver this to you if on a major mass transit route

3alarmer 

juvela

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YUM!

thanks for posting

and moy soyze too


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3alarmer 

...I will leave it to you in my will.

juvela

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thank you so much!

alas, from an actuarial perspective i am highly likely to predecease


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jaxy357

I'll have to post better pics soon but here is my Stella Arctic. I've swapped out the seat and pedals since this photo was taken, as well as adding a luggage rack in the back.

Andy_K 

I'm usually pretty good about not buying bikes that aren't my size unless I'm specifically fixing one up for someone I know, but when I found this on FB marketplace for $50 I couldn't resist.



The seller thought it was a 1974 Stella, but I'm not sure how she determined that. It's in a pretty sad state of neglect (cobwebs on the rear wheel, lots of rust on the frame, etc.) but I think it should clean up nicely with a lot of work. Maybe by the time I finish with it my three year old grandson will be big enough to ride it. I figured if nothing else, it was worth $50 for the Stronglight crankset and the various shiny Huret bits.

1989Pre 

Are there shifters?

jaxy357

Yes it has a thumb shifter but this one was too big for me and the shifting wasn't smooth so I donated it to my local bike project.

motogeek 

I'm thinking this is a 1975 or perhaps 76 as that is the year I bought one of these for my first wife. It was an SX73 I think, and I think the RD was a Huret Challenger. Check the pedals, cause that probably would have been a French threaded Stronglight 49D crank and those clip in pedals most likely would have been English/Japanese threaded. Hers was the same light blue color as yours, with French durifort tubing. The rear drop outs would most likely have been French threaded Huret, which made installing a Sun Tour Cyclone RD rather tricky. Still, a nice old survivor and a great find for the money.

Andy_K 

You're spot on. I didn't even know it was possible, but somehow they got the pedals in with the wrong threads. The drive side pedal wasn't in all the way. Both of them took a lot of force the whole way out. I'm hoping I'll be able to re-tap the cranks for English threading.

The shifters and front derailleur were Huret Challenger. It had a SunTour Honor rear derailleur, but the previous owner mentioned she could never get it to work right. At least part of that was because it wouldn't pivot on the hanger.

merziac

I'm sure Mark will sort you out if you're not completely comfortable doing it, I always run the taps through from the back side first for the best chance at getting them straight to start with.

ollo_ollo

While browsing thread this AM, noticed that Stella related pics I posted earlier are now MIA. My Stella came as a bare metal frame set, plus a box of parts accumulated by a BF member who found it unidentified at a sidewalk sale in Portland, Oregon. Campy components had been removed and the bike was rattle canned black. He posted on BF & it was I.D. as French, possibly Stella.

As he began stripping to bare metal, an "Artic Cat" decal was found. Most of the Artic Cat Stellas were similar to a Peugeot UO8, a good riding, but heavy, entry level bike but this frame was identified as a top end Stella. A Series 70 frame, of the type ridden by Bobet in 1953 & 1954. I found they were available in 1 form or other until production ceased after a fire in 1975. Sadly Seller had lost interest in the project. Ad was up on Cl for a long time, Portland was a 1 hour drive away, but I needed projects to keep busy during my wife's battle with cancer, so eventually the basket case became a +1 bike for me.

The restoration took months, but I was able to remove coarse file marks and excess brazing material before powder coating. Found a small dent on top tube, the maker had used a flawed lug on the upper top tube (jagged gap bottom rear of upper head tube lug). also DS rear dropout was broken and rewelded with an almost invisible repair. Like Andy, I found the Stella to be a great riding bike, but could never sell it for enough to repay all the hours + $$ spent restoring it. I will just pass it on to a grand child one day. I took time to find all the pics and gathered them into a single file, so here they are:

Post Fire

A later pic



Louison Bobet

ollo_ollo

More Stella Pics

Early Columbus Decal



Series 70 upper head tube lug flaw





Repaired Dropout

ollo_ollo

Even more pics:

Stella Parts







TDF 1953....That's All Folks

ollo_ollo

My Stella May of 2018