Falcon road bike from 1980s?
#1
Full Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2021
Location: North Potomac, MD
Posts: 307
Bikes: 1993 (?) BikeE CT RoadE edition, 2007 (?) Dahon Speed D7, 2003 (?) Specialized Globe Sport, 1969 Schwinn Collegiate 5-speed, 1974 Panasonic Sport Deluxe, 1982 Peugeot P8
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 78 Post(s)
Liked 185 Times
in
79 Posts
Falcon road bike from the 1980s?
Just got this 70s or 80s road bike from a friend! He is moving from DC to Houston and couldn't take it. It's a British Falcon bike and seems to be chromoly construction. He had already inflated the tires, so I rode it from the subway station home through the light snowfall, no problem. I'm going to WD-40 the rusty bits and lube up the chain in the next couple days.
Any help identifying it would be appreciated. I am not sure what model it is but it certainly feels good to ride.
In the garage
Left side view
At Takoma Metro Station
Any help identifying it would be appreciated. I am not sure what model it is but it certainly feels good to ride.
In the garage
Left side view
At Takoma Metro Station
Last edited by molleraj; 01-28-22 at 09:55 PM. Reason: Change title
#2
señor miembro
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Pac NW
Posts: 6,623
Bikes: '70s - '80s Campagnolo
Mentioned: 92 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3886 Post(s)
Liked 6,480 Times
in
3,206 Posts
#3
Full Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2021
Location: North Potomac, MD
Posts: 307
Bikes: 1993 (?) BikeE CT RoadE edition, 2007 (?) Dahon Speed D7, 2003 (?) Specialized Globe Sport, 1969 Schwinn Collegiate 5-speed, 1974 Panasonic Sport Deluxe, 1982 Peugeot P8
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 78 Post(s)
Liked 185 Times
in
79 Posts
Likes For molleraj:
#4
Old fart
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Appleton WI
Posts: 24,784
Bikes: Several, mostly not name brands.
Mentioned: 153 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3587 Post(s)
Liked 3,400 Times
in
1,934 Posts
Three pictures and none of them show the drive side? You can do better than that, surely!
Looks like it could be one of the lower-mid-range models, perhaps 531 three main tubes. Can't see the dropouts well enough to determine whether they're stamped or forged. That open-cam quick release on the rear wheel may be a problem; they're notorious for not clamping well enough to secure the wheel in horizontal dropouts.
Looks like it could be one of the lower-mid-range models, perhaps 531 three main tubes. Can't see the dropouts well enough to determine whether they're stamped or forged. That open-cam quick release on the rear wheel may be a problem; they're notorious for not clamping well enough to secure the wheel in horizontal dropouts.
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Ashland, VA
Posts: 4,420
Bikes: The keepers: 1958 Raleigh Lenton Grand Prix, 1968 Ranger, 1969 Magneet Sprint, 1971 Gitane Tour de France, 1973 Raleigh Tourist, 3 - 1986 Rossins, and a '77 PX-10 frame in process.
Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 221 Post(s)
Liked 237 Times
in
129 Posts
Having owned a few Falcons in my life, from the Black Diamond to the San Remo, I've always had a fondness for them. Even their cheap bikes (the Black Diamond) had nice frames for the money. Just guessing from the wrong side of the crank, you seem to have something better than that.
If it fits, I'll predict you'll be happy with it.
If it fits, I'll predict you'll be happy with it.
__________________
Syke
“No one in this world, so far as I know — and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me — has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.”
H.L. Mencken, (1926)
Syke
“No one in this world, so far as I know — and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me — has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.”
H.L. Mencken, (1926)
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Maryland, USA
Posts: 2,433
Bikes: Drysdale/Gitane/Zeus/Masi/Falcon/Palo Alto/Raleigh/Legnano
Mentioned: 34 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 983 Post(s)
Liked 632 Times
in
403 Posts
i assembled a lot of Falcons that looked much like that when I worked at Proteus Bicycles in College Park MD in 1974. With both Bethesda and Tacky Park relatively close, perhaps your bike originally came form there?
__________________
Larry:1958 Drysdale, 1961 Gitane Gran Sport, 1974 Zeus track, 1988 Masi Gran Corsa, 1974 Falcon, 1980 Palo Alto, 1973 Raleigh Gran Sport, 1974 Legnano. Susan: 1976 Windsor Profesional.
Larry:1958 Drysdale, 1961 Gitane Gran Sport, 1974 Zeus track, 1988 Masi Gran Corsa, 1974 Falcon, 1980 Palo Alto, 1973 Raleigh Gran Sport, 1974 Legnano. Susan: 1976 Windsor Profesional.
Likes For tiger1964:
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 23,223
Mentioned: 654 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4722 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3,036 Times
in
1,874 Posts
Looks mid-1970s to me and around the crossover between entry level and mid-range. Pending more info (drive side photo, photos of major components, seat post diameter) my leading candidate would be an Olympic 78.
#8
Senior Member
I have that exact bike! Black Diamond from 1974ish, around $130, then.
I sold it to a friend who never rode it, then bought it back. It's now a single speed, around town bike. Rode many a century on that bike.
I sold it to a friend who never rode it, then bought it back. It's now a single speed, around town bike. Rode many a century on that bike.
Likes For bblair:
#9
Senior Member
I agree... the decals and full wrap-around seat stays say 70's
#10
feros ferio
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: www.ci.encinitas.ca.us
Posts: 21,796
Bikes: 1959 Capo Modell Campagnolo; 1960 Capo Sieger (2); 1962 Carlton Franco Suisse; 1970 Peugeot UO-8; 1982 Bianchi Campione d'Italia; 1988 Schwinn Project KOM-10;
Mentioned: 44 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1392 Post(s)
Liked 1,324 Times
in
836 Posts
"A Falcon is a good English bike." -- Charlie Harding, C. Harding's For Bikes, Westwood, Los Angeles, CA
__________________
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
Likes For John E:
#11
Full Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2021
Location: North Potomac, MD
Posts: 307
Bikes: 1993 (?) BikeE CT RoadE edition, 2007 (?) Dahon Speed D7, 2003 (?) Specialized Globe Sport, 1969 Schwinn Collegiate 5-speed, 1974 Panasonic Sport Deluxe, 1982 Peugeot P8
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 78 Post(s)
Liked 185 Times
in
79 Posts
Anyway, I will get some better side pictures tomorrow.
#12
Full Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2021
Location: North Potomac, MD
Posts: 307
Bikes: 1993 (?) BikeE CT RoadE edition, 2007 (?) Dahon Speed D7, 2003 (?) Specialized Globe Sport, 1969 Schwinn Collegiate 5-speed, 1974 Panasonic Sport Deluxe, 1982 Peugeot P8
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 78 Post(s)
Liked 185 Times
in
79 Posts
#13
Full Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2021
Location: North Potomac, MD
Posts: 307
Bikes: 1993 (?) BikeE CT RoadE edition, 2007 (?) Dahon Speed D7, 2003 (?) Specialized Globe Sport, 1969 Schwinn Collegiate 5-speed, 1974 Panasonic Sport Deluxe, 1982 Peugeot P8
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 78 Post(s)
Liked 185 Times
in
79 Posts
Three pictures and none of them show the drive side? You can do better than that, surely!
Looks like it could be one of the lower-mid-range models, perhaps 531 three main tubes. Can't see the dropouts well enough to determine whether they're stamped or forged. That open-cam quick release on the rear wheel may be a problem; they're notorious for not clamping well enough to secure the wheel in horizontal dropouts.
Looks like it could be one of the lower-mid-range models, perhaps 531 three main tubes. Can't see the dropouts well enough to determine whether they're stamped or forged. That open-cam quick release on the rear wheel may be a problem; they're notorious for not clamping well enough to secure the wheel in horizontal dropouts.
#14
Full Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2021
Location: North Potomac, MD
Posts: 307
Bikes: 1993 (?) BikeE CT RoadE edition, 2007 (?) Dahon Speed D7, 2003 (?) Specialized Globe Sport, 1969 Schwinn Collegiate 5-speed, 1974 Panasonic Sport Deluxe, 1982 Peugeot P8
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 78 Post(s)
Liked 185 Times
in
79 Posts
Having owned a few Falcons in my life, from the Black Diamond to the San Remo, I've always had a fondness for them. Even their cheap bikes (the Black Diamond) had nice frames for the money. Just guessing from the wrong side of the crank, you seem to have something better than that.
If it fits, I'll predict you'll be happy with it.
If it fits, I'll predict you'll be happy with it.
Last edited by molleraj; 01-30-22 at 01:52 AM. Reason: More detail about bike fit
#15
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Alta California
Posts: 14,262
Mentioned: 415 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3811 Post(s)
Liked 3,336 Times
in
2,176 Posts
-----
looks to be model Olympic 78 from right about 1974, cannot be much later
wheels, pedals, saddle pillar and saddle are replacements
original wheels would have been Normandy Sport or Sansin Matsumoto large flange 36 hole QR hubs with Weinmann alloy 27" wired-on rims
original saddle pillar would have been plain
original saddle would have been conventional leather
original pedals were Lyotard model 36 or model 460D
the machine's Sakae Ringyo Laprade saddle pillar did not exist at the time of cycle's manufacture
the Avocet saddle was contract manufactured in Italy for a firm in Palo Alto, California and had not as yet launched at the time of the machine's fabrication
---
frame is Reynolds 531 plain gauge three main tubes
saddle pillar size 26.2 or 26.4mm
ends set is Cyclo, dropouts are Cyclco stamped 3D without gear hanger
---
for the 1975 model year the gear ensemble changed from Maeda to Shimano
here is a Bicycling! magazine review for the 1975 model Falcon Olympic 78 -
-----
looks to be model Olympic 78 from right about 1974, cannot be much later
wheels, pedals, saddle pillar and saddle are replacements
original wheels would have been Normandy Sport or Sansin Matsumoto large flange 36 hole QR hubs with Weinmann alloy 27" wired-on rims
original saddle pillar would have been plain
original saddle would have been conventional leather
original pedals were Lyotard model 36 or model 460D
the machine's Sakae Ringyo Laprade saddle pillar did not exist at the time of cycle's manufacture
the Avocet saddle was contract manufactured in Italy for a firm in Palo Alto, California and had not as yet launched at the time of the machine's fabrication
---
frame is Reynolds 531 plain gauge three main tubes
saddle pillar size 26.2 or 26.4mm
ends set is Cyclo, dropouts are Cyclco stamped 3D without gear hanger
---
for the 1975 model year the gear ensemble changed from Maeda to Shimano
here is a Bicycling! magazine review for the 1975 model Falcon Olympic 78 -
-----
#16
Full Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2021
Location: North Potomac, MD
Posts: 307
Bikes: 1993 (?) BikeE CT RoadE edition, 2007 (?) Dahon Speed D7, 2003 (?) Specialized Globe Sport, 1969 Schwinn Collegiate 5-speed, 1974 Panasonic Sport Deluxe, 1982 Peugeot P8
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 78 Post(s)
Liked 185 Times
in
79 Posts
I got a few shots of the drivetrain side, but I will try to get yet better in coming days. I am using WD-40 to pull out rust and following it up with Triflow for lubing.
Drivetrain side of the bike locked up
Drivetrain closeup
Derailleur close up
Suntour V-GT derailleur
Drivetrain side of the bike locked up
Drivetrain closeup
Derailleur close up
Suntour V-GT derailleur
#17
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 23,223
Mentioned: 654 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4722 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3,036 Times
in
1,874 Posts
The front derailleur, which is more likely to be OEM than the rear, appears to be a 1st generation Shimano Titlist. That, in conjunction with the hangerless rear dropout, is more evidence pointing towards my earlier statement of a mid-1970s Falcon Olympic 78.
Likes For T-Mar:
#18
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Alta California
Posts: 14,262
Mentioned: 415 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3811 Post(s)
Liked 3,336 Times
in
2,176 Posts
-----
a Shimano gear ensemble would fit in with the large ugly Shimano chainstay stop the bicycle wears
a later date would also explain the change from a Sugino to a Sakae Ringyo chainset
molleraj - see how much more can be learned with driveside imagery!
-----
a Shimano gear ensemble would fit in with the large ugly Shimano chainstay stop the bicycle wears
a later date would also explain the change from a Sugino to a Sakae Ringyo chainset
molleraj - see how much more can be learned with driveside imagery!
-----
Last edited by juvela; 01-30-22 at 01:56 PM. Reason: spellin'
Likes For juvela:
#19
Full Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2021
Location: North Potomac, MD
Posts: 307
Bikes: 1993 (?) BikeE CT RoadE edition, 2007 (?) Dahon Speed D7, 2003 (?) Specialized Globe Sport, 1969 Schwinn Collegiate 5-speed, 1974 Panasonic Sport Deluxe, 1982 Peugeot P8
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 78 Post(s)
Liked 185 Times
in
79 Posts
Nice! Indeed I would guess the rear derailleur is not standard. Is it Shimano Titlist or Fitlise, which I saw in the article juvela posted? I will check the letters and go clean up the chain shortly.
#20
Full Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2021
Location: North Potomac, MD
Posts: 307
Bikes: 1993 (?) BikeE CT RoadE edition, 2007 (?) Dahon Speed D7, 2003 (?) Specialized Globe Sport, 1969 Schwinn Collegiate 5-speed, 1974 Panasonic Sport Deluxe, 1982 Peugeot P8
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 78 Post(s)
Liked 185 Times
in
79 Posts
Ha, indeed! Nice detective work. So a 74 or 75 Olympic 78? Is this entry level or mid-tier?
#21
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 17,156
Mentioned: 481 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3810 Post(s)
Liked 6,690 Times
in
2,610 Posts
Falcon could be really confusing in that they slapped the "San Remo" label to lots of different models at different tiers!
Likes For nlerner:
#22
Full Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2021
Location: North Potomac, MD
Posts: 307
Bikes: 1993 (?) BikeE CT RoadE edition, 2007 (?) Dahon Speed D7, 2003 (?) Specialized Globe Sport, 1969 Schwinn Collegiate 5-speed, 1974 Panasonic Sport Deluxe, 1982 Peugeot P8
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 78 Post(s)
Liked 185 Times
in
79 Posts
This '74 Falcon catalog has a couple of models in a lower tier. Anything that has Reynolds 531 main tubes is usually middle-tier, akin to the Raleigh Super Course and Dawes Galaxy.
Falcon could be really confusing in that they slapped the "San Remo" label to lots of different models at different tiers!
Falcon could be really confusing in that they slapped the "San Remo" label to lots of different models at different tiers!
#23
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 23,223
Mentioned: 654 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4722 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3,036 Times
in
1,874 Posts
I'd place it 1975-1976, based on the 1st generation Shimano Titlist. As stated earlier, it's around the crossover between mid-range and entry level. Both levels could be argued. Personally, I'd classify it very low mid-range, given the era.
#24
Full Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2021
Location: North Potomac, MD
Posts: 307
Bikes: 1993 (?) BikeE CT RoadE edition, 2007 (?) Dahon Speed D7, 2003 (?) Specialized Globe Sport, 1969 Schwinn Collegiate 5-speed, 1974 Panasonic Sport Deluxe, 1982 Peugeot P8
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 78 Post(s)
Liked 185 Times
in
79 Posts
Nice! Honestly I am surprised to see such a light bike from before the 80s! And even cooler than chromoly! What's the short hand for Reynolds 531 tubing? Mangmoly? Haha.
Last edited by molleraj; 01-30-22 at 10:00 PM.
#25
Senior Member
It appears to be the same model as mine based on the lack of chrome, similar fork crown, 'claw' derailleur hanger. Mine has a braze on rear derailleur cable stop and the lugs are a little fancier. Mine had the remnants of a Reynolds 531 decal and the San Remo decal. The guy I bought mine from said he bought it as a frameset and built it up. When I purchased it I made some changes to the components so none of it is original. It isn't a bad bike for the $42 I have invested in it.