Obscure or rarely seen marques
02-13-24, 11:29 AM
#326
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02-13-24, 12:27 PM
#327
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02-13-24, 12:40 PM
#328
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I am pretty sure none of you have ever ridden a Van den Eng Stormvogel.
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02-13-24, 10:37 PM
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I consider this one a rare piece. Made by Ellison out of TX for The Bike Beat bike shop out of Orange Ca. I've heard The Bike Beat was THE bike shop BITD.
I've only heard of /seen a picture of one other Ellison branded E-Stay bike.
1990 The Bike Beat Revolution
Serial # 90E029 From what I've decoded 90=1990 / E=Elevated Chainstay / 0=20 Inch Frame(?) / 029 or 29=29th frame built
I've only heard of /seen a picture of one other Ellison branded E-Stay bike.
1990 The Bike Beat Revolution
Serial # 90E029 From what I've decoded 90=1990 / E=Elevated Chainstay / 0=20 Inch Frame(?) / 029 or 29=29th frame built
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02-13-24, 11:34 PM
#330
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Mairag 4 Star, Switzerland
was looking for a wheelset for under $100 when this bit me. Still know very little about it.
Last edited by brixxton; 02-13-24 at 11:37 PM. Reason: Spelling
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02-14-24, 07:55 AM
#331
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Flying Dutchman, don’t see many of these around. Late 70s house brand from a shop in Colorado.
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02-14-24, 04:28 PM
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I remember reading about those. A Dutchman's shop, and the bikes were built by Gitane, IIRC. This is a very nice example. Thanks for posting it here.
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02-14-24, 04:30 PM
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the forum has had several threads discussing examples of the marque
there was a retailer in southern California who was a stockist for these in the 1970's
have you been able to learn the identity of the frame manufacturer?
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02-14-24, 05:24 PM
#335
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Blue Bella on her first ride, Jan. 28, 2024
My Libertas is Belgian (and Transylvanian!)
Fredo at Rio Grande
My 1976 Fredo Speciale is unique - only one was made.
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02-14-24, 07:07 PM
#336
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Many years ago there was a discussion in the CR group regarding Flying Dutchman. Something was mentioned about Allegro? being the manufacturer. I am open to ideas.
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02-14-24, 07:20 PM
#338
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There is a 1950 R O Harrison with silver paint and red ( Oscar Egg?) lug lining on its way to me from the UK, as I write this. No photos yet, but I am going to go nuts once it gets here. I searched the thread for R O Harrison and got no hits, so I'm adding this one to the list. Can. Not. Wait.
02-14-24, 07:36 PM
#339
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This is my 1955 Liberia that I had shipped over from France.
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My collection: 1947 Ciclo Piave, 1955 Liberia, 1969 Colnago Super, 1972 Legnano Olimpiade Record Specialissima, 1980 Mercian Vincitore, 1983 Gitane Interclub, 1985 Peugeot PGN10, 1986 Bianchi Vittoria, 1987 De Rosa Professional, 1989 Vitus 979, 1990 Bianchi Axis, 1990 Specialized Sirrus, 2001 Colnago Dream B-Stay, 2007 Trek 1000
My collection: 1947 Ciclo Piave, 1955 Liberia, 1969 Colnago Super, 1972 Legnano Olimpiade Record Specialissima, 1980 Mercian Vincitore, 1983 Gitane Interclub, 1985 Peugeot PGN10, 1986 Bianchi Vittoria, 1987 De Rosa Professional, 1989 Vitus 979, 1990 Bianchi Axis, 1990 Specialized Sirrus, 2001 Colnago Dream B-Stay, 2007 Trek 1000
02-15-24, 08:35 AM
#340
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thank you
immediately eliminated GB & IT as possible national origins
was leaning toward either CH or BE
the one thing which tended to eliminate FR for me was the pattern of the seat stay plugs
this is one seldom encountered on products from Gaul
what is the frame's tubing diameters & threading?
beautiful kitty, is he/she fond of inspecting your cycles?
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Last edited by juvela; 02-15-24 at 08:44 AM. Reason: addition
02-15-24, 09:52 AM
#341
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thank you
immediately eliminated GB & IT as possible national origins
was leaning toward either CH or BE
the one thing which tended to eliminate FR for me was the pattern of the seat stay plugs
this is one seldom encountered on products from Gaul
what is the frame's tubing diameters & threading?
beautiful kitty, is he/she fond of inspecting your cycles?
-----
thank you
immediately eliminated GB & IT as possible national origins
was leaning toward either CH or BE
the one thing which tended to eliminate FR for me was the pattern of the seat stay plugs
this is one seldom encountered on products from Gaul
what is the frame's tubing diameters & threading?
beautiful kitty, is he/she fond of inspecting your cycles?
-----
The bike was purchased by a previous owner at the The Big Wheel in Denver. It also had a registration sticker stamped 1979 from a municipality in California. Now it’s in Ga.
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02-15-24, 10:12 AM
#342
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The treading is English. I believe the seat post is 27.2. Daisy, the cat, is my assistant. She is in charge of quality control!
The bike was purchased by a previous owner at the The Big Wheel in Denver. It also had a registration sticker stamped 1979 from a municipality in California. Now it’s in Ga.
The bike was purchased by a previous owner at the The Big Wheel in Denver. It also had a registration sticker stamped 1979 from a municipality in California. Now it’s in Ga.
Thanks again.
BSC in the mid-to-late seventies eliminates both FR and CH as possible national origins
this would seem to leave it to BE
if shell width seventy rather than sixty-eight that would tend to confirm BE
perhaps @non-fixie shall be able to comment further...
would love to see more Daisy pictures in the "show your cat" thread
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Last edited by juvela; 02-15-24 at 10:14 AM. Reason: addition
02-15-24, 12:25 PM
#343
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There were at least two bike shops in the US which used the Flying Dutchman brand, both operated by Dutchmen. Ted van der Kolk, in Glendale CA, sold mostly mopeds (built by the Dutch manufacturer Sparta) and American style cruiser bikes, as far as I can tell.
The Big Wheel in Denver was Jack van Gent's shop, and much more sports-oriented. He imported racing bikes from Europe. I've read somewhere that his daughter has said they were built in Italy with BSC threading, but since Libertas was one of the imported brands, Belgium is very likely source.
Belgian bike shops have a long tradition of branding bikes built by others as their own. Every bike shop must have had its own brand, as the list of Belgian bike brands is almost endless. Even Kessels of Ostend, known for their association with Eddy Merckx, didn't build those bikes themselves.
In the late seventies and early eighties the larger Belgian manufacturers were also exporting significant numbers of these painted "blank frames", to be given decals and a serial number by the shop owners who bought them. Quality varied from cheap-but-decent to pro level, depending on what you wanted and could afford.
The Van den Eng bike I posted a couple of days ago in this thread is a nice example. Mr Van den Eng, whose shop in Gouda sold household appliances and bikes, wanted to support a local bike racing club, and ordered some nice bikes from Belgium. Probably not more than a handful, as I've yet to see another "Stormvogel".
The Big Wheel in Denver was Jack van Gent's shop, and much more sports-oriented. He imported racing bikes from Europe. I've read somewhere that his daughter has said they were built in Italy with BSC threading, but since Libertas was one of the imported brands, Belgium is very likely source.
Belgian bike shops have a long tradition of branding bikes built by others as their own. Every bike shop must have had its own brand, as the list of Belgian bike brands is almost endless. Even Kessels of Ostend, known for their association with Eddy Merckx, didn't build those bikes themselves.
In the late seventies and early eighties the larger Belgian manufacturers were also exporting significant numbers of these painted "blank frames", to be given decals and a serial number by the shop owners who bought them. Quality varied from cheap-but-decent to pro level, depending on what you wanted and could afford.
The Van den Eng bike I posted a couple of days ago in this thread is a nice example. Mr Van den Eng, whose shop in Gouda sold household appliances and bikes, wanted to support a local bike racing club, and ordered some nice bikes from Belgium. Probably not more than a handful, as I've yet to see another "Stormvogel".
Last edited by non-fixie; 02-15-24 at 12:27 PM. Reason: added link
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02-28-24, 05:12 PM
#344
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thanks very much for the thorough information above non-fixie
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came upon a new-to-me marque this week called HERA from the HElices RAtier firm
this is an old company which produced products for aviation and for motorcycles as well
two additional examples -
the Ratier family has a web page here -
La Maison RATIER
the cycle section of which resides here -
La Maison Ratier : les vélos Héra.
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thanks very much for the thorough information above non-fixie
---
came upon a new-to-me marque this week called HERA from the HElices RAtier firm
this is an old company which produced products for aviation and for motorcycles as well
two additional examples -
the Ratier family has a web page here -
La Maison RATIER
the cycle section of which resides here -
La Maison Ratier : les vélos Héra.
-----
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02-28-24, 10:36 PM
#345
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