OldForerunner

Long time, no updates Unfortunately, my mother-in-law had a stroke necessitating time in the the hospital so minor updates and a question.

OG Pivo stem, one of the few aluminum parts:


After my ministrations (not a smooth transition to be found):


OG seatpost bolt with centerpull brake hanger:


Replaced with titanium bolt, washers and locknut because, why not?


OG A.Duprat crankset:


First pass restoration. I need to buy futures in steel wool, Evaporust,and Reynold aluminum. I can get her cleaner, this is just where we are atm.


And untouched backside:


I hate rivets. Is there any reason I shouldn't grind the inside heads and replace with button head bolts and nuts (re-using the spacers)?

juvela

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sorry to hear the unfortunate health news - hope things improving there by the time you read this post

thanks very much for this update - great to see you are moving forward with things on the bicycle

OEM seat binder, stem binder and stem expander bolts are products of ALGI



company is yet in business today but no longer produces cycle fittings

chainwheel set is product of Cyclo of France (Albert Raimond)

​​​​​​many french manufacturers did this around this time; they would use one manufacturer for cranks and Cyclo for chainwheels

if you look closely at the bicycle symbol you will see it spells out Cyclo - there are a couple other manufacturers who had a similar logo such as Otero in Espana

brochure page of 1971 -



chainwheel rivets -

expect they are there as a cost saving measure - permit a price of a centime or two lower
likely why so many cycle producers would employ cranks from one maker but chainwheels from Cyclo

one advantage of them is that they never seen to fail or work loose. have not encountered a lost chainwheel rivet in fifty plus year of cycle spanner twisitn' but have run into a good many cases of lost chainwheel bolts

if you were to drill out/grind off the rivets you would discover the holes which house them to be smaller in diameter than those typically employed for fitment with bolts

common chainwheel bolt thread in this position is 6.0mm X 1.0

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OldForerunner

Thank you, Juvela. And of course, as usual, you are 100% correct:



Yeah, I figured the bolts would have to be pretty small diameter. Sure would have made cleaning much easier.

oneclick 

Drill a hole at the top of the slot in that stem:

OldForerunner

Great idea, thx for the health tip! When I was cleaning the stem I noticed the slit was very, very thin. I could barely get a razor blade through it to clean out the gunk.

rustystrings61 

The original BB unit, an RFG, has the potential to be surprisingly smooth - I was shocked by the one in my c.1973 Liberia a few years back.

The dropouts and cable stops are probably Nervex, and they came stock on lots of French bikes - they made a lot more than just nice lugs!

This is a lovely bike, a great story, and an opportunity to rediscover the joys of the modest French bike boom 10-speed.

juvela

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yes, indeed!

they offered the frankish counterpart to the Ross Root Irrigator





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OldForerunner

Got the original steel handlebars cleaned up. They were pretty corroded and unfortunately pitted in spots. No lightweights at 610g.



Bars, stem, and fork mounted:

juvela

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next he shall be mounting an alloy gear block boys and girls


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OldForerunner

Long time no updates. Unfortunately, parental health on both sides has been a challenge.



Looks like the seat post mast is stainless steel, there’s some stamping but very hard to read, only the clamp was rusty.




Fortunately, it cleaned up well.




A new aluminum Sunlite made in China seatpost weighs the same albeit in a longer length. Definitely going with the original seatpost.




Rusty Grand Prix saddle rails also cleaned up well:




Installed but not yet adjusted, kinda need the crank and pedals installed for that




Also went to work on cleaning up and servicing the original Lyotard pedals. Complete with missing cap. Looked for alternatives like a large enough cap nut but no joy:



Halfway there:

OldForerunner

Managed to remove the rust, disassemble, clean, grease, and reassemble the Huret Svelto RD easily thanks to @juvela awesome diagrams. I was very surprised to find actual ball bearings in the jockey wheels, the 1985 Campy Triomphe RD on my Peugeot just uses sleeve bearings.




Unfortunately, the chrome is flaking off pretty badly on the RD. Pitting, while sad, I don’t mind pressing into service but I don’t want to use parts that are shedding metal. I thought about having these re-plated but that’s a bridge too far for even my insanity. These will most likely just be stored.








Next up the 27” wheels. These replaced the originals I taco’d in my close encounter with a Buick back in the early 80's. I do remember the originals had a square checkered texture on the sidewalls. These have smooth sidewalls and Shimano hubs of some sort (will be able to read the labels when I degrease. Rims, spokes, and nipples are badly corroded.




Did a little spot cleaning on the rim, looks like it’ll work out with some moderate pitting but the spokes and nipples, I think, are a lost cause. Spokes aren't tensioned and I’m reluctant to tighten.




And a Durex freewheel. <sigh> where’s my pin spanner?

juvela

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great to see you are continuing to move forward with the project

thank you for this update

small saddle tip:

the Grand Prix saddle is a french made copy of the NITOR/Unicanitor saddles from Italy - Cinelli

most riders who try it find it has one big flaw - it is too crowned on the top - i.e. not flat enough

may forum posters refer to this shape as an "%#@-hatchet"

appreciate you may wish to stay with as many OEM fittings as possible, just wish to pass along this information in case the bicycle will be ridden...

look forward to reading the next update...

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EDIT:

wheel tip -

apply some of your preferred penetrating oil to each spoke nipple and let the wheels sit for a day or more

when the spoke nipples get rust welded to the spokes and you attempt to turn them the spokes will often break before breaking loose

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JohnDThompson 

Huret was still using ball bearings in derailleur pulleys even after Sachs purchased Huret in the mid-80s.



Looks like a two-prong Regina tool might work to get that freewheel off the hub.

juvela

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the Svelto model rear gear mech launched 1963

has been through several generations

the plastic "tyres" on the pulleys came in 1966

made in both black and in red

pre-'66 Huret pulleys were all steel and also without teeth

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wheels -

these wheels you found are pretty poor, even if they were in better nick

since you have commenced work on them you might as well continue in order to have something to render the cycle complete and rideable

suggest to keep an eye out for something better also

one very nice french manufactured hub which launched the year of the machine is the Maillard 700 as produced by the firm Ets. Perrin:



good wheels make a big difference in ride enjoyment

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OldForerunner

Thanks for the background! I remember in the 80's drooling over the lightest RD in the Performance Bike catalog, the Huret Jubillee.

OldForerunner

Thanks as always for the sage advice! I do intend to ride the p-waddy out of this thing and put it in regular rotation with my other bikes. My son is chomping at the bit to take her out. Still a ways to go...

My father and I both rode that saddle exclusively on the back in the day and a much older me looks at it and wonders how and why did I do that? Most likely ignorance. The plan is get her built up as originally as feasible and replace parts as desired.

I suspect the saddle will be the first to go after my son and I each take a 'brief' ride on it.

AdventureManCO 

Hope that decision doesn’t ending biting you in the, well, you know!

OldForerunner

Hell, so many of my decisions have bit me in the you know what why stop now?