capnjonny 

When bikes get donated to the Bike Exchange we never know what we are going to get. Sometimes we get like new bikes that are of such poor build quality that we hesitate to even donate them out to our clients. At other times we get something that looks horrible but turns out to be a diamond in the rough.

At first sight this little ragamuffin looked like a franken bike that someone had cobbled together out of scrap . It was dirty, with a mish mash of parts from other bikes. The frame looked like it had been repainted poorly, with chips and scratches everywhere and no original decals. Tires didn’t match each other, and the crank looked worn out.

There was something that caught my eye though . It had an old TA crank, a high end piece, and closer inspection revealed fancy nervex lugs, not something you would find on a low priced machine. Then I noticed it had Nervex forged dropouts and bottom bracket. This all pointed to a high end frame. The fork ends were Campi and last but not least, it had Phil hubs.

Now I was intrigued. I decided that this would be a good candidate for a complete restoration.

The first step was the tear down. Everything came off. Parts like the brakes, seat, rack, and stem were thrown In the parts bins for use on another bike somewhere down the road. The only things I actually kept were the frame, fork, and wheels.

I took lots of pictures of the frame and weighed it (4.5 lb.) then posted them on Bike Forums.com hoping that one of the Francophiles in the group might shed some light on the maker. I received numerous replies mentioning the lugs and the unusual drop outs (solid, with no cut outs) . The Consensus was that it was French in origin, probably dating from the mid 60’s but not anything anyone recognized. As one member suggested, it was probably built in a small custom shop.

Without a definite I.D. I decided to build it back up with quality French parts appropriate to the period. The way a custom builder would have done back in the day. I chose to keep the Phil hubs with their Mavic rims and Phil bottom bracket because they are superb bits of kit and would enhance the bikes value. The crank was shot so I substituted a Stronglight with 39/52tooth rings in the front to turn an Atom 14-24 tooth freewheel in the rear. Huret supplied the front and rear derailleurs and Lyotard, the pedals. For the cockpit I chose an ADA / bell stem and CTA bars, both French, and used Mafac Dural Forge brakes and Mafac levers. The saddle is another vintage French piece by ADGA.

The next step was painting the frame. I stripped off all the paint using a combination of stripper, sanding, and scraping followed by sand blasting all the lugs and bottom bracket and anywhere else that was impossible to get to otherwise.

Then it was on to the painting process. One mistake people make when repainting a bike is to handle the frame with bare hands. The oil from your fingers can keep the paint from adhering, so once the stripping started I always wore clean gloves.

The process included :

Sanding the bare frame with 1000 grit sand paper

Wipe down with acetone to remove any residue

Wipe with tack cloth

Spray bare metal with Rustoleum self etching primer - 2 coats or till full coverage using a rotisserie to turn frame and prevent runs.

Wet sand primer lightly with 1000 grit

Spray top coat , at least 2 coats , sand, then let dry 48 hours.

Spray 2 coats Rustoleum Automotive clear enamel.

When thoroughly dry (3-4 weeks hanging in the garage) rub out paint with 3m white polishing compound

Wax with your choice of automotive wax.

While waiting for the paint to cure all the bright work was cleaned and buffed.

And finally, all the bits and pieces were re assembled and adjusted. The result is the bike shown here.










This Gem weighs in at 24.25 lbs. fully equipped and ready to ride. A true classic.

John E

Sharp-looking paint job! I remember those super-long Huret shift levers from ca. 1970. Too bad that classic TA crankset was shot.

Flying G

Great job! Always a pleasure to see a bike restored with style, elan and esprit de corps!