xancel

I was doing some research, and think it's an Armstrong frameset. Does anyone have any idea or the model?

oneclick 

Lugs look very much like Favorit.

unworthy1

They do, but not so much the brake bridge (which is distinctive but of what brand I don't know). The nubs/points on the stamped dropouts will also be a clue for somebody who has seen such a thing before, that's a new one to me. Threading of all things threaded would be helpful, as would the ODs of the main tubes and seatpost size to determine if metric tubing. I would not be surprised if not Czech then perhaps Austrian but...cannot say, myself.

konakai

nice lugs, and has already been said distinctive bridge

xancel

Thanks for all the input. In your opinion, would this be worth restoring?

obrentharris 

There are quite a few of us who appreciate bikes of this era and would consider it a worthwhile candidate for restoration.

If it were my size I would be willing to devote entirely too much money and time to making a complete, period-correct bike out of it. Please don't repaint it. This is a frame with a lot of character, much of which would be lost with a repaint.
Brent

xancel

I'm new to bike restoration but would love to learn. Thanks for letting me know about the repaint. Are there any helpful guides to bike restoration?

Pcampeau

Bike Forums is the helpful guide to restoration, though more like refurbishing in this case. Restoration typically means new paint. There are many people on here more knowledgeable than me when it comes to identifying which frame it is, this looks interesting though and is sure to attract some attention. I’d start just by cleaning with some mild dish soap and water and a soft bristle tooth brush. Work carefully around any decal and pinstriping remnants. After that some car wax. See where that gets you and try more aggressive strategies later if needed.

agnewton

Do you win that on eBay? I was the other bidder. Sorry I cost you the extra $2.50. I was a bit relieved as it's not my size, but for a hundred bucks... I liked the lugs and the remains of some of the pinstripe details.


If I recall, the ad said that the bike was French (or at least the specs were) if that helps the other commenters. One thing I thought of doing was contacting the City of Ann Arbor (where the bike license is from) and seeing if they have any historic info on the make or model. A shot in the dark, but who knows.


Sheldon Brown's website has some articles on the idiosyncrasies of French bikes for those taking the plunge. There is an adage that no one owns just one French bike.

juvela

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feature cut of headlugs appears to be NERVEX pattern Ref. 106 ter

nozzle cut resembles NERVEX pattern Ref. 158

also NERVEX offered lug pattern Ref. 15/158 which matches well save that it lacks the small triangular cutout near where the two sockets meet


here is a La Perle of 1950 constructed with it -



seat lug resembles NERVEX pattern Ref. 55, but with binder ears added

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seat stay bridge resembles a NERVEX 700 series item; there are four models differing slightly by specific dimension

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Agrati offered stamped dropouts with a point at the rear

the model designation for their product is Nr. 025.8002

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caveat -

these observations are just ideas; perhaps when the framebuilder members drop in to the thread they shall be able to knock them down and suggest things far better...

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xancel

Hah! I did! I agree with you on the lugs. I've been looking for a vintage to restore and this one fits my taste and budget (for now). I did try to contact the City of Ann Arbor, but the person I spoke to was not helpful. Hopefully, others can help ID the bike. I've been looking at some vintage FAVORIT as someone suggested, and it does look very similar.

oneclick 

What's the serial number, and where is it located?

KenNC

I saw that on eBay as well and was tempted myself, though it is not my size. Glad you have it and are posting it here, I will be interested in hearing more details about it and how you plan to build it up. Not sure I agree re the no repaint but it does make sense to build it up first and you can always decide on repaint later. Lots of interesting little features on that bike!

juvela

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two views which may advance the investigation are underside of shell and chain stay bridge


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unworthy1

So thanks to Juvela for sleuthing these frame parts, we may have Nervex 15/158 lugs and brakebridge but Agrati stamped dropouts: which country of origin would that point to?
Couple more questions: is the BB shell also Nervex (does not appear to be either the "Pro" or a "158" model)?
What make is the forkcrown? (also wouldn't hurt to have measurements of the fork blades across the short and long axis, they don't appear to be typical of Reynolds to my casual glance)
More vital than ever is the threading, seat post size and ODs of the main tubes to rule out and in certain possibilities.

Minor detail: I think the headlugs on the La Perle are actually the 86bis/158 model (see pic from Velobase)

juvela

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thanks so much for this helpful post which moves the inquiry right along

have no stake in the identity of the lugs on the La Perle
identification comes from a thread over at Tonton and may not be correct...

https://forum.tontonvelo.com/viewtop...perle&start=30

wondered about this possibility as well...

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MauriceMoss

Nothing here is jumping out at me, but the GutFeel™ check says it's a French frame. We'd need to get the threading and tubing dimensions as unworthy1 mentioned.

The brake bridge, while not unique, is not very common. It was used be several frame makers, although I think I've only ever seen it on randonneur type bikes w cantilever brakes.

I'm assuming that the original paint is at least partly visible here, so the bands on the head tube and the seat tube, while not extremely rare, could narrow the field a bit as well.

It's hard to tell what those dropouts might be. Definitely could be Agrati as juvela mentioned, but I have also seen very similar stamped dropouts with the word "DEPOSE" stamped into them, so I'm gonna guess there were some French manufacturers making these as well.

I'll have to dig around a bit and see if I can come up with anything.

Markeologist

Don’t paint and don’t spend too much…going to get the hate here…by folks who probably spent too much on similar bike…but frame has stamped dropouts and middling lugs, just not worthy of much investment.

xancel

here are more pictures. let me know if you need anything specific

juvela

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things are not moving along very well with this "investigation"

here we are at post number twenty and we still do not know rudimentary information such as tubing sizes or threading

the consensus of posters seems to be that they suspect frame to be of french origin

you could try posting it to one or more of the francophone vintage fora

suggest beginning with Tonton:

https://forum.tontonvelo.com/index.php

a good chance one or more of the experts there will see details which could lead to an identification...

forum registration is without cost

OK to post there in english

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