fordbailey

I just picked up a Frejus from Craigslist. It has serial number 1063 F (under bottom bracket), has no tubing decals and sports Campagnolo Nuovo Record (derailleur) and Gran Sport (hubs) parts. It has a Nervar cottered crank with 47/52 rings. It has a “Tour de France” model decal, but differs from all the other Tour de France models I’ve seen so far. The frame is very nicely made, with details such as a seat stay bridge with cut out windows painted a contrasting color, Campagnolo 1010 dropouts. It has factory aluminum spearpoint fenders as well.
the serial number appears to coincide with the bikes being made under the “same roof” as Legnano.
the bike appears to have been ridden very little. Though the Clement tubulars are tattered, they show no tread wear and still hold air ! The chrome is a little rusty, but I might have caught it in time to preserve it. not sure yet.
It came to me via Brooklyn, NY, so may have been sold by Tomas Avenia in NYC.
I’m curious to know more about it. Does anyone have any more information on this model, and what year it might be ? My current guess is ‘67-‘70.

Thank you-

Ford
Columbia County, NY


Serial #

As found

No tubing or Bozzi deal


Nice details

Rust on chrome

La Bella Bici !

velomateo

Oh that's a nice one. Good score.
Love that decal on the top tube, very cool.

cudak888 

With period fenders? What a score - and a gorgeous machine.

-Kurt

sd5782 

Gonna be some drooling going on here. FYI, I have one from about 1964 posted on this forum in the past. Experts here say to check the inside of the campy locknuts for the hub manufacture date for a clue, especially as it looks all original.

KenNC

That is a great find and I bet will clean up beautifully.

iab

Serial number 1080 F was purchased from Thomas Avenia in June 1971.

mattk42

That's spectacular.

due ruote 

Fender mount threads on the chainstay bridge? I’d say it’s both beautiful and ahead of its time. Quite a bike - hope it fits.

sd5782 

Not to hijack thread, but perhaps @jab could decipher my Frejus serial number too. BB stamped tdf62 which I assume is model and size. Seat tube upper stamped 107534 with no cutout on the lug. Campy locknuts said either 63 or 64 from what I remember.

juvela

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headset Way-Assauto

pedals Lyotard Berthet M23

AND it has its Gaslos





expect Campag axle locknuts to read "70"
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sd5782 

Others may also chime in with curiosity of the orange 2 stroke? cycle in the background, not to mention the scooter and whatever is under the car cover.

iab

63/64 sounds about right.

Dale's registry - Frejus serial number chart
The RSC registry may be behind a paywall (I pay ) - https://www.registrostoricocicli.com...gistro-frejus/

juvela

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​​​​​​https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...nce-1960s.html


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Johno59

Wow, that is so nice. Can't wait until you polish it up.

1simplexnut

Nice !!
I wish we had barns like that in my part of the world !

satbuilder 

Wow

juvela

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in this image can be seen three or so exposed threads on the machine's adjustable bottom bracket cup

makes one wonder if it is in some manner a mixed set

for example, perhaps the assembler mistakenly grabbed a spindle intended for a 74mm shell

will be interesting to check the spindle's centre section for markings when you repack bottom bracket...
may be an OMG or a Way-Assauto set

one common marking is "57", used to indicate the distance between bearing shoulder centres on a spindle intended for a 70mm width shell

will be interesting to learn the finish on the caps of the wedgebolts' false acorns, they are likely to be a solid colour blue or red; sometimes they can carry a monogram

​​​​​​

have a faint memory that the zinc plated pump peg set seen here is a Silca product but am sure others will recall it more clearly...

this set can be seen on page 180 of the famous Catalogo Bozzi Di MCML where it has the item numbers 2710 and 2711. catalogue states finish choices to be chrome or nickel. unfortunately no maker's name is indicated.


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fordbailey

They are factory fenders-the bike came with them !

Thank you !

fordbailey

Thank you- I checked out your thread immediately. Your bike is beautiful - and set up really nicely. It looks like a great ride ! I know about the locknuts, I just haven't had the time to look. The rear derailleur is a Nuovo Record with "Patent" and no date, so it seems to indicate a late 60's date.

Ford

fordbailey

Thank you - I'm going to look closer at those acorn nuts on the cotters. There is a recess there. In my experience it's not that unusual to have a few threads on the adjustable cup, but I certainly do look forward to repacking it. It's little stiff right now. That Catalogo sounds really interesting.

Ford

juvela

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two other possibilites for the maker of the pump pegs are Delta and Gavozzi

Delta is an Italian brand of air pump known mainly for frame pumps

their emblem is a dromedary standing before a pyramid

Gavozzi produced a similar set of pump pegs to those worn by the bicycle but theirs were done in allumino...

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the very nicely finished wedgebolts on the bicycle are unobtanium afaik today

so carefully remove them when you disassemble the chainset and see if they can be reused

it may be that sun/weathering have removed all the colour from the insert caps in the acorns

the caps crimped into the tops of the acorns are thin stamped aluminum sheet which is anodised to give the colour

if spindle is from OMG may bear a two digit marking in its centre section - the standard one for use with a 70mm shell would be 57

unlikely that any of the bottom bracket bits are Magistroni products; their final year of manufacture was 1965 and it seems established that cycle would have been built in 1970. the maker of Magistroni products, Giostra, began using the OMG and OfMeGa/OFMEGA names in 1966.


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seedsbelize2

Beautiful. Great score!

fordbailey

Thank you ! Yes- the fenders are original. They are really nicely mounted, too.

fordbailey

Thank you for the information. I haven’t had any bikes with cottered cranks for a while. I wish the chainrings were a little smaller. This bike has a lot of very nice details. I’m keeping everything.
I’m looking forward to taking it apart and looking closer.

Ford
Ghent, NY

repechage

actually that feature is decades old, Frejus was one of the last to still employ it.
the brazed on cable guides at the bottom bracket are a bit forward thinking for 1969-1970.
I have not been a big Frejus fan, I guess being Westcoast, but this bike is helping to change my assessment. Headlugs look to have received more attention than some of the other race bikes.
fender stays will need some attention.
maybe electroless nickel?