Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

Looks like it has seen a few lives that one, I'm guessing the handlebars and stem are the only original parts, but looks like a reasonable quality frame beneath the mix-n-match

I'm seeing a great deal of potential there. Methinks it needs to return to single speed...it just doesn't look to me like it was actually meant to have gears and dodgy cabling everywhere.

Purchased a few months ago. Appears to have been blue until somebody tried to make it look like a bumble bee. It has one of the more interesting head badges I've seen. Not my size unfortunately .

Is that actually a chrome fork crown, or is one of those cheap tin plates?

Few old interesting bits on it regardless. What are the derailleurs and drivetrain?

Cheap tin plate, but it looks pretty cool.

Looks better than the Malvern Star plates of similar ilk... you can spot them a mile off!

LG wrote:Purchased a few months ago. Appears to have been blue until somebody tried to make it look like a bumble bee. It has one of the more interesting head badges I've seen. Not my size unfortunately .

Love it.

Looks a bastard combination of 1950-60's Australian and French design. I love the Simplex front rod driven derailleur. Very "French Constructeur"

That is a fascinating bike LG, I think SSS is on the money with the constructeur idea, looks like a french trials bike from the 1950s, have you got a shot of the back half of the bike? The seat stay arrangement looks interesting too

[quote="LG"]Purchased a few months ago. Appears to have been blue until somebody tried to make it look like a bumble bee. It has one of the more interesting head badges I've seen. Not my size unfortunately .


Well by the badge it is a British Coventry Eagle from the Midlands with possibly original kit from the late 50's. I have a few catalog scans somewhere I'll try and do some matching (with that fork crown especially)
These guys were a small manufacturer like Norman, Elswick etc who carried on way into the 70's.
Cheers
Richard

Coventry Eagle it indeed is Richard. A bit of info on the web, but not a great deal, more about motobikes. This one runs 26" wheels and has weinmann junior brakes, so probably more aimed at the younger market. Rear changer is huret svelto. Unfortunately the williams crank has the large ring non-removable and is very very worn, so will be a hang on the wall job.

Will get some more photos, but the lugs and layout are pretty standard.

I reckon I'll eventually get some decals which are still available and give it a coat of blue, but my sandblaster is a little broken at the moment so it will need to wait a while.

Looks interesting, not one i've seen before, especially the front brake set up

LG wrote:This one runs 26" wheels and has weinmann junior brakes, so probably more aimed at the younger market. Rear changer is huret svelto.

Don't knock it too much, 26x 1 1/4 was a common 'club racer/tourer' size for wheels in the UK in the 1930's to 50's and 26 x 1 1 3/8 was also not uncommon on bikes not meant for, shall we say, less 'Sportif' uses. It may well be a early frame (from the lugs) that has been re-fitted with the Svelto derailleur (1958 onwards at a guess?). AFAIK the badge didn't change much from the 30's to the 70's
Cheers
Richard

The wheels are 26" x 1 3/8 on this bike, with a bayliss wyley rear hub and raleigh front. It appears to take about a 26.6mm seatpost, so maybe PG reynolds or something similar after all. Included are another shot of the headbadge and a photo of the rear dropouts. Looks like somebody has drilled some holes in the dropout at some stage to mount a rack. Pity they don't make head badges like they used to

Also, just had a look at the black bike from landscapecadmonkey previous to mine. That actually looks like quite a nice frame and reasonable old as well.

That headbadge is super cool . I wish they did still make more like it, though off the top of my head Ibis have a nice (cast bronze?) one and there's another semi-custom American make that I think has a fairly ornate badge.

There's plenty of US manufacturers with cast or CNC'ed head badges.

singlespeedscott wrote:There's plenty of US manufacturers with cast or CNC'ed head badges.

I'd agree. A lot of the latter day "cottage industry" handmade frame builders clambering overthemselves to get into the North American Handmade Bicycle Show (aka NAHBS) ... Have an overly wanked headbadge. Just google-image "NAHBS"

Maybe it's something to do with the boringly neat fillet brazed & TIG'ed frames?

They just look better than a boring old transfer.

HappyHumber wrote:

singlespeedscott wrote:There's plenty of US manufacturers with cast or CNC'ed head badges.

I'd agree. A lot of the latter day "cottage industry" handmade frame builders clambering overthemselves to get into the North American Handmade Bicycle Show (aka NAHBS) ... Have an overly wanked headbadge. Just google-image "NAHBS"

Maybe it's something to do with the boringly neat fillet brazed & TIG'ed frames?

For the lazy, there is a gallery on velonews & a mugshot page on prolly is not probably which range from the traditional


to toby jugs

Wow, that face for a badge is cool!

Someone tell me what i scored for $20?
Rough weights: 2100 gm frame 700gm fork



+

Ambrosio Tubulars

I won't have any answers for you, but would like to see a closer pic of that fork crown.

Bit closer.

i think it's a colnago!

French made BoCaMa (BCM) crown, probably BCM lugs as well.
Available to builders in Australia early 80's.
Definitely hand built, probably Oz.
Did you buy it in Victoria?
Cheers

You think so Munga?

Cotterpin - I Bought at the local tip shop in Bendigo.

It appears that it was originally a blue color after stripping some of the paint off the dropouts.

There are no markings or serial numbers on the frame apart from 74A & _0A stamped on the lugs.

The Dura Ace hubs have B C on them so that would make them 1977?

Sachs Cassette Marked with LY 76 13