Re: [CR]Follis 172 wheels

<classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Sent: Sunday, September 22, 2002 4:55 PM Subject: Re: [CR]Follis 172 wheels

> Jerry,
> I assembled a whole bunch of 172's; the original wheels were Normandy or
> equivalent high flange hubs laced to Mavic Sport tubular rims. Colors were
> white with black lugs, light blue with dark blue, and a kind of cafe au lait
> with dark brown lugs--actually very attractive bikes and quicker handling
> than PX10's or other similar French cheap race bikes of the time. Jim
> Holly, what can you add?
> David Feldman
> Vancouver, WA
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jerry & Liz Moos" <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net>
> To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
> Sent: Sunday, September 22, 2002 5:32 PM
> Subject: [CR]Follis 172 wheels
>
>
> > Anyone know what size the original wheels were on the early 70's Follis
> > 172's? For those not familiar, the 172 was a 531 DB main tube,
> > French-equipped model, much like the Peugeot PR-10 or other French "club
> > racer" models. I have a circa 1973 one with numerous little paint
> scratches
> > and chips, but original decals, probably too good to repaint, but no
> > showpiece, that I intend to use as a commuter. It came with 27"
> clinchers,
> > the front, maybe original, on a Normandy Sport hub, the back, obviously
> > nonoriginal, on a Japanese hub. I've fitted it with SKS mudguards and
> Conti
> > 27 - 1 1/4 tires (actually 30 mm wide), but with these, rear wheel removal
> > is very difficult, usually involving removing the QR skewer so the rear
> axle
> > can clear the dropout and RD. I'm wondering if maybe this model
> originally
> > came with 700C sewups, and though 27" works OK with narrow tires and no
> > mudguards, wasn't really designed with 27" wheels in mind. Anyone ever
> buy
> > one new or with what were certainly original wheels? I'm thinking I might
> > be better off to fit 700C clinchers for commuting, to ease changing rear
> > tires (inevitably in a driving rain). This suggests a broader question
> > about late 60's/ early 70's French bikes in general. At that time, 700C
> > clinchers were unknown in the US, and European and British lightweights
> were
> > sold here with either 700C sewups or 27" clinchers, but I'm not at all
> sure
> > the French bikes were ever designed for 27" wheels. They may rather have
> > been designed for 700C wheels, and simply took advantage of the ample
> frame
> > clearance of that era to slap on 27" wheels for the US market. Anyone
> know
> > what wheels the Peugeot UO-8's sold in France in the early 70's had? Were
> > 700C clinchers already in use there? I would think the UO-8 was too
> low-end
> > for sewups, and that the 650B's used on French pure touring bikes and
> > tandems were too small. Of course the UO-8 I bought in Cleveland in 1972
> > (my first lightweight) had 27" wheels for the US market.
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Jerry Moos
> > Houston, TX