Re: [CR] popular French economy 60's Lightweights(was:[Astra maybe French maybe Bel

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In-Reply-To: <68.2b082786.2b46f191@aol.com>
References: <68.2b082786.2b46f191@aol.com>
Date: Fri, 3 Jan 2003 10:47:57 -0500
To: ABikie@aol.com, vze4k5n6@verizon.net, rena.cutrufelli@comcast.net, R.Delmare@Charter.net, classicrendezvous@bikelist.org, morgan@hahaha.org
From: "Sheldon Brown" <CaptBike@sheldonbrown.com>
Subject: Re: [CR] popular French economy 60's Lightweights(was:[Astra maybe French maybe Bel


>Cousing Larry wrote:
>The distributor might have been Franklin Imports in Filly, possibly Keystone
>Haverford...?

I believe they were distributed by Beacon, a no longer funct Massachusetts distibutor from somewhere north of Boston...but they may not have had an exclusive on that line.
>
>The Astra was similar to a Motobecane,

They were in fact Motobécanes, with the Moto "M" logo built into the lugwork. Motobécane was always a challenge for anglophones to pronounce, however.

In the early '70s bike boom, they were not highly regarded, compared with the likes of Peugeot, Mercier, Jeunet...at the Bicycle Revival, we used to call them "Ashtrays."

Shelton "Per Aspera Ad Astra" Brown +--------------------------------------------------+ | Some of my brother's paintings may be seen at: | | http://junila.com | +--------------------------------------------------+ --
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