[CR]RE: Gazelle ,Raleigh and Brampton?

(Example: Racing:Jacques Boyer)

From: "Steve Birmingham" <sbirmingham@mindspring.com>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2003 22:25:05 -0400
In-Reply-To: <CATFOODWkuYSAD2FXt100001076@catfood.nt.phred.org>
Subject: [CR]RE: Gazelle ,Raleigh and Brampton?

I started working on a bike in the shop today that at first seemed pretty average, but once I started, it raised lots of questions.

It's a Gazelle Tour L'Avenir, pretty typical bike boom stuff. But... The wheels, which looked original from a distance, have Brampton hubs, and a flip flop hub on the rear with a regina freewheel. The rims are unmarked, and have a patterned sidewall, so I assume they're not track rims. The tires are labeled "Raleigh racing" and are only rated at 70 psi.

So what I've been wondering 1)Were Gazelle and Raleigh close enough to use the same tires etc? 2)Are these Brampton hubs relatively nice, or low end? http://www.mindspring.com/~sblackstone/hub.jpg 3)who made the rims? I haven't seen this sidewall pattern before http://www.mindspring.com/~sblackstone/rim.jpg

4)The combination of a road bike using a fixed/free hub (I'm assuming fixed/free, rather than double fixed) with a freewheel seems weird, Perhaps it's just a bike boom parts shortage thing?

5)If the wheels aren't actually right for the bike, did Raleigh make any cheap track bikes?

Probably some silly questions, but I have to learn somehow.

Steve Birmingham
Lowell, Ma