This bike has been the subject of quite a bit of offline discussion among some of the Alex Singer cognescenti, francophiles, and other members of the list-fringe. It is an attractively priced bike and it is (mostly) a genuine Alex Singer. The original price had been set at 900, and the price reduction is most certainly the result of prospective buyers backing out one they'd had a chance to study the bike in question.
However, on initial inspection and conversation with Jan, we both agreed that something "was'nt quite right". The head lugs are NOT Singer lugs, and the the fork crown is a "maybe". It also appears to have a BSC headset, which is unusual.
A look in the logbooks shows that this bike was sold in 1969, and Spence made a note that said "repaired 1979". Aha. Now it all comes into focus. My belief is that the bike was badly crashed and the top and down tubes were buckled. Those tubes along with the head tube and forks have been replaced. Also notice that the original racks are missing and the bike has been repainted.
Now, this bike might be a very good deal for someone, assuming the repair was properly done, but it has a somewhat questionable history. I would recommend that the prospective buyer try to ride it, if possible, before buying. I may go down to Sellwood in Portland to check it out. After all... it IS my size!
regards from sunny San Diego
===================================================== Mark Petry 206.618.9642 Beautiful Bainbridge Island, WA mpetry@bainbridgeisland.net ===================================================== It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent. It is the ones most adaptable and responsive to change.
Charles Darwin =====================================================
Tom Sanders wrote : Subject: [CR]Alex Singer outing Message-ID: <000a01c2c4be$3f094e40$ead2f50c@C1921978A> Content-Type: text/plain;charset="iso-8859-1" MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Precedence: list Message: 10
I'm surprised it's still there, but there is a 62cm Alex singer for $650 =
@ http://www.sellwoodcycle.com/
Tom Sanders
Lansing, Mi