I've enjoyed the discussion of Viscounts & their kin, and want to second the observation that few bikes have ever seemed to combine such a decent frame with such awful same-brand components. Lest some be confused about the derailleurs, later versions like "Viscount" might have had decent Shimano units, but I have in front of me a "Lambert of England" front and rear derailleur set. The front, as one might expect is a crude derivative of a Campy or Simplex plunger design, one adjusting screw and sliding cage (Thanks, Jeff Archer, for giving me the rusty artifact at CR!). The rear, however, is charming. It is a genuine slant-parallelogram, long-arm touring unit, made entirely in sheet metal (except the screws and bolts). Imagine a Huret apprentice's interpretation of a Suntour and you'll be real close. :-)
harvey sachs mcLean va
I'm currently trying to get through some web info on Viscounts, but would like some comments on a bike I found at a local charity store.
Viscount head decal, no lugs but head tube and downtube have black paint that look like pointed lugs. Says "Handcrafted in England". Down tube has decals that say, " Handcrafted by Trusty of England, or something similar.
The large chainring is bizarre (to my untrained eye) in that it is not at all "normal". It is a solid metal disk and Has six large holes in it, rather than a typical spider type configuration and has no marking that I can find. Front derail. has a line of oval holes, decreasing in size, and looks to be marked "Titlest".
Brakes, skewers, and stem have small red medallions that have a "V". Hubs also are viscount. The other components have obviously been changed, as the down tube levers are Shimano and the rear derail. is ST VGT.
Has a full chrome fork, so I hope it is not a "death fork" as it is my size and I may ride it.
John Dunn in Boise