Hi, All,
I've just joined the bike list and have received my first e-mail (digest format).
I live in Los Angeles, and I still have most of my 1961 French 10 speed bike, a Follis. My uncle gave me the bike when I was 13, and it was one of the first two 10 speeds in our neighborhood (my brother received the other one). The frame, handlebars, brakes, and "suicide" front der are original. I unfortunately "upgraded" much of the bike about 1975. The derailleur, wheels, seat post, and crank set are all pushing 30 years. The saddle, pedals and freewheel are just a few years old.
The original rear Simplex derailleur's spring ran along the chain stay, attaching near the chainrings via an eyelet. I still have the that derailleur, although it's in pieces. I replaced the Simplex (again, perhaps unfortunately), with a Huret derailleur. (With the Huret, the rear hub doesn't sit flush against the dropout; presumably this wasn't the case with the original Simplex derailleur.)
People ask me about my somewhat unusual looking Follis, but not often, because I rarely ride it. The gearing is too high (the largest cog has 20 teeth).
So, a question: how do I change to lower gears? And at my age, I NEED lower gears.
Currently, I have an old 6 speed freewheel on the bike. Are individual cogs readily available for purchase? Will the 1975 Huret derailleur work with, say, a 26 tooth cog? Should I try to put the original Simplex der back together and use it, assuming it can handle lots of cog teeth? Or should I purchase a new hub/cassette/derailleur?
I could change the front chainrings - currently 48/46; they shift nicely with the "suicide" rod. know that the derailleur doesn't work well unless the difference in chainring teeth is close - hence my 48/46 combination. For sure I don't need 52 teeth, probably not even 48, and the lower I could go with the smallest chainring, the better. I'm not sure the front der could handle a triple; if so, I'd make the switch.
I have a few photos of the bike at:
http://www.pbase.com/
Btw, my bike Follis purchased in Westwood Village, Los Angeles, CA, at the Ed Lynch bike shop. I believe Mr. Lynch was an important figure in the bike racing scene in the 1950s and 1960s. He somehow talked me into some sort of officially sanctioned bike race, held one Saturday morning at the Veterans Administration building parking lot, at Veteran and Wilshire Blvd. I believe my best friend and I showed up, along with one other kid, and I vaguely remember winning one of two or three heats, as well as almost throwing up. I didn't bother racing again for another 25 years or so, with no better luck. Ed Lynch was supplanted by, as I recall, Charlie Harding, but his shop is also long gone from Westwood Village.
I still enjoy riding a bike. Most often, I ride my 2001 Specialized Stumpjumper (hardtail) mountain bike. I usually fit my "Stumpy" with very narrow tires and ride it on the road, including the occasional century. I like to ride the bike up the paved roads in our local Santa Monica mountains, and I like the easy shifting and super-low gears (plus being able to roll off curbs without worrying about damaging the wheels). Once in a while I'll switch to fat tires and ride a fire road or mountain trail.
But if I could figure out how best to restore - and lower the gearing - on my Follis, I'd ride it much more frequently.
Thanks,
Dave Wyman -- http://www.icyclist.com http://www.davewyman.com http://www.idrivebackroads.com
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