Yeah, this could be Swiss, but more likely French. Probably not Peugeot, as they did not use long point lugs on top models in this era, which looks like early 70's to me. The seatstay caps do indeed look like LeJeune, but LeJeune often had a brazed on rear brake hanger, which this bike lacks. Don't think I've ever seen a LeJeune that color either. Could be Gitane, Motobecane, Bertin, Follis or one of the less known marques like La France or Meral. As I've mentioned here before, French bikes in this era with half-chromed forks but painted rear stays were usually one step down from the top model, with 531 DB maintubes but unspecified stays. They sometimes also had 531 forks, as this one seems to. I never understood why they made a model with everything but the rear stays in 531. How much more could 531 stays have cost?
Regards,
Jerry Moos Houston, TX
Fred Rafael Rednor <fred_rednor@yahoo.com> wrote:
> She has the same seatcap treatment and fork crown
> as a Juvela I had awhile back. Basically a second
> tier Mondia w/o the fade job.
I don't think this seat-stay treatment was at all unusual in France, so I'm not convinced it indicates any particular marque, brand or vendor. I have a LeJeune that looks just like this. I've seen several other French bikes that share this treatment. I wouldn't be surprised if someone like Jerry Moos has two dozen of them.
I still believe that this frame, my LeJeune and many other similar bikes were likely to have been produced by the same contract builder "somewhere in France". Au revoir, Fred Rednor - Arlington, Virginia