Re: [CR]What is the quickest way to tell if a bike is French?

(Example: Production Builders:Frejus)

Date: Mon, 12 Dec 2005 22:37:07 -0600
To: Don Wilson <dcwilson3@yahoo.com>
From: "Mark Stonich" <mark@bikesmithdesign.com>
Subject: Re: [CR]What is the quickest way to tell if a bike is French?
In-Reply-To: <20051213040627.72040.qmail@web52511.mail.yahoo.com>
References: <20051213040627.72040.qmail@web52511.mail.yahoo.com>
cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org

At 12/12/2005 08:06 PM -0800, you wrote:
>Still plugging on my mystery bike. Several persuasive
>guesses of a British bike, likely a Raleigh. But, it
>has Stronglight 93 cranks, a Strong seat post, an
>Ideale Peau-Mousse seat, Mafac Racer brakes and an Ava
>alloy stem (Allen head fastener for tightening in head
>set). Plus it feels possibly French now that I've
>ridden it with a decent pair of Mavics that let one
>feel the frame/fork work. The seat post is about 27.5
>mm. My caliper is not state of the art. Again, it
>weighs and plinks like butted tubing. How can one
>tell, short of pulling the cranks from the bottom
>bracket and checking the threading? I'd like not to.

Older French bikes typically had 26mm top tubes and 28mm seat and down tubes. Maybe they still do for all I know. Everyone else (?) used 1" (25.4mm) top tubes and 1-1/8" (28.6mm)seat and down tubes.

Mark Stonich;
Minneapolis Minnesota
http://mnhpva.org
http://bikesmithdesign.com