No this isn't another of those emails asking if anyone knows who made Jacques Anquetil frames per se, but an enquiry whether anyone on the List is an "Anquetil" fanatic who can tell me exactly the dimensions of Maitre Jacques frames.
As my collection of bikes and frames is rapidly escalating around the three hundred mark, and my age is not diminishing either, I have recently decided to become more focussed in my favourite pursuit, so I have decided to collect original ex-T-d-F and Pro team bikes and frames from the period 1930 to 1983..but only French ones.
So far I am doing well and have about eight or nine, most of them with good provenance. Recently I have been approached to buy the 1937 frame, saddle and bar/stem that allegedly was ridden by Rene Vietto. However I do enough about old French frames, bars etc to know that le Roi Rene never got astride this set up. I almost got my fingers burned..or should I say my cheque book !
Any way I have now been offerd what is supposed to have been one of Jacques Anquetil's frames during his 1963.64 period when he had left Helyett and before he rode frames with his own brand. In this period he rode Gitanes, finished in a mid-to-deep flam blue, with a mix of Campag equipment and stiil the old faithfull mafac "Dural Forge" brakes. He never appears to have used the Mafac Top 63 model that Mafac developed for him.
However..I have the frame for inspection and it looks the business..and has all the hall marks of being built by Bernard Carre..I have it on good authority from a friend of Carre, who was a Commissaire in those days for the FFC..that Carre built Jacques' frames...is the correct colour etc etc...
So far so good, ..but does anyone know what size frame Jacques rode? the one I have here looks to be too big, as I feel sure from scanning enough photos of Anquetil, that he rode something like a 56 or at the most a 57.
Any info, pointers, leads etc would be very welcome...as I want to avoid that expensive burning smell..if at all possible
Norris Lockley, Settle UK
Norris Lockley