Jerry, I know it wasn't quite top of the line - and so does the seller - but I love the way he qualified it. Here's how he describes that it cost 6 weeks salary and was top ofthe line, _apart_ from the all-Reynolds/all-Campag/chrome-option bikes and the like. ("...sauf celui...")
"Celui ci coutaît une fortune à l'époque (environ 1,5 mois de salaire), ce qui justifie le prix de départ eu égard à son excellent état de conservation.. C'était presque le plus haut de gamme de chez Lejeune (sauf celui équipé tout 'campa' + 'tout reynolds' + option chrome il me semble)."
Another thing about the lugwork: many of the more costly LeJeunes from this period were built by Bernard Carré, and those are perfect. There are others which were either built by a different contractor who tried to duplicate the Carré style, or were more hastily built by Carré. (In any event, they don't have the "BC" marking on the seatstay caps.)
On this bike, though, there is no attempt to affect the Carré style. Yet the lugwork and brazing are very pleasing - to my eyes anyway - and as clean as the best of the Carré built frames.
But not eveyone's tasts are as discerning as mine... (Just joking here :-D ) Fred Rednor - Arlington, Virginia (USA)
--- Jerome & Elizabeth Moos <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> Nice bike, except it strikes me strange to see a high end
> LeJeune in blue rather than the signature blood red. Note
> that this is not quite top of the line however. The 531
> frame decal is the 3 Tube Renforce, meaning butted main
> tubes, and there is no 531 fork decal, so the forks and stays
> are something else, probably Vitus. Still quite nice though.
>
> Regards,
>
> Jerry Moos
> Big Spring, TX
>
> Fred Rafael Rednor <fred_rednor@yahoo.com> wrote:
> This is it:
>
http://ebay.com/
>
> (Item number: 220018559624)
>
> A very kind CR list member, knowing my interest in these
> bikes,
> brought it to my attention. Unfortunately, I have some
> personal "issues" taht prevent me from bidding on this bike.
> Believe me, it hurts not to. It's typical of the era - all
> Campagnolo except for the MAFAC brakes.
>
> By the way, the frame on this bike appears to be one of the
> nicest LeJeunes I've seen. It looks as clean as the Bernard
> Carré built bikes, albeit without some of his fancier
> touches.
>
>
> The seller's comments are fun, too, with something about the
> bike costing a week and a half's salary when it was new. Then
> he says something about it being top-of-the-line, except for
> the all Reynolds, all Campagnolo, half-chrome bikes. (Well,
> it
> struck me as amusing in the original French.)
>
> Also, the seller seems to speak English - at least as well as
> I
> speak French...
> Amitiés,
> Fred Rednor - Arlington, Virginia (USA)
>
>
>
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