Well, I don't think it's nearly as big a deal as with the Singer frame now on eBay. While one may never determine what the original equipment on the Singer would have been, the LeJeune Champion du Monde was all Campy NR, easy stuff to find, if not as cheap as it once was. And since the Campy HS, BB and seatpost are included, one doesn't even have to worry about finding French-threaded Campy stuff, unless one insists on being really anal and using French threaded crankarms and pedals. In fact, I'm not even so sure LeJeune would have used French pedal thread in 1974. Even the top French-equipped LeJeune of the time (an F-70 of which I happen to have one) is pretty easy to restore. Stronglight HS, Stronglight 93 cranks and BB, Simplex Criterium gears, Normandy Competition hubs, Lyotard 45D pedals, MAFAC Competition brakes, AVA bars and stem (for the brave). Nothing super rare there. My 1973 (or 1972 maybe) LeJeune didn't even use the now pricey Simplex hub QR's, but the much cheaper (now) Atom. About the only thing one might have to pay up for would be the badged Simplex seatpost, with the additional annoyance of having to determine whether the 26.2, 26.4 or 26.6 variation was required.
Regards,
Jerry Moos Big Spring, TX
Nipponcomet@wmconnect.com wrote:
....is it just me or..... it always disturbs me to see a bike of this
relative rarity stripped of its parts....i wonder where those components went, and
wonder more, why??? ( i think i know why ) whatever parts "she" wore are
less rare than the frameset itself... certainly along "her" path someone knew
that an italian equipped french cycle was more rare than the all french version
that must have sported the best france had to offer...is that version in the
catalog? i remember those made in france stickers that always seemed to appear
in the most out of place and highly visible spots on a french bicycle ($200 or
$1200 model)....for the bikes age it seems so bright and out of place,
partially pulled back and then thought better of......the bike seems to have no head
badge, nor sticker...strange, considering the effort to badge every other area
common to markings....i don't know, but that bike in its all original
delivery would be a pretty thing indeed....as it sits, it seems lacking ( for ME )...
the frame set is what it is and my comments are more about how i feel when i
see a nice old bike relieved of its parts...a frame set is a frame set, but a
bicycle is a bicycle...that's what i'd have liked to see. good luck w/ the
auction. charlie flaherty baltimore maryland usa