Bob,
I think it might be interesting to see a really close up
photo of the seatstay caps. From a distance, they resemble
other well known French bikes built by contract builders.
Regards,
Fred Rednor - Arlington, Virginia (USA)
> I bought this frameset on eBay a year ago. The only markings
> in the bike
> are VALGAN and CHAMBORD - which would be the model, I
> assume. It is
> beautifully made in every way (except for the cheap French
> enamel) and the Super-Vitus
> 971 Extra Leggere frame & fork are a real delight to ride
> and quite light in
> weight at 5# 13oz (2.6 kilos) total for the 60cm frameset.
> Now, I'm just
> curious if anyone has ever come across this brand before.
>
> I have checked through the CR archives, and there were a few
> comments around
> 2000-2001, and then again in 2004 as well. Nobody knew
> anything about the
> bikes. But, I was hoping that some clever researcher may
> have now stumbled
> across more data regarding the builder... or Importer... or
> even a shop which
> may have once sold these.
>
> After examining everything about the bike for clues, I'm
> fairly convinced
> that it was, as someone suggested, a small No-Name contract
> builder who picked
> up the slack for one of the big St. Etienne companies... and
> then also built
> some for himself, too. Another thought I've had is that
> possibly a small
> French exporter had hoped to break into the US market for
> high-end bikes with
> their own moniker, and then just went bust. Or lastly,
> perhaps a small US
> importer or even a small bike shop had hoped to cash in on
> marketing a brand of
> their own. Unfortunately, this appears to date from the
> late 1970s, just when
> the French bike market was collapsing. But, these are just
> my speculations.
> No location for the builder or company or whoever produced
> or had even sold
> the bike originally.
>
> In any case, I have some photos of the bike now which can be
> seen here:
>
> _http://community-2.webtv.net/bike-salvager/ValganGallery/_
> (http://community-2.webtv.net/bike-salvager/ValganGallery/)
>
> It is truly a delightful bike and was a fine bargain at $129
> + $25 shipping
> for the frameset, including a Stronglight S-5
> "Super-Competition" headset and
> "Competition" BB which seemed virtually unused... just like
> all of the Gold
> Mafac Comp.and Gold Super LJ components which the seller had
> parted out from
> the bike at the same time. And, yes, the rear SLJ
> derailleur sold for only
> $4 less than my frameset.
>
> So, just to satisfy my curiosity, please do let me know if or
> where you may
> have seen one of these before - if at all.
>
> Thanks Much folks!
>
>
> Bob Hanson, Albuquerque, NM, USA
>
>
>
>
> ************************************** See what's free at
> http://www.aol.com.
> _______________________________________________
>
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