Living over here in France, I see bikes in "as found" condition, which of course reflects "as used" condition. I guess that a lot of people in other countires only get to see our bikes once "put right" by dealers.
The first conclusion I can draw is that people most definitely rode thir saddles very low back in the 60's and before, say two to four cm out of tube at the most. If at all, often the saddle is sitting on the top tube. They also rode with the bar stems "dangerously" high by todays standards, just a few cm inserted into the steerer tube. I don't know if one should infer from this that they rode bigger frames proportionatly to rider size, or if pedal stroke was shorter. This info because I've seen the question asked on this list: "how far out did they ride their saddles?".
To get to the point, a whole load of bikes didn't have bar plugs. They came with wine bottle corks. As I'm restoring a c. 1947 bike that I got with shot corks, I was wondering if any list member has some spare 1947 Cheval Blanc corks. I'd need a matching pair. Lafite would be acceptable at a pinch. You can mail me the full bottles, I'll dispose of the contents, use the corks, and return you the empties.
Nick March, Agen, 4700, Lot et Garonne, France
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