Yes...I succumbed to John Barron's "threats" and "saved" the NOS LeJeune Champ du Monde. I did bid on it when on eBay, but his reserve was too high for my budget. So I groveled and begged and pleaded and John and I made a compromise. The bike is a perfect complement to my French equipped Champ du Monde of the same vintage. There were some very minor issues and even though minor, John immediately offered to take the bike back.
As I was out of town, I had the bike delivered to A-1 Bicycles in St Louis, owned by Ray Florman, Jr. When I did return, I went in to pick up the bike. I asked Ray if he would like me to open it there and before the sentence was finished, he was handing me a case cutter saying, "I want to see this thing!" I let Ray open it so I could document the event. This was a once in a lifetime thing for me and Ray said it brought back memories. Unfortunately my camera batteries died and my reserve batteries proved to be dead also. But there are a few pics to be shared.
Pictures of the assembled bike are right out of the box. There is some work to be done to make it right, so it will be torn down and thoroughly cleaned and prepped. One interesting thing is the spoke holes in the hubs are all countersunk on the outer sides. Almost too much in my eyes. I also thought it interesting that the rims were the "lower end" Super Champions and not Competition, Arc en Ciel, Medaille d'Or or Italian make. Maybe the latter SC models came later, I do not know. The wheels will probably only be used for show, anyway as I am building some small flange Record hubs with Mavic Mod E rims for riding. The flutes on the cranks still show machining marks. My other NR/SR cranks are more finished in appearance. Brake cables from the factory are cut really short and are not soldered on the ends.The bike weighs in at just under 23 lbs. Not svelte, but light enough.
I guess I will be in the market for a NOS or near NOS Cinelli bar to replace the scratched one on the bike.
I am a happy camper. I am hoping to learn a bit of the story behind the bike...working on that. Pictures at the link below.
http://www.wooljersey.com/
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Lynn Travers
Hazelwood, Missouri USA