I've been looking for Follis decals for several years for our tandem, where did you find them?
Gene Powell Rad Finishes Portland, Oregon USA
On Apr 5, 2009, at 7:11 PM, Thomas Adams wrote:
> Dear List:
>
> It's been a while since I did this, but here are a few pictures of a
> newly
> built circa '75 Follis racer.
>
>
> http://www.flickr.com/
>
>
> This project has been rather angst filled due to some painter
> problems.
> I wanted to get this frame repainted in the worst way, and that's
> exactly w
> hat I got. It looks okay from a few feet, but up close you can see
> the i
> nexperience of the folks doing the work, and it left me rather
> unhappy.
> Decals off line and misplaced (the big Follis goes on the DT), gobs
> of ma
> tter under the paint you can feel, a great big drip of clear
> hardened under
> the BB shell---- just let's not talk about it. As there's no likeliho
> od of anyone else reusing these folks via the same path by which I
> stumbled
> on them, there's no need to identify them except to say it's not any
> paint
> er that's been discussed on the list ever (according to an archive
> search).
> An experiment that, alas, went awry. The financial resolution was
> no
> t satisfactory.
>
> So I ended up with a poorly painted frame, which looked worse than
> when we
> started, which is hard to believe with a French factory finish. A
> few ti
> mes I started packing up the frame to ship it out to a reputable
> painter, b
> ut I just couldn't make myself redo a brand new paint job. I mean
> the fr
> ame is completely covered, and at least it won't rust. I decided I
> had t
> o ride it some and get it scratched up a bit before considering a
> respray.
>
>
> My fantasy is that a gravel truck will swerve to miss me, overturn,
> and, as
> I leap clear, drop it's entire load all over the frame, while
> missing the
> components. I, of course, survive after making a perfect one point
> landi
> ng, protected by my helmet. I then repair to the bar, have more
> than one
> pint, and wait for the truck's insurance to treat me to the price of
> a Joe
> Bell or Brian Baylis respray.
>
> Anyway, this was finally a good excuse to use the gold components
> I'd been
> stockpiling for a while, so here's a chance to see them on a a
> bike. The
> build up was straight forward, except for the usual French frame
> idiosyncr
> acies. I don't know if it's a sign of advancing years, but I
> refused to
> spend time wrestling with the screws on the clamp on bits, made too
> short t
> o begin with and exacerbated by oversize french tubing. A trip to the
> hardware store, some longer bolts, cut off the excess after
> tightening, and
> voila! No headache, no eyestrain and no sprained vocabulary after spe
> nding hours trying to start the screws into the brake cable housing
> clamps,
> BB cable guide or shift levers. I should have started doing this
> years
> ago. The screws are less than a quarter a piece. Make sure you count
> how many you need, though, so you only have to make one trip. I did
> save the original bolts in case I ever decide to enter the Follis in
> a conc
> ours
> level show :-).
>
> I will probably bring this bike to Cirque, assuming I can make it
> this year
> . It is a very nice riding frame, with that indefinable "French
> Ride".
> I will be happy to share a pint with sympathetic listeners, as we
> bem
> oan bad paint jobs we've had in the past. I've had such good luck
> with t
> his hobby, I was probably overdue for some bad luck. If this is the
> wors
> t that happens to me dealing with bikes, I can live with that.
>
> Tom Adams
> Manhattan KS=0A=0A=0A