Good day all,
Yesterday I offered the 1988 Huissoon frame and fork
(its still available:
http://www.wooljersey.com/
Springfield (although the name definitely sounds American) is very much Amsterdam, and later (after the war) Haarlem (yes, the city that Harlem New York took its name from). The owners thought the Springfield name stood for quality and dependability (the rifles?).
The firm (or bikeshop rather) was founded by the Metz brothers, and was
taken over by the Hoogland brothers in the 70s. The shop used various
framebuilders to make its products, and if you're into the Dutch language,
here is a nice story about the Springfield brand:
http://wielersport.slogblog.nl/
In the 70s the frames were mostly made by 'Witte Ko' (I wish I knew his full name, but I've always known him as Witte Ko); the same builder that made my Visser Vainqueur in 1981. This Springfiield shows much more quality though! Better quality bb shell (Roto), nice lugs, but also a very clean finish, which I can't say of my own custom build Visser, which rides so nice. The reason must be that this Springfield was build for the brother of the then owner of the Hoogland shop, Fred Hoogland. It had a lot of milled and drilled parts, which have been, respectfully, transferred to my '72 Presto.
So this frame I'm offering has a lot of history. You might notice the colour: Gios blue. And the headbadge; very much like Gios.
Condition of the frame is good, but the chromed fork needs rechroming (really). On the left side of the downtube, the Springfield are mostly missing. I believe this is a common font and can easily be replaced, but I do have contact with Fred Hoogland and he seems to have some decals left.
The pictures that show everything in unscrupulous detail are here:
http://www.wooljersey.com/
The last picture in the album is of an ad of 1985, I think shortly after that the shop ceased to exist.
Geometry and dimensions:
seattube: 57 c-t toptube: 57 c-c wheelbase: 995 mm rear spacing: 125 mm
Included are the Campagnolo Record seatpost, the Cinelli saddle, the headset (upper part Super Record, lower part Nuovo Record, but pitted), Nuovo Record bottom bracket (good condition), Cinelli stem (80 mm) and bars (42 c-c), the bars are leather covered and include of course the Campagnolo brake lever clamps. The stem has the name of the shop pantod.
I'm asking 175 usd for all of this, shipping to the USA (insured, trackable) is 95 usd. payment with Paypal only please: faro@cistron.nl.
Thanks for looking!
Freek Faro
Rotterdam Netherlands