Well, gang, in a nice guy moment, I gave my NOS front TA rack to a very good friend for his birthday. At the time I remember thinking "I'm never going to build up a French bike, and he wants one for HIS French bike, so why not".
Guess what? Yep, I'm building up a French bike. Is there a chance anyone is willing to part with a TA front rack, preferably with the little tab for a light? Doesn't need to be NOS, as the Grand Record is rather tatty, but in very good condition would be great. My stash is small but I would open to trades as well.
Thank you to everyone who replied to my N.R. derailleur query. I think I will go with 50/34 front and 13-32 7 speed (IRD) freewheel using a (off topic) SRAM 8 speed chain. Once again, I am amazed and humbled at the depth of knowledge contained in this group of bicycle geeks, er, I mean, afficionados. I am a bicycle mechanic by day and what I absorb here does help me from time to time when working on old wrecks.
Jay Sexton
Sebastopol, CA