I have finally been spurred into action and opened a Flickr account so I could post the requested pictures of my 1963 Falcon San Remo Equipe.
http://www.flickr.com/
This frame was built for a sponsored amateur, so it did not originally have the Falcon name on it, but did have a headbadge, because some amateur organizations in the UK objected to amateur's bikes showing makers' names in press photographs. I have added to the file a picture of the rider on the next year's bike showing what I mean - this shows the 1964 San Remo Equipe as also looking black, but with Campagnolo equipment, as per the specification published in Falcon advertisements that year. The foil decals were added later. Mick Stallard did eventually turn professional with Falcon.
The original finish is in remarkably good condition after all this time. The photos clearly show the fork crown, the lugs and the Huret dropouts. The frame shows no sign of ever having had San Remo Equipe and Designed by Ernie Clements decals, presumably because they were thought redundant on team bikes.
Hugh Thornton
Cheshire, England
From: dkernan@mindspring.com <dkernan@mindspring.com> Subject: Re: [CR] Falcon San Remo To: "tim Parker" <tim.parker@att.net>, "'Classic Rendezvous'" <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org> Date: Monday, 15 March, 2010, 12:58
Tim,
Thanks for all the detail regarding your project bike.
I do have pictures of a frame (painted a non-metallic medium blue) that has the same lugs as yours. (I have the folder marked Prugnat (but I have to say I have no expertise on frame lugs))Keeping with the theme of Falcon's endless variation, together with your style cut lugs, the Cinelli fork crown but also has the earlier version of the wrapover rear stay that is non flattened.
It has something close to the powder blue paint on the head tube and a surviving "Designed by Enrie Clements...San Remo" decal on the seat stay.
The main decals are the foil backed versions--script Falcon top tube and down tube (shiny foil background), the large seat tube panel foil backed with the stylized Falcon crest in red and the red and blue stripes top and bottom. The smaller seat tube decal is not evident, nor is the Reynolds decal.
This one might be a bit of a mutt though--again I only have photos from eBay but there is evidence of retouching and/or respraying--such as what looks to be new powder blue paint above and below the seat tube panel that matches the head tube blue--the color does not look quite right and the head tube paint looks poorly applied.
So it may have been re-decalled at some point with the foil backed decals and touched up where the new seat tube panel decal did not cover completely?
I'll try to get some pictures posted and share the link with you and the rest of the list.
I would love to see a picture of Hugh's 1963 model, since the only older one that I have "seen" is the reviewed one on CR.
I would also be delighted if someone has pictures of anything from the '50s. Nigel either had or knew of an "Ernie Clemeents" model that predated the "San Remo" and I would love to see pictures of one. (They ressucitated this name later--there is an "EC" model I believe in the '74 catalog and I have pictures of a later (?early '80s) badged as an "Ernie CLements".
Cheers,
Dean Kernan
Pomona, New York