Hello Nick,
Those are great pictures. I've never before seen them. The frame and fork in the image of Team Falcon Cycles 1970 certainly do resemble my frame and fork. I wonder if we can locate a close up of the lugs on the head tube. I think such a close-up, if it could be found, would answer some open questions about the lugs on my frame and the Cinelli fork.
In my quest to determine the date of my frame I've made contact with Peter Brown of Lincolnshire, England and Nigel Land who also lives nearby. Both Peter and Nigel have been most helpful. I am including them in the discussion as I 'm confident they will be able to help.
Peter identified the lugs on my frame as almost certainly Nervex Professionnel. He also observed that they were not filed to slim them down. He states these lugs were available from about 1950, and in use to almost 2000 with builders who had stocks.
Given that the bike's original Bill of Sale dates to November 1970 the consensus is that my frame is a "transitional" one that could have been built anywhere from late 1960s, up to 1970. According to Nigel the more relaxed clearances suggest 1968/1969. Nigel also mentioned that it's as if I have a frame from the 1950s and forks from the 1970s. That is to say that the lugs on my frame are very similar to a Super Route from the late 1950s while the Cinelli fully sloping crown fork appears in the early 1970's.
The hypothesis and conclusion thus far is that my frame dates to the late 60's. 1968/1969 to be specific.
In an effort to validate this I'm on the lookout for vintage Falcon Cycles advertisements from late 1960's as well as Nervex catalogues from the same period.
One last comment; apparently Falcon S/N schemes do not adhere to any particular convention and regrettably factory records are non-existent.
I have some additional details to contribute and will do so later this week.
Good luck with your quest to establish the date of your frame and fork.
Tim Parker
Vienna, VA, USA
From: nick lynch [mailto:nicklynch123@hotmail.co.uk] Sent: Sunday, May 09, 2010 2:50 PM To: tim.parker@att.net Cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: re: [CR] 1971, Falcon San Remo
Tim,
I was interested in your post, as I have a similar vintage San Remo Equipe. I'll try to get around to posting a photo somewhere.
It has the usual discerning features: flat wrapover stays, chromed lugs, forks and rear stays, and sloping crown. Paint is racing blue, flam red head tube and white bands on down tube. Stickers are red-on-white falcon vinyl stickers on down tube and top tube and foil sticker on down tube. Takes 27.0 seat post. Oddly the bottom bracket shell is 66mm across, rather than the standard British 68mm. Is yours the same?
>From what I can make out, this paint job was
current from 1969 to 1971. Here's a picture of
Albert Hitchen riding the Tour de la Nouvelle
France in 1971 on an identical-looking frameset.
http://www.flickr.com/
The 1970 team bikes pictured at the following link have the same get-up (although some bikes have different down tube stickers, and these bikes appear possibly not chromed? - it's hard to make out). You can also see how from the later photo how Falcon ditched the red head tube on their team bikes by 1972.
http://www.internationalcyclesport.com/
I have seen some other photos somewhere that suggest the 1969 model was identical looking to my bike, but that the 1968 model has a slightly different paint job, at least in that it does not have the two white bands on the down tube (it has a solid white panel instead).
Thus, it seems my bike dates from 69-71. My S/N is X twenty thousand and something. I've no idea how the Falcon S/Ns work, but it seems likely mine dates slightly after yours. Thus, if yours is a 1971, I would be reasonably confident in saying mine must be too! So my question, if you don't mind me asking, is how are you so confident on dating yours as 1971?
Cheers
Nick Lynch London GB
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