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"can anyone give me some info on a FALCON OLYMPIC, road bike? First, is it on topic? When was it made? Is it a decent bike? Is it a Falcon, model Olympic, or an Olympic, Model Falcon? I have never heard of it before.
Thank you,
David Kulcinski Orange, CA"
It's a Falcon model Olympic, no. 78 I think. And as I recall, it's a so-so Reynolds 531 straight gauge main tube. Are the drop-outs forged or stamped? Stamped drop-outs on a Falcon=rubbish. Falcon has always puzzled me, they made a simply super top-end machine, the no. 76 San Remo, and practically everything else was varying degrees of low-end mediocrity. Worse, they were all jumbled together and everything was "Designed by Ernie Clements" even if most of it was sold by S. Klein for $89. I think the Olympic was $250 so mid-range at least.
If you want a Falcon, hold out for a San Remo which, being Falcon, also came in like four different varieties including only decent "Eddy Merckx" replica they made. I just rode mine this Sunday and it's a wickedly cool look in the classic Falcon racing livery and has this unique combination of a tight front end angles and fork rake and those long British chain stays that makes for a gratifyingly aggressive yet stable ride. These things were everywhere in the 1970s but where are they now? Falcon San Remos seem to never come up on eBay, maybe they were all ridden to death or still treasured by their original owners. For all good reason...
Peter Kohler
Washington DC USA