I've been very interested in following the recent discussions attempting to identify 60s/70s French bikes, because I have more than one of these. Purely by virtue of an unexpected frame swap with my local bike kitchen, I have just acquired another: A Follis lugged frame with the "Follis Lyon" cutout headtube lugs. Photographs of the forkless frame and all the included components are here:
http://s248.photobucket.com/
Serial Number: 11785
no-name French headset no-name French bottom bracket (dual spindle?) Campagnolo 1012/1 Gran Sport rear derailleur Campagnolo 2050 Gran Sport front derailleur (Simplex front cage plate) Campagnolo 1014 Gran Sport DT shifters, clamped Campagnolo 626/A twin gear cable clip Campagnolo 629 twin handlebar control clip Philippe lugged stem no-name French handlebar Universal Mod. 61 centerpull brakes, levers front, rear QR cable hangers (Dia-Compe?)
Top Tube: 55cm (C-to-C) Seat Tube: 54cm (C-to-C) 55.5cm (C-to-T) Seatstay: 40cm (to dropout braze) 45cm (to rear of slot, Juy Simplex forged dropout) Dropout: 118mm Head tube: 122mm Seat post: 26mm
Unfortunately, there's very little interweb information on Follis; the only list of models I've found is the 1974 Linder Euro-Imports flyer on Classic Rendezvous, which has little model-specific detail, and may apply to a different date range anyway.
http://www.classicrendezvous.com/
My suspicion is that the frame dates from the early 1960s, based on the component collection and dropout spacing. All the photos of Follises (Follisii?) with cutout lugs that I've found stop in the mid-60s, but I've seen no literature from Follis itself that includes documentation of the lugs.
The frame itself is quite light, somewhat under six pounds. The spraycanned white paint is pretty beaten up. The photos inside the bottom bracket shell reveal a metallic aqua blue that I suspect was the original color; it's quite similar to a Gitane shade from that period. All the other photographs of the cut-through headtube lugs I've seen have chromed lugs; so far, I see no signs of chrome here.
The distinctive features of the frame are the curved brake bridge (the bridge between the chainstays is similarly curved) and the internally-routed rear brake cable.
At this stage, I'm a little uncertain as to how to proceed. The existing finish isn't going to hold up, and isn't original in any case. I would prefer to match the original color, if possible; but price is a consideration. Powdercoating is the most durable option, if the color's correct; but I'd be willing to attempt a paint job on my own. My understanding of Follis is that the headtube lugs were often done in a contrasting color, which would be very spiffy.
As for components, my intention is to use the existing group as far as possible, upgrading the headset to a Stronglight Competition and the bottom bracket to a TA that I have in my parts hoard. I'm planning on a TA Pro V crankset with half-step gearing. However, I have no appropriate fork...and this is where the identification of the frame is key, so that I locate a French-threaded fork appropriate to the frame.
Has anyone any thoughts/suggestions? -- Peter Adler Berkeley, California/USA
19xx Follis somethingsomething (just acquired today!) 1971 Raleigh International 197x Bertin Cxxx (an ID project for another day) 1988 Bianchi Superleggera(?)