Peter Adler wrote:
> I have just acquired [...]: 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
> My suspicion is that the frame dates from the early 1960s, based on
> the component collection and dropout spacing.
Peter, that frame could almost be the twin of mine, except mine has Campagnolo dropouts and chrome. Serial 19097, so later than yours, if the numbers really are serial. Same filleted lugs (chrome on the head lugs on mine), same internal rear brake cable routing with coverplates, same slightly curved bridges, same indentations in the chainstays, same pointed effect where the stay ends meet the dropouts, same semi-wrapover seatstay tops.
I have always thought mine was around 1960 or a little older based on the parts it came to me with, including the original version Huret Allvit, which debuted in 1958 and was only made for a year or two.
Huret derailleur on a Campy dropout? Well, whoever assembled it cut the
integral gear hanger off (after it was chromed, so the cut is rusty) and
used the Huret adapter claw. So this frame clearly was not made to have
that derailleur. So the frame could be older _or_ newer than 1958, the
derailleur doesn't pin it down either way. None of the parts it came
with were inconsistent with a late-50s bike though. The Beborex brakes
are from earlier in the 50s I believe. Cranks, saddle, handle bars,
stem, hubs and rims were all models available in the 50s. Though
someone could have moved all the parts off a 50s bike to this frame
later I suppose.
> The frame itself is quite light, somewhat under six pounds.
My frame also is surprisingly light for a 64 cm frame - 4.6 lb (2100 g)
without fork. Decal says Reynolds 531 DB throughout (in French of
course) and it must be thin gauge 531 to be so light in such a large
frame size. If yours came sans chrome, Simplex dropouts instead of
Campy, and a bit heavier tubing, then maybe it was one notch down in the
model lineup. Still the hand workmanship is evident in your photos --
it looks every bit as finely wrought as mine.
> My understanding of Follis is that the headtube lugs were
> often done in a contrasting color, which would be very spiffy.
Mine is royal blue metallic with a white head tube and a white band on the seat tube, definitely original. Egregiously hacked up unfortunately, way beyond 'beausage' (beauty from usage), and the decals are almost gone, so it's going to be resprayed.
Ah, look what I just found, Wyndham Pulman-Jones's 1955 Follis
'Forestier replica' on Wool Jersey:
http://www.wooljersey.com/
> However, I have no appropriate fork...
Mine has a fork that must be original -- same paint, and identical pointed effect where the fork blades meet the dropouts. The blades are the sought-after constructeur style like Singer used to use, which taper down very small, and with lots of rake all down near the bottom. The crown is the common Nervex, with the feature cut that matches the even more commonplace Nervex Pro lugs (though mine doesn't have Nervex Pro lugs, the lugs are 'Follis Lyon' like yours and Wyndham's). So a fork off a common-as-dirt bike-boom-era Peugeot PX-10 or Gitane TdF (etc) would be a fairly close match if you get the right vintage, the one with the frilly curlicues on the crown, and Simplex dropouts. The Peugeot fork blades will have regular Reynolds domed ends at the dropout unfortunately, but a framebuilder could fake it to look like the Follis rear ends, if you don't mind losing the chrome. The Gitane fork blade ends will probably be scalloped, in a way that would be difficult to make look like the Follis. But hey, you can't look too close at the front dropouts _and_ the rears at the same time, right? (Not at my age anyway!) So maybe they don't have to match?
One disadvantage of those later racing forks I mentioned is, even though they are taller (more fender clearance) than modern racing bike forks, they still don't have as much fender clearance as my Follis. If your frame is made for a fork as tall at the crown as mine, then a (for example) 1972 PX-10 fork will lower the front end of the frame a bit, and a '72 Gitane TdF fork is a bit shorter still. Not enough to be a big problem, or even noticeable most likely, but sub-optimal especially if you're thinking of fitting large tires and/or fenders.
Another option would be _any_ old French fork with skinny-oval Reynolds blades, and preferably Simplex dropouts. Yours doesn't have to have a Nervex crown just because mine and Wyndham's do. A less-frilly crown like a Wagner would look more consistent with the aesthetic of the Follis lugs anyway.
Yet another option is to have a framebuilder make you a fork. I can supply the Nervex crown if you go that route (and if your framebuilder doesn't have the right parts); I also have the proper Simplex front dropouts, Reynolds blades and steerer. Unfortunately the crowns and steerers I have are all 1" (English); I don't have a crown for 25mm steerer. And since that's smaller than 1", a reamer won't help much. ;) So you'd need an English screwed headset race and top nut, and possibly an English-size (22.2 mm) handlebar stem. (That's not too bad though; the Stronglight headset in English looks identical to the French-thread part. And a French stem can be shimmed to work on a 1" steerer. No one would have to know.) Although you may find a framebuilder with the parts to make a 25 mm steerer fork, I kinda doubt it, unless you start by taking an old fork apart.
I strongly urge you to have a good professional respray done on this frame, I think it is very deserving. As incentive, I'll supply you with the proper head emblem, gratis, but only _after_ you show me the finished result: After you find a suitable fork, and the frame and fork are nicely resprayed. I'm sorry, but a rattle-can amateur job will not be good enough, and probably not a powder coat either -- I'm saving my head emblem for a deserving restoration, and I'm a terrible snob.
I have two head emblems -- one is the original that came on my frame, and the other is an NOS replacement, never mounted, identical except the replacement doesn't have the three holes for the rivets/screws yet. I haven't decided which one to use on my frame after it's resprayed. I like the patina on the old one, but the colors are brighter on the new one, which may look better with new paint. Whichever one I don't choose for my bike could be available for yours. If I give you the new one, you'd have to drill the holes, but the three points of the triangle are in exactly the same spots, so I'm pretty sure it _will_ fit your existing holes in the head tube. It fits mine, and I doubt they changed the pattern between your frame and mine.
I won't be insulted if you decide to pass on the emblem and just do a functional powder coat, or even <shudder> rattle-can it yourself in your garage. At least you'll be protecting it, so someone else can restore it properly a few decades from now -- better than leaving it to rust!
Mark Bulgier
Seattle, WA USA