Tag Archives: French bicycle

A 1920’s Griffon

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Here is an unrestored Griffon bicycle.  I don’t know the date of manufacture, but judging by its components, it appears to have been built in the 1920’s or 1930’s.

Although Griffon Bicycle Company was one of the earliest bicycle manufacturers, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of historical information available.  The company was founded in the late 1800’s in Paris, and became well known for their motorcycles, which were first built around 1901.  The company is also known for its iconic vintage bicycle advertisements, which are now sold all over the web in poster form.   However, as to the bicycles themselves, it is hard to find catalogs or details about specific models and years when built. It appears that Griffon was absorbed into Peugeot some time in the late 1920’s.  Fortunately, these old machines do turn up with some frequency on French eBay.

Griffon head badge

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I was drawn to this bike because the condition of this machine was extraordinary, given its age.  I have no insight into the serial number, except to wonder if the 11 at the front of the sequence is the year of manufacture (which I doubt).  The head badge is hidden under a bit of rust and corrosion, but even so, the vibrant blue, red and gold colors can be seen, along with the image of the mythological flying Griffon – a creature with a lion’s hind end and a raptor’s front end, yielding a fierce looking winged beast.

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It has Westwood style rims, branded S – AEP, which are color matched to the frame, and really look beautiful.  The old Dunlop Le Pneu tires are completely corroded. Dunlop was the first to introduce pneumatic tires for bicycles in 1887.  When I measured the rim diameter as 650 mm, I had a slight panic attack – what the heck size is this?  As it turns out, these wheels are 700A or 37-642 ETRTO or ISO 28″ x 1 3/8″.  That is not a size that is even listed on Sheldon Brown’s rim size chart.  Yikes!  Thankfully, there are several sellers around the world (although not in the U.S.) where these tires can be purchased.

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The condition of the frame is striking.  Virtually all of the box style lining is still visible, and the two tone color scheme is still very evident – being “army” green and very lime green, with long, pointed transitions on the top tube and down tube.  Even the logos are in good condition.  It is quite a large machine, measuring out at a 59 cm top tube and a 55 cm seat tube, with 66 degree angles for the head tube and seat tube, giving it that laid back look.

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The bike looks quite sturdy, and will probably be very comfortable to ride, given the geometry and the large wheels.  It features a fixed/free flip flop rear hub with 21 teeth on the freewheel and 18 teeth on the fixed cog.  The chainring has 46 teeth.  With the large wheels, that yields some big gears – about 62 and 72 gear inches.  Probably the bike would be dismounted for serious hills.  The pretty hubs, each with an oil port, were made (or branded) by Griffon.  Actually, I suspect that most of the components were probably made by the company itself.

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Everything on this bike seems oversize.  The Glorieuse saddle, also in amazing condition, is very long.  The huge bars measure 76 cm end to end.  I think these are the widest bars I have seen.  The brake levers are very nicely made, with a surprising ergonomic curve in the lever.  It will be fun to see what else I discover about this bicycle as I begin to overhaul it.

Goeland 650b Date Mystery Solved

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Goeland Mixte 650b

When I first purchased this Goeland in 2013, I was told by the seller that he thought it was all original.  Later, I discovered photos of this same bike on the web, but with a different, and apparently much nicer wheelset – Maxi car hubs on Rigida Chrolux rims – instead of the heavily corroded no-name set that was shipped with the bike.  The seller insisted that that wheelset was just an idea for a rebuild and that the bike he shipped was likely all original, but that he wasn’t sure of the manufacture date.

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I photographed the bike, then began disassembly in the summer of 2013.  I noted that there were a number of “41’s” stamped on the bike – on the rack tang, on the steerer tube, and on the bottom bracket.  But, since the seller was fairly sure that this was NOT a date code, I proceeded with my assumption that the bike was a late 40’s or early 50’s model.  And, there was also a 305 code stamped on the drive side drop-outs, front and rear.  In retrospect, it is interesting how one can ignore the obvious.

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When I purchased the bike I knew it needed a few small frame repairs.  Since I hadn’t yet made up my mind about how to proceed on that front, I set the project aside.  Then, the seasons passed.  Finally, the right moment came so I turned my attention first to the funky looking wheelset.  Right away I noticed some unusual features.  First of all, the rims are actually painted yellow, inside and out, with parallel black stripes running along the spoke bed.  When I removed the braided rim protector, I noticed a starburst pattern on the spoke nipples, and the use of washers.  I then noticed that the spoke heads bore the same pattern. Then, to my surprise, I noticed that the spokes were double-butted!  As I was handling the wheel I became aware of how light weight it was, even though made of steel – in fact, I had to use my magnet just to confirm this for myself. The unbranded hubs are very nicely machined, although the chrome plating is now rusted and pitted.  I started to work on removing the corrosion from the hub’s outer surfaces, and on trying to remove the crud and corrosion from the rims.

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I tried all kinds of products, and ended up using Menotomy’s oil with some super fine steel wool (Grade 00000).  As I was patiently (sort of) working away at the corrosion, I spotted what looked like some lettering, and started to feel a sense of excitement as I gradually rubbed away enough gunk to make out the writing:  Rigida DECO B Fabrication 1940-41!!!

I had to do some research on the web to confirm that DECO was indeed a Rigida model, and that it was Ridiga’s practice to put a date of manufacture on its rims – both things turned out to be true.  The rear wheel has what I think is a Cyclo model 3 speed freewheel, but I cannot make out the model name, nor the engraving on the spoke protector:

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Meanwhile, the work on the rims is coming along.  They will never look great, but they will have an interesting “patina” and the hub cones and axles are definitely salvageable.

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And, it was fun to bring the frame back out to look at it again and to appreciate its build quality.  I had forgotten about this nice finish work on the seat lug and mixte seat tube stays:

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I ended up concluding that the “305” code stamped on the drive side drop-outs is the serial number.  One idea is that they used a simple sequential numbering system, but I don’t have a way of knowing how many frames per year the Goeland company would build.  I haven’t been successful at finding any information about Goeland serial numbers.

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1941 Goeland 650b Mixte

But now that I know the date of manufacture, I really am impressed by how well this bike has survived, and now feel more motivated to bring this project to completion.

1980’s Peugeot 650c Conversion

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Peugeot Canada

I came across this Canadian Peugeot on eBay. Before I converted it to a 650c city bike, it was equipped with a mix of Shimano 600 and 105 components, and even sported some brifters, which of course had failed some time ago.  Probably, the bike was garaged after this and that is why it was in pretty decent shape.  Thank you, Shimano.

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There was a little bit of rust in the bottom bracket shell, so I decided to treat the frame with Weigle’s frame saver.  It was nice to see the vertical drop-outs, and the cutouts on the lugs were a surprise.  Most of the finish work is very good, except for the sloppy work on the seat stay brake bridge.  Of course, the serial number is  meaningless, except the “Y” makes me wonder if this was a PY model.  Canadian Peugeot’s were manufactured by Pro Cycle beginning in 1978.  The company used lug construction vs. the French models which were internally brazed.   The frame and fork are Reynolds 531.  The fast back seat stays and the unicrown fork, as well as the style of the Reynolds stickers (which are in French) made me date this bike to the mid-80’s.  I’ve never seen a Peugeot in British racing green, but I really do like this color.  There are even some gold racing stripes on the left side seat stay.  So, it doesn’t look as French as it does British.  (And, I guess that’s why it’s Canadian.)

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I salvaged the nice Shimano 105 rear derailleur by inverting the b-screw, a la Sheldon Brown.  That made it possible to use a 32 tooth cog on the rear cassette.  For this city drive train I used a 45 tooth SR ring, a Velo Orange chain guard, and a 165 mm SR Signature crank.  With this wheel size, that yields a gear inch range of 34-93 with the 12-32 7 speed cassette pictured.  That’s just about right for any kind of city riding that involves hills.  I used Tektro’s long reach brakes, which are what I use for all my 650c conversions, and 650c Terry Tellus 28 mm tires. These tires ride quite well and are virtually bullet proof.  The wheelset is comprised of 28 hole Dura Ace hubs laced to Mavic XP12 rims in a 2 cross style.  This wheelset came off of a late 90’s titanium triathlon bike. While this set may seem positively robust by today’s standards, I am a big fan of strong wheelsets with at least 3 cross lacing and 32 spokes front and rear.  However, for a small and light-weight rider, which is who I designed this bike for, this wheelset should work just fine.

Peugeot 531 City Bike Conversion

For the rest of the build, I chose an upright position using Velo-Orange’s Monmartre handlebar with reverse Dia Compe levers.  I had some matching Shimano 105 shifters, so used those to complement the rear derailleur.  They can be used in friction or index mode with this 1 x 7 drive train.

The standover height is 29 1/2 inches.  The bike weighs 21 lbs as pictured, so it will make a very nice and responsive city bike for a small rider.

For sale now.