Tag Archives: vintage french bicycle

Vintage Cyclo Shifter and Derailleur How-(Not)-To

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French Cyclo Rear Derailleur

After ruining 4 tandem cables and searching the internet in vain for guidance, I think I have now successfully set up the French Cyclo shifter and derailleur on my 1947 Camille Daudon.

Cyclo catalogue 559 page 04-filtered Cyclo catalogue 559 page 06-filtered

The only catalogs I was able find were these exploded drawings of Cyclo’s British models, which vary somewhat from the French model I was working on.  While the general concept is the same, the British version has cable stops both at the derailleur mechanism as well as at the shifter lever.

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This is the wrong way to do it.

Without the cable stops, one is left to mangle the cable while trying to tension it and ponder wrapping, double wrapping and twisting techniques to make the mechanism line up correctly and shift properly.

2014-04-20 001 003 Cyclo cable set up Cyclo shifter set up

If you enjoy working with tiny tools or are perhaps a clockmaker or camera repairer – this job is for you!  After identifying the basic tiny parts needed – a nipple for the rear derailleur cable, and a “conjoiner” for the shifter, and the related miniature Allen wrenches and screwdrivers – you are ready.

Cyclo cable nipple

Cyclo cable set up

After shifting the bike by hand to the middle gear, this bike’s rear slot landed at about 9 o’clock.  I installed the nipple and then wrapped the cable around twice.  Oh, I forgot to mention that you’ll need to use a tandem cable, cut off the ends, and then put the nipple about at the midpoint.  Once installed, I used a surgical clamp to hold the cable in place.  (Perhaps a surgeon would also enjoy this job.)  Okay, now for the hard part.

French Cyclo shifter set up French Cyclo shifter set up French Cyclo shifter set up

Threading the cables through their guides, you’ll end up with two ends to be “conjoined”.  After that cable fraying process comes the daunting task of figuring out how to loop the cable properly so that the shifter ends up in the right position.  I turned the shifter upside down and backwards, put the “conjoiner” in its slot, and then twisted the cable and threaded the shifter through the twist, and voila~!  The shifter is upright and the slot position looks good – and now it’s time to adjust the tension.

Cyclo cable set up Cyclo cable set up Cyclo cable set up

This turned out to be the more time-consuming and injurious (the now frayed cable ends caused numerous puncture wounds) part of the procedure.  I ended up identifying one of the cables with some blue tape so I could determine which end needed tension.  I put the shifter in various positions during this process to learn whether the tension was right across this 4 speed drive train’s movement.  It was trial and error, lots of the latter.

Cyclo rear cable

One of the things that kept happening as I was adjusting the tension was that the nipple would come out of its slot – even though double wrapped.  I came up with this temporary solution, shown above, of installing a small rubber band attached to the derailleur mount, which helps to keep the cables aligned.  Once the system stretches and the shapes break in, I will adjust the tension again and decide if the rubber band is still necessary.

Whew!  With the shifting now moderately functional, I am looking forward to rebuilding the hubs – or any other job that doesn’t involve tiny tools and puncture wounds.

UPDATE 4/30/14:

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While paging through a copy of a 1956 Le Cycliste magazine I came across this advertisement.  The rear cable is routed through the derailleur spring!  This solves the problem of keeping the cables aligned while shifting through the gears.  I am going to re-route the cables and hopefully that will solve the problem.

1947 C. Daudon

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1947 C. Daudon I have had this 1947 Camille Daudon for a few years now, and have done nothing to it since first acquiring it from the prior owner who had done some of his own restoration work, including re-chroming the Vitus frame.  In fact, the bike is so lovely in its current form, that I am reconsidering my plans to bring it back to its original state by adding period correct hammered fenders, front rack, lighting, and a chain guard, which is what it would have originally been equipped with.  This Daudon was custom made for Irene Faberge Gunst, granddaughter of the famous creator of Faberge eggs, a special birthday gift from her husband.  In 2006, this bike won the award for best French bike at the Cirque du Cyclisme show.  As pictured, it weighs a mere 20 lbs.

The wing nuts were drilled to save weight. Double eyelets in the front, single in the rear. Designed to carry a front load.

The head tube shows a slight loss of lug detail due to re-chroming of the frame. Lam side pull brakes with plenty of clearance for fenders.

650b aluminum box style rims with surface pattern to improve braking.

Pelissier hubs.

Daudon’s customized shifter – everything bespoke on this bicycle. Shifter cable not properly set up – a one piece system is required.

Beautiful Stronglight crankset in very good condition.

Cyclo rear derailleur with wrap around cable.

Gorgeous Ideale Saddle – a bit dry and in need of conditioning.

The color matched crank arms are only still visible on the left side. Threading for all left side components is reverse, including the crank bolt, lock ring and bottom bracket cup.

You can see the slight loss of lug detail mostly on the head tube.

Perfect fork rake – a lovely bend close to the drop outs makes for a nice ride.

Re-chromed stem which is bolted to the steerer tube. All bolts are 8 mm heads.

Unbranded pedals – possibly also crafted by Daudon.

Irene Gunst’s engraved steerer tube cover. Beneath this lies the hidden tool kit.

8 mm nut heads on the seat tube clamp, simple but pretty stays.

Tool kit hidden inside the head tube.

Prior to re-chroming the frame looked like this:

c daudon framec daudon head tube03082014_0000

As you can see, the chrome was seriously compromised.  The prior owner decided that it would be worth it to re-chrome the frame and risk the loss of lug detail, rather than sanding it down and re-painting it.  While disappointing in some ways, I think the overall impact of the new chrome outweighs the downsides.  It’s nice to have these photos which will help me re-create the head badge and logos. There are other examples of Camille Daudon bicycles which can also help.  Jan Heine’s The Golden Age of Handbuilt Bicycles features two Daudons, and the latest Bicycle Quarterly features a Daudon that is somewhat similar to mine. As far as restoration goes, I still need to make the bike mechanically sound and rideable.  The Cyclo derailleur uses a one piece shifter cable, and although I could have soldered a cable to work with this derailleur, I have finally located one that will work for this bike:

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And, I am still in a quandary about whether to make this bike appear as it once did – as a touring bike with fenders, lighting and front rack.  While I contemplate that, here are some of the parts I have put together – aluminum fenders, front rack which bolts to the fenders, and Simplex chain guard.  I still need to source appropriate lights for the front and rear fenders, and a dynamo.

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I welcome your thoughts and ideas about this amazing piece of cycling history.

Le Cycliste Magazine 1956

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Le Cycliste 1956

I recently acquired 3 1956 volumes of the monthly French cycling magazine Le Cycliste.  I don’t know much about this publication, only that it was originally founded by Paul de Vivie, aka Velocio, in the late 1800’s.  Velocio himself, an avid cyclist and competitor, was a champion of derailleur gears as well as small wheeled bicycles.  Unfortunately, he died in 1930, but his cycling buddies carried on publishing the magazine for quite some time thereafter.  Much of my awareness of Velocio was originally gleaned from my avid reading of Bicycle Quarterly, Jan Heine’s publication which has on occasion re-published some of Velocio’s articles from those early days of cycling’s history.

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This particular volume is packed with articles, photos, and some wonderful advertisements.  Here are some highlights:

Velocio

“Easter in Provence” celebrated apparently with cycling events. The photo in the upper right corner features a tandem pulling a trailer!

Velocio

Photos from a 1956 cycling event in Maconnaise. The clothing worn by the cyclists looks comfortable and not too “bikey”.

Velocio

Cyclist Maurice Maitre on the Col de Saint-Louis.

Velocio

A Daniel Rebour drawing of a new Campagnolo seatpost (a design which continued unchanged for decades), a new sleek “Comet” headlamp, and an article about something called “Dissoplast” – haven’t figured that out yet.

Velocio

Ads for Rene Herse and Mavic, as well as leather saddles and mudflaps.

Velocio

Ads for Cycles Goeland, J. Routens, Hutchinson, and the mystery item “Dissoplast” which I now think is glue for flat repairs.

Velocio

Amazing Rebour drawings of rear derailleurs. Note the quick releases on the “wrong” side of the drop outs, and the two cable system on the Simplex Juy.

Velocio

This ad is amazing – it is very eye catching. The bike featured is a moped with the engine mounted on the front fork. Apparently, these little mopeds were sold all over the world, and the company continues to this day (although under different ownership.)

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No cycling magazine would be complete without technical specs.  This drawing and the related table show various frame dimensions at two different seat tube angles.  I am going to study this awhile and see if I glean any new insight into bicycle frame geometry – a topic which seems to lend itself to both mysticism as well as science.  Since it’s a rainy, windy day here in Portland, it’s a perfect time to curl up and read.