gitaneusa.com Forum Index Register FAQ Memberlist Search

gitaneusa.com Forum Index » Owner Gallery » C.A.'s Criterium Blue '70 Tour de France
Post new topic  Reply to topic View previous topic :: View next topic 
C.A.'s Criterium Blue '70 Tour de France 
PostPosted: Sat Apr 19, 2008 8:24 pm Reply with quote
smilingroadrunner
Joined: 10 Aug 2007
Posts: 278
Location: Salina, Ks.
Well , it's close enough to being refurbished, and the tubulars survived today's 38 miles so I thought I'd put some images up.

My understanding is the previous owner in Oregon had purchased this bike from a California racer in the early part of the '70s. He then rode the bike for the next two decades principally in the Northern California area. I purchased the TdeF this past fall. It is a 64 cm (25.5 in) frame.








Original with the exception of NOS Mavic Monterly "Champion Du Monde" rims & spokes, Vittoria tubulars (the original rims were just in terrible shape--ridden on flat tubulars it would seem---those and the original saddle and seat will stay in the basement) and the Stronglight seatpost and Selle Italia "Turbo" saddle (hopefully to be replace with a Brooks saddle in June). I'm not sure about the actual toe clips, and certainly newer Christophe straps.









I still need to clean up the TA bottle cage and the pump holder. It has its share of battle scars from the decades, and the frame tubes really demonstrate more sun fading than these images suggest. Really the finish and foil stickers are in pretty good shape. I still havent decided if I will add the down tube "model" sticker and possibly the " email luxe polymerise " and Reynolds decals. I kind of like the patina that shows the character the bike developed over the last 38 years

I Like Steel !!
___________________
C.A.
Salina, Ks.
View user's profile Send private message Yahoo Messenger
 
PostPosted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 10:00 am Reply with quote
Gtane
Joined: 14 Sep 2007
Posts: 681
Location: UK
Super looking machine. Nice to see the care and attention to detail like the other machines here. I really like large flange hubs, they look so classy. The condition is great and original too, which is so important.

Hard to say on the toeclips. I've been through a couple of pairs of Christophe's in my time. I would just replace them after a few years of riding when they began to deteriorate beyond repair. The Brooks would be a nice touch. Thanks for posting.

_________________
Everything has a cycle
View user's profile Send private message
Final Touches 
PostPosted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 10:41 am Reply with quote
verktyg
Joined: 14 Jan 2007
Posts: 2814
Location: SF Bay Area
C.A.

It looks like it just came out of the box! Twisted Evil

(remember my previous posts about how poorly most European bikes were packed during the Bike Boom era.) Crying or Very sad

Seriously, it looks great and I can appreciate the work that you put into it. Cool

If you want to make it "more" correct keep your eyes open for some Lyotard 460D pedals on eBay. They were the original pedals with alloy cages that came on TdFs. You have Lyotard 36F "rattrap" pedals. The 460D pedals are slightly wider. Also, the toe clips have leather shoe protectors which were aftermarket additions. I'll PM you on the toe clips.



Your cranks should have metric threads with a D & G stamped into the pedal axle: D = droite / right, G = gauche / left. English threaded pedals have R & L stamped in the axles.

On early Lyotard pedals metric threaded axles were black and English threaded axles were silver. At some point they all became silver then later all of them were black.

Chas.
View user's profile Send private message
Such a great resource. 
PostPosted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 8:08 pm Reply with quote
smilingroadrunner
Joined: 10 Aug 2007
Posts: 278
Location: Salina, Ks.
Well, now I'm on the lookout for some period correct pedals.

I can't tell you how many times Chas has helped me with little technical data or details as I worked on this bike over the winter months. More importantly his thoughts, suggestions, images, & feedback were instrumental in the success of the '70s foil sticker/decal project. I think we all agree that Greg at Cyclomondo did a wonderful job with the reproductions. His help is much appreciated by this forum writer and surely many others.

Sorry Folks: These pedals look like the Lyotard pedals on my Interclubs---so one more item that needs to be added to the "Original ---except" list above.

I'll assume somewhere along the line previous owners had to replace the originals-----anyhow you have to admit they took some work, but they did clean up nicely--and they are quite smooth operating.

Off to do a search on Ebay---Thanks Chas for your keen observation, I do have the correct pedals on the '72 White TdeF, I just really hadn't compared the two until you brought this to my attention.

___________________
C.A.
Salina, KS
View user's profile Send private message Yahoo Messenger
Lyotard Pedals 
PostPosted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 10:12 pm Reply with quote
verktyg
Joined: 14 Jan 2007
Posts: 2814
Location: SF Bay Area
Lyotard 36F "rattrap" pedals were the standard for perhaps millions of European bikes from the 1960s through the late 70s. They were better quality than many of the other brands of that era. These pedals were easy to lube and adjust.

The Lyotard 460D pedals have aluminum alloy cages. They were very light plus they had all of the serviceable features of the other lower priced Lyotard pedals. The 460D pedals were popular for touring also cyclocross use.

I still use them on a number of my bikes because they are somewhat wider than many standard pedals. I even had them on a Colnago because Campy pedals were too narrow and hurt my feet.

One problem with 460D pedals is they don't survive impact from hitting the pavement in hard corners or hitting objects very well. The alloy cages get bent or broken easily so a lot of 460Ds have been replaced with other pedals.



MKS makes a pedal called their Touring model. It's similar in appearance to the Lyotard 460D pedals except they are only available with English threads.



Here's a link to some history about Lyotard pedals:

http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/components/lyotard.html

Chas.
View user's profile Send private message
C.A.'s Criterium Blue '70 Tour de France 
  gitaneusa.com Forum Index » Owner Gallery
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
All times are GMT - 8 Hours  
Page 1 of 1  

  
  
 Post new topic  Reply to topic  


Powered by phpBB © 2001-2004 phpBB Group
Designed for Trushkin.net | Themes Database.