I think the Suntour shifters on that bike might not be original, someone may have swapped drop bars for upright bars.
jsp612 on
It’s a bike from a year or 3 before after 1970. The French were into Randonneuring, or cycle touring. It has a bit longer wheelbase than a racing bike and would be appropriate with front and rear racks for panniers.
It looks like that’s a Reynolds 531 decal under the saddle, the decals were fragile. That’s the best tubing ever made IMHO. It has a tripleTA Cyclotouriste crank, with a granny gear for climbing with a load, which is very desirable. Mafac centerpull brakes are great. Those are either Racers or Raids. It says right on the caliper. Racers are common, great brakes. Raids are longer for going around fenders and those may be Raids. Those would also be desirable. This would have had randonneur bars on it most likely, which are drop bars with bit more curviness. The bars and shifter and brakes that were put on there are top notch Japanese stuff.
That’s a reallllly nice bike. I wish I had friends like you!
3 Comments
https://classicrendezvous.com/country-of-origin/france/bertin/
Make sure the rear wheel is secured in the dropouts before you ride it.
Do you know much about French bikes? They are nice, but used some standards that are now largely obsolete if you need to replace any components.
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/velos.html
I think the Suntour shifters on that bike might not be original, someone may have swapped drop bars for upright bars.
It’s a bike from a year or 3 before after 1970. The French were into Randonneuring, or cycle touring. It has a bit longer wheelbase than a racing bike and would be appropriate with front and rear racks for panniers.
It looks like that’s a Reynolds 531 decal under the saddle, the decals were fragile. That’s the best tubing ever made IMHO. It has a tripleTA Cyclotouriste crank, with a granny gear for climbing with a load, which is very desirable. Mafac centerpull brakes are great. Those are either Racers or Raids. It says right on the caliper. Racers are common, great brakes. Raids are longer for going around fenders and those may be Raids. Those would also be desirable. This would have had randonneur bars on it most likely, which are drop bars with bit more curviness. The bars and shifter and brakes that were put on there are top notch Japanese stuff.
That’s a reallllly nice bike. I wish I had friends like you!
That crankset! 🔥