I bought this at a yard sale, from the owner’s son. I wasn’t familiar with the bike, only knowing it was French. The seller called his father and he said it was a Stella. I’ve brought it back to a rideable condition. New tires, saddle, cables, tape and chain. Any additional info would help. There doesn’t seem to be much online.
by r20smith
9 Comments
I forgot to mention the dropouts are campagnolo with H 578 stamped on the rear
Amazing find, what a beautiful bike, and in excellent condition for its age (at least mid 70’s).
The frame appears to be hand built judging by the Campag. Dropouts and the wrap-around seat stays. It’s probably made using a good quality European seamless butted tubeset like Vitus or Falck.
The SR Mighty cranks are Campagnolo Record clones – every bit as good but less than half the price. The long-cage Suntour Cyclone rear derailleur is a real jewel, lighter and better shifting than the Campagnolo Record, it can also handle a much wider range of gears and is still sought after today by retro builders. Brakes are Weinmann centerpulls, swiss made and like everything else on this bike, not “the best money can buy” but just a step or two away.
It’s a very intelligently spec’d bike, everything seems chosen to be functionally equivalent to the best of that time, but avoiding the acknowledged top-tier brands with their massive price premium.
Very nice photographs too, BTW.
I couldn’t tell you if it is a Stella or not, but it is clearly a nice quality hand made frame. You could check the bottom bracket to determine if it is French or not.
Really nice find with an interesting parts choice for the 70s. That stem is very nice, especially. Along with the cranks.
Give it a full overhaul (bearings, grease, cables, housing, chain, tubes, tires, chain) and true up the wheels and ride!
Ok… I’m in on this one. I’d guess it’s a ~1970-1973 Stella built for and sold by Arctic Cat. The tubing decal suggests that the three main tubes are Columbus, while the stays, head tube, and fork legs are probably Durifort. This would put the frame in line with the Stella SX75 (second only to the full Columbus/Campagnolo SX76). The only real difference between the SX75 and those marketed by Arctic Cat is the finish. The chromed stays and painted lugs make me think Arctic Cat.
There is an all most identical bike posted on bike forums.net.
Edit: Arctic Cat would also make since because of proximity. Their headquarters were in Thief River Falls, MN.
Suntour Cyclone! Realy love it. Even more then Campagnolo))
How well does the Simplex f. Derailleur work? That’s one thing that may be worth upgrading.
It’s beautiful!!!!
Thanks for all the comments. Sure seems like the Stella is a great find. I found this footnote on the company.[https://classicrendezvous.com/country-of-origin/france/stella/#](https://classicrendezvous.com/country-of-origin/france/stella/#) This tells it all