# CYCLIA French Bike...Sold by SEARS...



## HARPO (May 29, 2021)

I began a Post in the General Discussion section on this bike with photos the owner had.  @juvela  and @GTs58  were helping me figure out what the heck it was.









						Post War(?) Sears "Made In France"...Well, Sold Through Sears... | General Discussion About Old Bicycles
					

Bike appears to be Post War due, to the Higgins HNL shifter. I could be wrong, but that's why I'm asking.  I've never heard of or seen one, but has anyone else? :( The guy is looking to sell it, but has no idea as to what to ask because HE has no idea what it is either. :rolleyes:




					thecabe.com
				





I just picked it before because it was something I never heard of, and yes, I know the frame is bent/shot... but for $20 it's something different to play with when I get done with my other Projects.

So...can anyone add to the Mystery of this brand of French bike?


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## HARPO (May 29, 2021)

...more photos...


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## HARPO (May 29, 2021)

Does anyone know what the piece sticking out of the front fork was for? I'm going to assume to hold a Light.


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## juvela (May 29, 2021)

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thanks very much for the new peechuhz!

chainset Acier Diamant, as suspected
this is one of several names belonging to the firm Ets. Verot-Perrin, best known for Stronglight brand chainsets and headsets

brakeset is from Beborex

pedals of good quality - notice barrels are of one piece construction
suspect they _may_ be from Brampton of France -





appurtenance on fork blade is a mounting bracket for dynamo
it is NERVEX item Ref. 898 AV

planetary gear kit definitely from Steyr/Styria/Puch

rim brand E.M.R. was also a producer of stems

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## juvela (May 29, 2021)

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was unfamiliar with E.M.R. as a brand for bicycle wheel rims

letters stand for Etablissements Metallurgiques du Rhone

turns out it goes back to the nineteenth century and is connected to MAVIC:









						Mavic — Wikipédia
					






					fr.wikipedia.org
				





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## HARPO (May 29, 2021)

juvela said:


> -----
> 
> was unfamiliar with E.M.R. as a brand for bicycle wheel rims
> 
> ...




AS usual, thank you for all of your info, Mr. Encyclopedia. 

To bad the frame is bent. Would have been a nice "one of a kind" type bike to have that I'll never see again. Oh well. I might just clean it all up anyway, if not just to make it look decent. You can still see pin striping through all the dirt.


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## slowride (May 29, 2021)

Just typed in the text in the seat tube graphic in search engine and found this . By the way really like the bike and all it charming details.


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## juvela (May 29, 2021)

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another mystery sorted!    

company created 1941 in Vichy, i.e. during the occupation and in the seat of the Petain government

some company history here -


_C’est le Stéphanois Louis-Émile Rivière qui a créé, en 1941, *Riva Sport Industries*, rue de Madrid à Vichy 03
En 1950, il construit une usine neuve (reprise plus tard par Alzay et remplacé en 2007 par un immeuble) à Vichy, route d’Abrest (66 avenue Poincaré, face à un LIDL aujourd’hui).
Riva Sport fabrique des *vélos* (marque Alphonse Thomann, utilisée par Jean Robic qui a gagné le Tour de France 1947), des *cyclomoteurs* (Motobloc) et des *scooters* (aux marques Sulky et Sporting).
Les cadres dirigeants étaient MM. Peltier (directeur général), Maisonneuve (directeur de l’usine) et Thomas (gendre de L-E Rivière). La société a employé plus de deux cent cinquante salariés (dont le pilier international Amédée Domenech lorsqu’il jouait au RCV rugby) ! Louis-Émile Rivière, bien intégré aux milieux vichyssois (président du Rotary), habitait la fameuse « villa vénitienne » de l'architecte Décoret, rue de Belgique. Il est décédé en 1961 après la *fermeture de l’usine, intervenue en 1958.*
Il a fallu attendre le début des années 2000 pour que
’ex-usine Riva Sport, devenue une friche industrielle, soit abattue et remplacée par un immeuble d’habitations.

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une berceau Riva-Sport -_
















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two catalogue pages ca. 1960 -








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						SOCIETE CENTRALE DE CONSTRUCTIONS MECANIQUES / RIVA-SPORT / CYCLES RIVA-SPORT - encyclo du vélo
					

SOCIETE CENTRALE DE CONSTRUCTIONS MECANIQUES / RIVA-SPORT / CYCLES RIVA-SPORT Vichy Bottin du cycle de 1951. « C'est le Stéphanois Louis Rivière qui a créé Riva




					encycloduvelo.fr
				




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## HARPO (May 30, 2021)

@slowride  Thank you! Never dawned on me to try and look up the seat tube decal for info.  I'll eventually clean up the bike as I would normally, even not being able to ride it.

@juvela   Roger, I took French in High School and don't remember a single word of it.   Nice having this info, though, and I love the photos of the Sport model. Thank you.


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## BicycleBill (May 30, 2021)

HARPO said:


> Does anyone know what the piece sticking out of the front fork was for? I'm going to assume to hold a Light.



generator mount


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## juvela (May 30, 2021)

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_en anglais -


It was the Stéphanois Louis-Émile Rivière who created, in 1941, *Riva Sport Industries* , rue de Madrid in Vichy 03
In 1950, he built a factory new (later taken over by Alzay and replaced in 2007 by a building) in Vichy , route d'Abrest (66 avenue Poincaré, facing a LIDL today).
Riva Sport manufactures *bicycles*(Alphonse Thomann brand, used by Jean Robic who won the 1947 Tour de France), *mopeds* (Motobloc) and *scooters* (Sulky and Sporting brands).
The leading executives were MM. Peltier (general manager), Maisonneuve (plant manager) and Thomas (LE Rivière's son-in-law). The company employed more than two hundred and fifty employees (including the international pillar Amédée Domenech when he played RCV rugby)! Louis-Émile Rivière, well integrated into Vichy circles (president of Rotary), lived in the famous “Venetian villa” of the architect Decoret, rue de Belgique. He died in 1961 after the *factory closed in 1958.*
It was not until the early 2000s that the former factoryRiva Sport, which has become an industrial wasteland, is shot down and replaced by an apartment building.

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frame's vertically drilled seat stay bridge is a NERVEX 500 series item.  there are about twenty models of these vertically drilled, straight and unflanged bridges so one would need exact dimensions to know which model it is.

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## HARPO (May 30, 2021)

Merci !


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## juvela (May 30, 2021)

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forgot to mention...

in case any readers may have missed it the forum had a discussion thread on another Riva-Sport three-speed just last fall -









						Riva Sport Wheelset Replacement? | General Discussion About Old Bicycles
					

Hello Folks,I’m interested in hearing thoughts pictures knowledge on replacement wheel set for a Riva Sport bike i pickup. Wheels are to rusty to use.Rear wheel came with a brampton 3sp #140 Tire sizes 26x1 3/8 I believe backspace 116mm front wheel just as bad spacing 96mm.I’ve already uploaded...




					thecabe.com
				




a thread on the same two-wheeler was commenced by the same poster over on BF -






						Riva sport bikes information needed - Bike Forums
					

Classic & Vintage - Riva sport bikes information needed - I have chance to purchase a Riva sport bike project winter time looks like its a good candidate for a path racer build.but I can find any information.Anyone have any knowledge on these bicycles?Thank you



					www.bikeforums.net
				





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## HARPO (May 31, 2021)

@juvela  Here are photos of the front hub...


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## juvela (May 31, 2021)

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thanks very much!    

New Star is one of the names belonging to Etablissements Perrin - best known as makers of the Pelissier brand

another name of theirs is Exceltoo

this is the first New Star can recall seeing in a small flange form; all others found have been large flange

funny note regarding the marking -

it looks like the person setting up the stamping die was unable to locate the letter N and so substituted an upside down letter U

these quirks show up from time to time with stamped markings...

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## HARPO (May 31, 2021)

@juvela I found a girls version on ebay...ridiculous. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/113927083097?campid=5335809022


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## dnc1 (May 31, 2021)

There are always several 'New Star' hubs available on Ebay France, often small flange examples. 
Interesting that you have published images from a 'Gentil' catalogue @juvela. Edmund Gentil was perhaps the closest French equivalent to A.A. Pope during his American Bicycle Company period,  buying up many of the Parisian based cycle manufacturing firms in the early 20th. century.


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## juvela (May 31, 2021)

HARPO said:


> @juvela I found a girls version on ebay...ridiculous.
> 
> https://www.ebay.com/itm/113927083097?campid=5335809022




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WOW HARPO!   

if that deposition of oxide ferrous be worth DCCCLV$ just image the treasure you have there - should be worth > deux k  

no need to perform any further lavandation; just place it directly upon the embaymenture!

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PS - maybe we should start a Cyclia club...

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## juvela (May 31, 2021)

dnc1 said:


> There are always several 'New Star' hubs available on Ebay France, often small flange examples.
> Interesting that you have published images from a 'Gentil' catalogue @juvela. Edmund Gentil was perhaps the closest French equivalent to A.A. Pope during his American Bicycle Company period,  buying up many of the Parisian based cycle manufacturing firms in the early 20th. century.




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it is certainly easy to understand why a vintage enthusiast would enjoy poring over these reseller enumerations of yesteryear...

whether Gentil, Bozzi, Dei or Doniselli the one thing which can be so frustrating is the refusal of the publisher to include an identification of _il perpetratore vero _for each listing

they seem to want to create the impression that the items are created in back room

over at BF many readers are wont to refer to the Agrati lugs depicted in the Bozzi catalogue as "Bozzi lugs"  

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## HARPO (Jun 9, 2021)

Does anyone else have this model bike? I'd love to see some photos if you do. 🙂


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## HARPO (Jun 10, 2021)

Apparently I'm the only one with this anomaly of a bike... 🤪 Everyone else was smart enough to not get one.


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## bloo (Jun 10, 2021)

I wouldn't know about that but I love this thread. I'm not even a lightweight fan but I'm drawn to this, probably because of the rarity and the fact that nobody seems to know all that much about it. I do hope you are planning to pull on it and make it back into a bicycle, but then again I am the master of hopeless causes LOL.  🤪


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## HARPO (Jun 12, 2021)

I took a _very_ quick look at the bike today (@juvela _I'll look at the grips tomorrow) _to examine the headlight. I was shocked to see that it appeared never to have been opened! The inside was as clean as the day it was made. Didn't look close enough to see the manufacturers mark, but there is one. Something else to check out and see if it's also French made. 🧐


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## juvela (Jun 13, 2021)

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the two biggest names in frankish illumination at the time of the machine were JOS and Soubitez

some examples from a catalogue of MCMXXXIX -










if lens is clear it is a lamp made for export

if lens is yellow it is a lamp made for domestic french use

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## HARPO (Jun 13, 2021)

I took the bike out for the first time since bringing it home and storing it, so it's still filthy. 😧

Hard to make out the name on the grip (_it's on the underside mostly_), but before I butcher it, I'm sure Roger will know.

What I noticed for the first time is that the cable for the rear brake runs through "clamps" that are made onto the frame. They appear to be crimped after the cable is put through, although it's possible it's forced through. Pretty work intensive welding for a lower end bike.

Headlight is Soubitez...Number 265...lower than the catalog pages show.


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## juvela (Jun 13, 2021)

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FELT a rubber goods producer

IIRC they also did tyres & tubes for cycles

plastic saddles

may have also produced a type of rubber laminate saddle top (unclear)

FELT grip on a Manufrance cycle of the 1950's -












						Felt
					






					www.macadam2roues.com
				




FELT pedal rubbers on a Wonder cycle of the 1930's -





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cable clamps -

this method of holding cables to cycle frames was quite common on french bicycles for many years

here is the shell of an Alcyon brand machine circa 1954 -





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## HARPO (Jun 13, 2021)

Very cool, thank you!

Apparently, when the guy I bought the bike from handed me the saddle, I never thought to really look at the bottom of it. I went to put the saddle on just to keep it all together and saw this.
Someone way back rigged it to fit another bike with a smaller diameter seat post. 🤪


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## juvela (Jun 13, 2021)

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here is a mudguard mount arrangement of a Soubitez Nr. 265 lamp on a Helium (Peugeot) machine circa 1963 -









the machine's rear lamp is a Soubitez Catalux

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## HARPO (Jun 14, 2021)

bloo said:


> I wouldn't know about that but I love this thread. I'm not even a lightweight fan but I'm drawn to this, probably because of the rarity and the fact that nobody seems to know all that much about it. I do hope you are planning to pull on it and make it back into a bicycle, but then again I am the master of hopeless causes LOL.  🤪




_I don't know WHAT I'm going to do with it_. I don't know of anyone that does frame work, and honestly, I don't think it's even worth the investment. For now, I'll just hang onto it for a while, if for no other reason the "rarity" of it. 🙄

Surely, there _has_ to be some J.C. Higgins people out there with one of these. I can't be the only one...unless all the frames ended their life like this and are now remade into ashtrays someplace.


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## HARPO (Sep 14, 2021)

To early a Higgins Import bike that no one on here has one, I guess...


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## HARPO (Sep 15, 2021)

Well, the hub like mine sold on ebay...









						VINTAGE 1960'S CIRCA J.C. HIGGINS 3 SPEED 8 REAR 36 HOLE FREEWHEEL HUB...  | eBay
					

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for VINTAGE 1960'S CIRCA J.C. HIGGINS 3 SPEED 8 REAR 36 HOLE FREEWHEEL HUB... at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!



					www.ebay.com


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