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1950’s German-raced track bike

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Lol! I swear, in Houston, had I not gotten to it when i did, it would have ended up covered in stickers with carbon fiber spoke wheels. I cant wait to return it to its original pedigree...
I totally don’t have a former track racer with newer parts...
 
Its fine for other folks.....just not me. Im in love with old, correct parts, always have been and wrong parts eat at me too much.
Totally agree. From my perspective we are archivist / curators of these bikes and are tasked to tell it’s story by careful research and correct mechanical restoration, maintaining the originality and patina as much as possible. Looking forward to seeing your future development on this bike. The time and effort will be a labor of love
 
Totally agree. From my perspective we are archivist / curators of these bikes and are tasked to tell it’s story by careful research and correct mechanical restoration, maintaining the originality and patina as much as possible. Looking forward to seeing your future development on this bike. The time and effort will be a labor of love

Every single one of my project bikes would be done this week if I just threw parts at em until they were road worthy, but road worthy isn’t the entire reason I do what I do. There is something so immensely satisfying about searching to the ends of the earth to find the correct part with the correct finish for a bike. I think it’s a drive that is from my soul because its certainly not monetary judging by how much money I invest trying to make a bike correct. The same reason I generally wont even buy or take on a bike that isn’t original finish because to me its like piecing together a snapshot from history, a little carved out piece of an era that will never come back and once a bike has been destroyed to that point, the history is there in its bones, but the words are gone off of the pages and it feels like a great historian who’s developed dementia and forgotten all the amazing things he’s seen. Its about the bikes, and cruising (and I do a ton of that), but its so much more than that to me, its archeology. There is just something so perfect I cant explain about the feel of an old grip, or the squeak of an old saddle, the slight hesitation of an old New Departure hub or the faint rattle of an original fender…..its pure satisfaction. The real true history of this bike is lost to time with all its original parts, but I can give it dignity again.
 
Not everyone in Houston would have turned it into a bar hopper. There are a few cabers around town. Bars are all closed now anyway.
Seriously thought, great looking frame.
Was it a CL score?
What’s your component plan?
What’s the threading French? Italian? Swiss?
 
Not everyone in Houston would have turned it into a bar hopper. There are a few cabers around town. Bars are all closed now anyway.
Seriously thought, great looking frame.
Was it a CL score?
What’s your component plan?
What’s the threading French? Italian? Swiss?

Maybe not everyone but the chances are way too high. Been here 40 years and ive met very few (vocal at least) guys who appreciate originality.
It was actually a facebook marketplace ad for a really decent dude who was clearing out his storage unit.
Well the component plan right now is honestly just fuzzy and tentative as im doing more and more research to see what would be era/geographically correct and learning. Ide like to go with Titan for the bars/stem, Fiamme for the hoops and possibly Campi for the hubs but im open to ideas as long as theyre correct. The bottom bracket is french threaded so that is one thing i need to locate first honestly. Seat is really up in the air at the moment and will probably be last.
 
Every single one of my project bikes would be done this week if I just threw parts at em until they were road worthy, but road worthy isn’t the entire reason I do what I do. There is something so immensely satisfying about searching to the ends of the earth to find the correct part with the correct finish for a bike. I think it’s a drive that is from my soul because its certainly not monetary judging by how much money I invest trying to make a bike correct. The same reason I generally wont even buy or take on a bike that isn’t original finish because to me its like piecing together a snapshot from history, a little carved out piece of an era that will never come back and once a bike has been destroyed to that point, the history is there in its bones, but the words are gone off of the pages and it feels like a great historian who’s developed dementia and forgotten all the amazing things he’s seen. Its about the bikes, and cruising (and I do a ton of that), but its so much more than that to me, its archeology. There is just something so perfect I cant explain about the feel of an old grip, or the squeak of an old saddle, the slight hesitation of an old New Departure hub or the faint rattle of an original fender…..its pure satisfaction. The real true history of this bike is lost to time with all its original parts, but I can give it dignity again.
Your last sentence," The real true history of this bike is lost to time with all its original parts, but I can give it dignity again" is in essence what I try to do with all my bike reclamations: give them dignity with a careful curated approach of understanding the history, how it left the factory, and bringing all mechanicals to an optimal state of function while maintaining original paint and patina. It does become a labor of love as corny as that might sound to a non-vintage bike person.
Currently, my efforts have gone in the direction of vintage British roadsters, a type of bike guaranteed to never realize a profit from my time and money spent, but in a perverse way, that makes it all the more important to me. Knowing that the market for these bikes is so minuscule as to be non-existent compared to vintage American balloon tire bikes, forces me to choose carefully the bikes I'll work on, because I know I'll have them for a long time. With a three speed internal hub and higher pressure tires, they are a much better mode of transportation than my balloon tire bikes. Don't get me wrong; i have had many pre-war balloon tire bikes and will always love them, but the mechanical advantages of the British roadster bikes cannot be overlooked as all my bikes are riders. The fact that they are orphans in most of the bike collecting community draws me to them all the more.
 
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a spot o' progress...

correction:

tube set not from Ateliers de La Rive

several of their sets include the number 888 in their titles so i mistakenly thought 808 must be one of theirs...

here is a GEFFAC (export group) listing for Ateliers de La Rive tubesets ca. 1976

1275315

the Swedish flag on the frame's tubing transfer was a clue ignored :anguished:

have inquired with an expert on Swedish cycles and cycling for information. he reports tube name unknown to him but has promised to investigate further...

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possible identification -

the distributor for 808 frame tubing in france was a frame producer based in St. Etienne (centre of the French cycle industry) called Sterling.

here is an advert from them dated 1929 -

1275316


here is an advert from them for the 808 frame tubing dated 1949 -

1275317


here is a randonneur cycle built with 808 tubing by Sterling and dated by its owner as "1940's" -


1275349


1275350


1275352


here is a Sterling berceau also constructed of 808 and dated 1947. note how the lug in the image has been customized into the distinctive two-prong pattern also seen on the subject frame. this seems to have been a trademark of the manufacturer...

1275353

1275478


also have a third Sterling frame built of 808 to post but must make a separate message due to picture limits...

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