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Hello Marc,
dnc1's information spot on
como normale
cycle is a one up from the base sort of model; comparable to a Peugeot U08 or Raleigh Gran Prix of the time; i.e., if, for example, the manufacturer offered five road models this would be the number four
Manufrance was a quite large producer within the bicycle industry of France. the majority of their productive capacity went into doing contract fabrication so the bulk of the bicycles produced do not carry any of their owned marques.
the Hirondelle marque mentioned by dnc1 above was well respected during the interwar period and expressed a number of innovations.
the company ceased play about 1985.
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dating -
quite simple in this case. the cycle's model of Simplex Prestige shift lever did not come into use until 1971. the cycle's model of Atom quick release skewer for the hubs ended with 1972 and was revised for 1973. so it is likely to be either a product of 1971 or of 1972.
there are three spots on the machine where you may discover a date mark:
a) the back side of the Simplex Prestige rear gear mech
b) the underside of the Simplex Prestige front gear mech
c) the Rigida SuperChromix wheel rims; a marking of two digits inside a small diamond symbol
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estimate fair market value to be about 30% of your figure
this can of course vary quite widely with location
a major metropolitan area on the pacific coast of north america would be higher while a rural area or small town
would be lower
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