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A Vista Islena. An American bike, made in Japan, which somehow made its way to Holland. I bought it cheaply many years ago as a parts donor. The frame is my (large) size and has vertical dropouts. And I was too lazy to either sell it or just bin it, and as a result it resided in the attic for...

Like @juvela said, most probably a house brand from some Benelux chain store, as there are quite a few secondhand examples for sale here. I am not familiar with the brand, and the interwebs aren't helping much either. Here are a few I've found that give you an idea of what the complete bike...

Locomotief was a Dutch and rather "sporty" brand, and best known for their racing machines with which they sponsored a Dutch Tour de France team in the 1950's. Jan Nolten in the 1953 Tour: In the mid-sixties Locomotief was acquired by Gazelle, hence the move from Amsterdam to Dieren. The...

Ill confess I'd never heard of the brand until today. And as it turns out, it is not Dutch but Danish. And still alive, by the looks of it: Viva Bikes Founded in '06 (2006, that is) by Lars Andersen. Very much a lifestyle brand, so you don't actually have to ride to be hip. 🙂

Nice finds! 👍 I took the liberty of checking the Invicta's credentials with some friends at a Dutch forum, and it seems @Gerrit is correct. One of the members there puts it around 1936. They also get the impression from the pics that it is pretty much complete, and should provide a nice ride...

I like Belgian bikes and Belgian swap meets. 🙂Ran into Headbadge Man again last week at another event, which helped me remember I had those pictures. I think you'll find the cranks to be HERMESSE, more info on them here: HERMESSE on Velobase EKLA frame parts were widely used in the fifties...

Last November, at a Belgian swap, meet I encountered a headbadge collector: I just had a look at the pictures I took of his collection: And sure enough, I found the Sabre badge:

About similarities: here's an unbranded bike I found a long while ago, and which will give you an idea of what it would have looked like: It's also got those huge Weinmann calipers ("890" front, "1020" rear) : And the "LUX" bars, albeit with a different stem: And here's a closer match...

It is Belgian. The brand is on a list of Belgian brands I've compiled a while ago. That list says: "SABRE .......... ? .......... ? ( ? )", meaning it is unclear who was the owner, where it was based and whether they made their own bikes or was just a label. I would expect the wheel...

Seems silly to me to print the frame size on the head tube decal. But then again, lots of things in this world seem silly to me. 😕

Thank you! I suppose in a country where bicycles are mainly seen as toys, they are looked at differently by safety officials. BTW, I just found a December 1977 test of this bike by Bicycling!, where Gary Fisher mentions the CPSC adaptions to the brakes. Here are page 1 and page 2.

That is a very nice bike. Congrats on the find! I can't help but notice a couple of bits on the MAFAC brake system that I have never seen before. Were they perhaps CPSC requirements?

Perhaps I can be of assistance: "Made in W-Germany 55". No idea what the "55" means. This might be a one-off Kalkhoff product, made to cash in on the Bonanza-rad fad in the early seventies, although I have not yet found any hard evidence for that. I think it is safe to assume that there...

I did a little digging, but I didn't find much, I did find a couple of Alexander-branded bikes. One is for sale in Munich. The bike carries what looks like a shop emblem from Ingolstadt: The other is a "Bonanza Rad", restored by someone in Austria:

With the Huret parts I don't think it is from Eastern Germany. Not that it matters much. German engineers have an excellent reputation, but apparently that wasn't earned building bicycles. 😕 Here in Holland, where bikes are judged by their ability to survive without maintenance while sitting...

That must be a picture taken at La Fête des Caf' Conc', a charity event that was held each summer during the first half of the last century in Paris. Spectators would pay for their seats to watch and listen to famous artists and sports people entertaining them for a good cause.

Those brakes and pads are excellent, IME. Have them on several bikes. They work really well, and weigh next to nothing.

It is a Belgian bicycle tax plate. To be fixed to the bike in question. The system was in place until the mid-eighties. Many older Belgian bikes can be identified as such by a braze-on on the NDS fork leg for these plates:

Nice find! I have nothing to add to what @juvela has already stated, other than that I have a soft spot for bikes like these. Built to a (low) price point, but it's all there: a decent frame, decent components. Everything the average person needs for a pleasant cycling experience. In terms of...

In 2016 I bought this frame at a swap meet in Belgium, and testament to its paint quality (and perhaps my poor eyesight) is that it was only when I got home and put the frame on the work stand that I noticed that the ends were painted and not chromed: My original disappointment soon...

That is a very pretty bike! 300 x 32A seems to be unobtainable indeed. Perhaps another 12" set of wheels (or maybe a smaller 14") that is close enough to work with those brakes and fenders?

Being quite familiar with these moments of weakness I can fully understand this acquisition. Such a beautiful bike! One only lives once ...

Sure. Check beforehand which version you need: Unlimited Webshop - Batavus

Good question! I've wondered about that myself, but haven't yet found the answer. I've seen "EA", "PG", "B", "E" and now your "H". My best guess it's a framebuilder's initial. So, "Harry"? 😀

Well spotted by Mr Moss! About the numbers on the BB shell of the white example: "4" = last digit of the build year (in this case 1984) "54" = frame size (center-to-top) "6798" = serial number A very nice pro level frame. These could be had with Columbus SL as well as Reynolds 531.

Very nice! There is a reason the Super Course has quite a following. The cream-colored Bleumels are a lovely touch. Rare, desirable and vulnerable.

My school was there. Av. Giovanni Gronchi. Was out of town at the time. Yes, it was that long ago ...

Cool! Former Brooklin resident here. 🙂

Bom dia, Paulo! That is a good-looking bike! Can't really help with the ID, I'm afraid. French or Belgian would be my semi-educated guess. Late forties to early sixties, I'd say. Agree with @juvela that it looks to have had a frontal impact of sorts. If you're up for it, it can be restored. It...

Can't help with the ID I'm afraid, but that is a beautiful bike. It should clean up very nicely. On a side note: those Lyotard 'Berthet' pedals are nice as well. Even though the design is now a hundred years old it is still competetive. They have been produced well into the 1980's and decent...

Nice find, Floris! The lighting system seems to be a Dutch addition, as well as the rear reflector, and of course, the anti-theft engraving by the police. It should clean up nicely. Enjoy!

I use St Cristopher to hide a bad paint spot on one of my bikes. He does a good job. And I didn't get killed while riding that bike, so there's that too.

Update: this bike has been subject of discussions on both a Dutch and a German vintage bike forum, and speculations range from it being a replica from the early 20th century to it being a 1898 one-off by a creative blacksmith that has undergone extensive repairs in later years. More pictures...

Some more pictures. The headbadge is probably not original to this machine.

This bike popped up on a Dutch forum, and led to a lot of heads being scratched: The one reference we found was a picture on Wikipedia. The caption is "Bicycle in Plymouth, England, at the start of the 20th century". Not much to go on. Anyone know what this is? TIA.

Nice! That should clean up quite well, by the look of it. I knew of the brand, but had never seen one. Do you know if they manufactured their own frames? Thanks for sharing it here. Much appreciated!

Technically this isn't a garden, but hey. I actually like this one. A lot.

I feel your pain! Years ago I was travelling through northern France, and came across these. Apparently put outside as a celebration to a passing Tour de France stage. Mrs non-fixie wasn't yet into vintage bikes, and we were travelling in a small two-seater sports car, but otherwise I'd have...

Well, the upside is that truck drivers coming up behind me are going to be extra careful. 😃

There was a small front light mounted on the dynamo, which is not visible in the previous picture. You can just see it here: And the rear brake / rack / kitchen sink mounting plate? Well, I deliberately kept it out of view, as this one is even uglier than the ESGE on my other Gazelle:

A few weeks ago I bought a rather dilapidated 1980 Gazelle Champion Mondial semi-racer. A.k.a the "G" frame, these are based on the "A" frame Gazelle racing machines, basically the bike that won the World's in 1969, albeit with slightly longer rear stays and a couple of touring-oriented...

Titan was quite popular BITD, and their style was copied by other makers at the time. Yours is one of the nicer ones. Nicer than this combination, anyway: And this is on the Indesteege which @juvela linked to:

Nice pick-up! Looks to be very original and in excellent shape, too. Great color and some lovely Belgian details, like the rear rack and the lamp bracket. What you've found out about Derycke is pretty much what I know about them. I don't know who actually built these frames. I have seen a...

Oh boy. This is going to take some time ... 😒 As soon as I started checking out those nice bikes I came across this one: Needless to say I now need to know more about Docteur Ruffier. Certainly when the first thing the search engine coughed up was this picture: ---