1950s Rochet Touring Bicycle

[hzqw2l]

Couldn't help myself and went to grab this off FB marketplace. Just thought it was cool enough to justify the asking price.

Should be a fair winter project.

8 speed with fairly nice paint and pins. Will pop after a complete teardown.

Gnutti front hub. Rear hub has "Alfa" in script.
Pivo stem
Newer brooks saddle.
Early Simplex derailleur setup.

It looks like bottom bracket was swapped in the 70s.

56cm frame size. I like the hammered mudguards.

 

[bikerbluz]

That is too cool!

 

[juvela]

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almost certainly originally sold by Gene Portuesi, back when he was still in the original location on Michigan Avenue in Detroit & prior to the move to Cadillac

while brake calipers MAFAC Racer brake levers are CLB guidonnets

the drive side crank arm with swaged on chainwheel is a replacement manufactured in Japan; if you check the backside you may discover the Takagi three arrows symbol

difficult to tell from photos provided if they left the original bottom bracket assembly in place

drive side pedal appears to be Phillips Apollo from Britain

originals would likely have been a model from Lyotard such as the 460, 45 or Berthet

"ALFA" is a b-line product range from Nicholas Arregui of Spain (ZEUS)

an interesting period correct and national origin correct hub would be the Prior marque

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[SirMike1983]

Really nice bike. That is in the classic French touring style with the ornate lugs, hammered aluminum fenders, ornate stem, fender lights, etc. You'll have fun with that one. I'll bet it will ride great.

 

[hzqw2l]

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almost certainly originally sold by Gene Portuesi, back when he was still in the original location on Michigan Avenue in Detroit & prior to the move to Cadillac

while brake calipers MAFAC Racer brake levers are CLB guidonnets

View attachment 1882338

the drive side crank arm with swaged on chainwheel is a replacement manufactured in Japan; if you check the backside you may discover the Takagi three arrows symbol

View attachment 1882340

View attachment 1882341

difficult to tell from photos provided if they left the original bottom bracket assembly in place

Looks like Sugino is stamped on bottom bracket cup so assembly was replaced.
Guy I bought it from said he last rode it in the 80s so the bottom bracket and cranks were replaced prior to that.

 

[juvela]

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"usually" Sugino brand bottom bracket cups are marked with an indication of the thread

let us hope someone did not force BSC dimension cups into a metric shell

their pitch diameter is .15mm smaller than metric so can be started on the adjustable side but the thread differs and so will bind up after a turn or two

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early fifties era example of Rochet cycles which looks to be close to your machine -

greatest difference appears cantilever brakes vs caliper

posting for example of chainset & pedal

the bezel which surrounds the head of the drive side crank arm is a cosmetic cover for the flange where the chainwheel mounts to the arm via threading

it threads on to a flange affixed to the crank arm head and is in turn secured with a threaded lock ring similar to the lock ring for a track cog or adjustable bottom bracket cup

this chainset design was widely employed in France for more than thirty year but seems to be largely unknown in north america

in fifty plus year of cycle work have never had one pass through me workshop

here is a Peyrard (NERVAR) catalogue page from the mid-fifties illustrating it; see item 20-21 and drawing in lower right corner of page -

the pedal on the cycle looks to be an antecedant of what we know today as the Atom model 440; do not have a model name/number for this model


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[PfishB]

I like it. And I've always loved the look of the Simplex 'Fourchette Carter' front derailleur. No idea how well those shift in relation to the TDFs, but they are eye candy.

 

[juvela]

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chainset thought -

looking at the chainset on the machine so similar to yours gave me the idea that the chainset may have been changed not due to damage or wear but to give a wider gear range

the set on the bicycle similar to yours shows a chainset with a very small tooth difference between the chainwheels - appears it may be a little as three teeth

the chainwheels look to be riveted together

one thing we know regarding the gear mech on your machine is that its "wrap" capacity is rather limited

if you have not as yet begun disassembly you could put the machine in the stand and check to see if it will shift smoothly with the chain on the small chainwheel

suspect there may not be adequate chain tension for rear mech to operate smoothly on the smaller cogs of the gear block when the chain is on the small chainwheel


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[hzqw2l]

Found these online. Sister bike to mine.
These were the only pictures of the crank assembly.

 

[juvela]

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yes, the five-pin chainset seen on the example of Midwest1 is a quality set as can be seen by the mounting flange for the chainwheels being forged rather than swaged

the riveted chainwheel set features a 53T outer and could be a product of Cyclo; Peyrard, Verot & other producers also did riveted chainwheel sets

a five-pin set for your machine would open a world of gearing options vs a three-arm set

the pedals on the Midwest1 example are a variation of the Lyotard model Nr. 36; it would be easy to locate a pair of standard model Nr. 36 to fit to your machine if wished, they be quite common

the Atom pedals seen on the example posted earlier would be more difficult to locate - especially ones with good plating

these were widely employed by Rochet; have seen them on several other examples hailing from the fifties era


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