Help needed to date a Louison Bobet

[2old2race7]

I just picked up a Louison Bober C-34 that I want to work on restoring with my 8 year old grandson. It is the Campagnolo edition with Campagnolo shifters, front derailleur and Campagnolo Gran Sport rear derailleur. The head badge serial number is four digits starting with 06. Does anyone know what year this was made? It has a Stronglight cottered crankset, Normandy high flange hubs on Fiamme rims with Atom quick release skewers, Racer brakes and an Ideale 41 saddle.

 

[juvela]

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thanks very much for sharing this wonderful find with the forum

outstanding that it is so all original and without damage

manufactured by Mercier; Bobet rode for part of his professional career with Stella and part with Mercier

frame appears constructed of three-tube Reynolds with NERVEX Professional lugs and Simplex ends

the Stronglight chainset is model Competition 55 and is of very high quality, the bottom bracket spindle is hollow

brakes are a product of CLB
one launch date found for this model is given as "early 1960's"

pedals are Lyotard Berthet

the small round holes in the flanges of the Normandy Sport hubs end about 1967 so that is a helpful date bracketing clue

the cycle's Campag Gran Sport rear gear mech can also provide a date narrowing clue. it enjoyed a relatively long production life beginning with its 1952 launch. there are differing generations which exhibit small variations. these are shown in the listings for the product at velobase.com. you can compare the examples illustrated there to narrow the date of the one mounted to the bicycle.

leather saddles are sometimes marked with a date on their underside. check for example the underside of the cantle.

from what can be seen date appears to be within the 1961-1965 window.

other readers will be along more and better information to assist you.

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this find amazingly close to the cycle you took in in 2015:

Sunday's Show and Tell. ...6/14/15 | General Discussion About Old Bicycles

Ya OCTO plus 5 other events in 3 days all VW and they all let you ride bikes, late pic is at the Classics. Been looking for a nice 64 lime for years at a decent price (that what I had when I was a kid) and this the best so far, with some weird mods, to bad the scraped the paint off the top bar...

thecabe.com

both cycles may have been sold by Gene Portuesei back when he was still on Michigan Avenue, prior to his relocation to Cadillac

tip -

if you do not have it already you might wish to get a copy of the 1970 book The Complete Book of Bicycling by Eugene A. Sloane

he employs his personal Bobet machine to illustrate points of maintenance and repair to it contains a great many close-up detail photos

[revised edition published 1974]



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