7/10/14 9:37 AM

A 49-20 low, that's harsh. I thought the 45-21 my '73 PX-10 came with was bad enough...I have Stronglight steel cranks on my '65 Cinelli Mod B and '57 Bianchi. The Cinelli is 51-49, but came with about 6 extra chainrings in various sizes (I guess back then you would switch rings the way we switch cogs today). The Bianchi came with a 4 cog freewheel.

I believe the Perailleur is a pretty much verbatim knockoff of a Herse design from he '40s or '50s. Tony Pereira made it with the bike in '08 or so. That bike is pretty much the same as a bike that won the best bike award at a NAHB(?) show.

That Cristophe is way cool. Do you have a year for it?

7/10/14 7:04 PM

Yeah, I always wondered how many racers hurt their knees riding those PX10's in hilly areas.
I can handle this Christiphe's gearing at my yearly peak of fitness, but still must select my riding routes carefully based on distance and on inclines.

I found a 45t chainring, the smallest that will fit on this crank with the three "dogbone" Simplex adaptor bars.
A 36t with a smaller bolt circle might fit directly onto the three arms of the spider.
I also found and bought another 4-speed, French-threaded freewheel for it with 14-24t ratios.

Oh, and this E. Christophe Record De Monde is a 1952 model, based on a 1952 catalog showing this identical bike (even color). It's very much a top-of-the-line bike for 1952 and weighs an actual 22lbs with clip pedals, "road" tires and heavy leather saddle.

7/11/14 2:18 PM

Just love that bike. Great candidate for a historically accurate paint job/resto (is that rust on he fork or dirt?)

Any brand ID for the front der? Simplex? Huret? Atom freewheel maybe? Christophe toeclips I presume.

7/11/14 2:21 PM

The clips and straps of my misspent youth!

7/11/14 4:48 PM

I can't bring myself to put a saddle on my bike that would be 25% of the weight of the bike. Nor can I see having to ride a saddle for thousands of miles before it was comfortable.

7/12/14 9:04 PM

Yes, Brooks saddles are heavy, but that means 550 grams (~19 oz. for a Pro with steel rails), so unless you've found a way to build a bike that's under 5 pounds, you need to go back to 3rd grade math class.

It doesn't take "thousands" of miles to break one in, either.

7/13/14 12:20 PM

Inspired by this thread, I decided to get some stuff to put on my leather saddles, not to break them in, but just so I don't look at them one day, see them dried out, and feel stupid (after 4-5 years of neglect, they look fine). So I got some Brooks Proofide and Berthoud dressing. This is seriously slimy stuff, combinations of various fats and oils. The Berthoud is even slimier than the Brooks, plus you get more and it comes in an easier to open container. It is also yellow, where the Brooks is white. With both, a tiny dab easily covers the saddle. I give the nod to the Berthoud, mostly for the easier to open tin and larger quantity. Sort of reminds me of old fish oil chamois fat. Both are slimier than Sno Seal (beeswax) which I put on lots of stuff.

As to Erik's points, as to break-in I think he was referring to Andy's "reinforced leather saddle," which Andy said required 3k miles. I've never had one of those, but my Brooks and Berthoud did not require significant break-in. If a saddle was not comfortable after about 100 miles, I think I'd move on (if not before).

I don't care about weight much, but on the other hand, I don't see any advantage to these saddles other than aesthetics on some bikes. My Brooks and Berthoud are perfectly comfortable for me, but no more so than the Flites and San Marco Aspide on my road bikes.

7/13/14 2:44 PM

All I can say is I did a 500-mile tour on a Flite, and suffered in spite of copious amounts of bag balm. Two years later, another 500 miles, this time on a Brooks Swift, no pain, no grease.

That sold me.

7/13/14 4:08 PM

...as in both of my old-style red cans it's red and not what I would call "slimy" at all. It's more like a soft wax, similar to Sno-Seal, but somewhat less waxy, with a different and very distinctive scent. Frankly, I think I like the scent more than the product. ;-)

7/13/14 4:18 PM

I've seen three different versions since my first Brooks, which was c. 1996. I think the red stuff was the oldest--it was waxy, with a sort of fruity smell. The current stuff is white, and softer. There was something in-between, but I don't recall its characteristics clearly.

7/13/14 4:40 PM

I didn't really notice much smell from the Proofide, but it contains Cod Oil, which I suspect may be the cause. Kucharik Chamois Fat ("Made with Premium Fish Oil"), now that stank. I remember a friend saying "I love that smell - it's cycling!"

7/24/14 12:24 PM

As a follow up. I was getting some stuff from CBO where I had got the saddle. They had TipO leather conditioner on sale, so I added it.

The can seZ pure white grease, with some info on it liquifying when/if it gets too warm. No smell really, maybe a slight shoe polish smell on my fingers. Seat still smells like leather and not shoe polish FWIW. Application at least initially has not darkened the leather, not like when I put the neatsfoot oil on the brooks.

Like smearing bacon grease on. ;) Let it sit and buffed it out with the supplied soft cloth and the luster of the leather sure perked up. Who knows if it will make it get softer faster. It seems more like it may keep moisture from absorbing, and the luster? Dunno long term.

EDIT: LOL

Last edited by Sparky on 7/24/14 1:59 PM; edited 2 times in total

7/24/14 1:46 PM

nm

Awwwwwe.

7/24/14 6:22 PM

"...Great candidate for a historically accurate paint job/resto (is that rust on he fork or dirt?)
Any brand ID for the front der? Simplex? Huret? Atom freewheel maybe? Christophe toeclips I presume."


Getting back to the Christophe, the freewheel was a 4-speed J. Moynes, with 14-16-18-20t.

Front "suicide" or "double clanger" derailer is a Simplex, and the rear pull-chain derailer is a Simplex TDF model.

Would be a crime to restore by first removing the original paint, at least in the opinion of many collectors.

The frame was bent when I got it, and I heaved the rear end an inch or so back into alignment. It actually rode ok when it was still bent!
Also there's a dent in one seatstay.

I've had buyers over to buy a different bike, but wanted to buy the Christophe when they spotted it.

7/24/14 11:12 PM

quote:

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A 49-20 low, that's harsh

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