Iwasgoodonce":1xwjiv51 said:
I like the first and last bikes there particularly. What's the first one?
You are obviously a person of taste
These are two of my more auspicious bikes.
The first bike is a Geliano, a French frame with an Italian sounding name - they thought it might help sales.
The frame was a top-of the range one and would have been custom-built.
The fork crown has the drilled holes - Geliano's motif - which sets the frame back in the
1983 /84 era. Frame tubes are likely to be in Columbus SL, although the two split tubes will probably be in a French tube called CAMUS.
The framebuilder could either be a local part-timer, a coppersmith nick-named Bebere, or possibly the product of a very famous frame-builder who worked on a sub-contracted basis, called Francis Quillon ( better known these days as the original owner of CYFAC frames).
The fin on the head tube is made from thin gauge mild steel plate formed by hammering the metal with a boxwood mallet into a leather sandbag - simple coppersmithing techniques - bronze-welded and finished with a file and emery cloth - but a lot of work. (Credit is due to Norris Lockley, for very generously providing this information on the Geliano -
"Thank you, Norris" !).
I'm surprised that you like the Geliano, 'cos apart from Norris, you are the
only one who has ever made a positive comment about it. I don't know why, but most people seem to (strongly) dislike it.
I took it on my first (and only) V-CC ride last year; on my arrival at the cafe which was the starting point, one of the other riders asked me what bike I was on.
I replied
"a Geliano"
"oh" he sniffed knowledgeably
"Italian crap"
"no" said I
"French crap with an Italian name".
I thought that someone might find it to be of interest, but subsequently, the bike was given a wide berth by the other riders; I was surprised, 'cos Gelianos are very rare in this country, particularly in the split-tube versions. (Perhaps they thought that it was a much more modern bike, than it actually is.)
The Geliano is a great bike to ride; it is very responsive and handles very sharply.
The other bike that you like, is a Raleigh SBDU in 753R tubing. It is a also a great bike to ride. It is a similar age to the Geliano.
The frame is as I got it; the purists might frown, 'cos I haven't had it re-finished in Raleigh colours and with a Campag groupset. Thing is though, why bother ?, 'cos the frame looks alright - in
my eyes.
I live in a very hilly region and I see very little point in paying £££s for Campag stuff - I don't want a highly-geared bike that isn't suitable for the local roads. Indeed, you'll see from the images, that the rest of my bikes have low gears - there are some steep hills around these parts.
I get the impression, that many SBDU products are 'show' items; this bike is ridden
frequently - I did nearly 50 miles on it, just a couple of days ago. The ride had over 3,000ft of climb - it would have been very difficult, if I'd been riding with the kind of gearing that so many SBDU owners have put on these bikes. The Suntour Cyclone MKII gears work very slickly; the Open Pro wheels are excellent and the brakes are superb. All in all, the bike is pretty much setup as I require - which is for regular use.
Thank you for your interest !
