La Vie Claire TVT Experts WANTED

[stringfellow1946]

Let me start by saying ,I have never seen one of these frames/bikes in any collection anywhere!!! most of the TVT frames start with the 1987 Look KG86 that La Vie Claire used in 1987 TDF ( I have one of these KG86 Looks) or the Lemond one from the 1989 TDF & then the 1990 Z Peugeot one
Dose anyone have one of these? Its A Very Very Early (1st edition) TVT Carbon Frame that was used by Lemond &Hinault in the 1986 TDF.
I used to sell TVT frames back in 1989-1993 in my shop plus I have 2 road bikes & 2 low profile ones in my collection already.
I have just bought this very early one. (2nd photo)
NB I didn’t know that TVT did them with Straight Seat Tubes! Until I saw this one a couple of days ago & I then started to do a lot of research (every other TVT has seat tubes that curve in above the rear brake bridge)
Also every other TVT I’ve ever seen has screws fixing the seat tubes to the seat lug (This one dose not!! & nor do the Lemond &Hinault 1986 TDF ones)
What I want to know is the colour that La Vie Claire painted these TVT Frames? & the decals used on them. I’m 95% certain that they originally came with Vitus forks rebadged 753 or TVT. (not the later TVT Carbon forks)

if anyone has any detailed photos (or information) of these frames, particularly of the Decals used & the Colour of the frames.
Also what make & model of rim La Vie Claire used, I know they were fitted with a C-record Groupset with the Cobalto brakes.
NB The first photo has the frame decaled up as an “Hinault” but that is NOT how they were in the 1986 TDF. Also it looks like an Ice blue colour to me! but that maybe just the photo?

Any help & information would be very much appreciated.

Chris

 

[roadking]

Re:

Interesting, I am currently researching for an article on the 1985 TdF, with a particular focus on the Renault and La Vie Claire teams.

As a result I've been trawling thorough my large collection of images from this period (and looking at the seasons that bookend the 1985 one - i.e the 1984 and 1986 seasons).

I have a lot of detail on the 1985 LVC team bikes, and many images (details like rims, crank lengths, spoke count, chainring size...the list goes on). However, thus far, the 1985 season is an all steel* one for LVC (have an image of Hinault on a 531Pro low profile, although LVC frames are also constructed from the 753R tubeset).

I am now looking at 1986.

Rk.

*most, not all though, branded Hinault (these are silver with red decals, Lemond's Hinault carries additional Huffy decals).

 

[stringfellow1946]

Thanks roadking
Yes your right lemond's Steel frames from 1985 did have the Huffy decal certainly on the head tube IIRC?
But it looks like the carbon frames used in the 1986 TDF had a Look decal on the head tube an Hinault decal on the down tube, with the diamond Look decals on the seat tube from what I can see in the few photos I've found on the internet.
I would be very grateful for any details & info & photos that you can let me have on the 1986 carbon frames.

Thanks
Chris

 

[rusty bodie]

Re:

i think that this is the best shot i have of hinault's tvt forks . .



i am certain that they are the same tvt unicrown forks that i had on my 1988 tvt which was the same as delgado's tour winning frame of the same year. it can be seen in great detail on this page:

http://velosvintage.over-blog.com/artic ... 84817.html

you can see the allen key seat stay cluster and fork crown closer here . .



as far as the rims are concerned, la vie claire used ambrosio metamorphosis in 1986. bulletproof hoops, as the advert used to say!

 

[roadking]

Thanks roadkingI would be very grateful for any details & info & photos that you can let me have on the 1986 carbon frames.ThanksChris

Hi Chris,

post edited due to typos, best pm me if you'd like an update.

Cheers.

Rk.

 

[rusty bodie]

Re:

chris,

did you ever get any more information on this frame? i've seen many photos of the la vie claire bike and yes, the colour looks almost like an ice blue in some shots, but i'm sure that it was a pearlescent silver. any idea who sprays carbon frames these days? back then there were very few folk who'd do it. i can remember that it had to be dupont imron paint - something to do with the drying process..

as far as the rims were concerned - ambrosio metamorphosis - like hen's teeth these days . . .



craig

 

[stringfellow1946]

Re: Re:

chris,

did you ever get any more information on this frame? i've seen many photos of the la vie claire bike and yes, the colour looks almost like an ice blue in some shots, but i'm sure that it was a pearlescent silver. any idea who sprays carbon frames these days? back then there were very few folk who'd do it. i can remember that it had to be dupont imron paint - something to do with the drying process..

as far as the rims were concerned - ambrosio metamorphosis - like hen's teeth these days . . .



craig

Hi Craig
No the frame I was after fell through ;( Yes I think you may well be correct with the colour as the Steel Frames la vie claire used were Silver. I would imagine any good car body shop should be able to spray carbon these days? as lots of car panels are now carbon. I'm still on the look out for the correct very early TVT frame that la vie claire used.
I know what you keen about the ambrosia metamorphosis being very difficult to get hold of.
Cheers
Chris

 

[stringfellow1946]

I am about to restart this project as I have now acquired another frame & forks of the correct vintage, an early TVT with the straight seat stays.
So its back to the paint colour for the frame rustybodie seems certain its pearlescent silver as does roadking.

 

[rusty bodie]

Re:

Yup, I'm sure it was silver. The previous year's team road bike was a metallic silver and a polar blue seems highly unlikely, especially given that most photos you'll find of that bike will look silver and not the icy blue colour that it appears to be in a few photos.

As for those rims, I went for these nice rare old ones:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ambrosio-AB4- ... Sw7FRWZ281

and dizzibird on ebay made me up the correct Metamorphosis decals.

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Dizzibird?_dmd=2&_nkw=ambrosio

You'll need to email ask him to make you set, as he doesn't list them thus far.

Here's another good photo showing that LVC's TVT was undoubtedly silver in colour . . look at Hinault's forks . .

 

[stringfellow1946]

Yes I'm going for the pearlescent silver Craig, as you.suggested. With it being pearlescent that would in certain light conditions make it appear a very pale ice blue.
Thanks for the link to getting the decals made I did e-mail Ambrosio a while back for them but they no longer have them.