1978 Falcon catalogue
Blacktopdisciple
Retro Guru
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Thank you for sharing, what was Special St Tubing? Can't find the link to your website.
satkin55
Falcon Fan
I’m not sure what SpeciaL ST Tubing is. Maybe the ST is for steel, trying to make is sound more special. @Mandobob do you know?
My website is at https://falconrestorebike.wordpress.com/.
Blacktopdisciple
Retro Guru
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Cracking website. I suspect you're right about the tubing. I had a customer who bought a Black Diamond, same colour as yours. It was in very good condition. Next time I saw it she had rattle caned the whole, and I mean whole, bike matt black. I nearly cried.
Mandobob
VCC Falcon ME
Falcon made a range of bikes for all price levels. The marketing strategy was to do well with their top of the range bikes used by their Pro Racing Team. On the strength of the team's racing success, which was good, they sold their bikes as having "a racing pedigree". To meet the lower end of the market, they made bikes in non-Reynolds steel which is what they called Special ST Tubing, using similar or fairly similar geometry to the middle and top ranges.
SuperSid
Old School Hero
We have 2 Falcons in my parent's garage, a1973 5-speed steel metallic red road bike and my customised Falcon Super Pro.
I loved the brand when Sid Barras was riding for them, I bought my super pro for about £25 in 1989, it's been my commuter bike since then. I love the geometry and how it rides.
I loved the brand when Sid Barras was riding for them, I bought my super pro for about £25 in 1989, it's been my commuter bike since then. I love the geometry and how it rides.
Mandobob
VCC Falcon ME
And how is the super pro customised? I have a 1979 model which I love riding and its entirely original. I wonder what you have done to change yours.
SuperSid
Old School Hero
All the bikes I've ever had have been modified somewhat, the Falcon has evolved quite a lot since I got hold of the frame to build up an urban commuting bike.
It was my student bike at first with heavy and rusty steel parts to discourage theft by making it as undesirable as possible , the original paint started flaking, so after I started my new job, I resprayed it blue and started upgrading it, firstly with some Mavic CXP-30 rims, then various cheap alloy parts.
That blue paint started chipping off so I had it sprayed fluorescent orange at work. I added some clip on aero bars to get to work quicker.
It remained orange until I changed work place, which was an uphill commute instead of a flat - downhill sprint, so I started changing some parts with lighter ones and removed the clunky aero bars.
The orange paint was getting scratched and a few spots of rust started to appear so I had it resprayed again, this time with 70s metalflake silver paint inspired by the 70s custom car scene, I had the idea to create a monotone build - all silver and grey.
The hipster fixie/single speed craze made all the parts I needed available and I managed to get hold of most of the original spec stickers, the cro-mo tubing sticker was the only one missing, I fitted a 531 sticker because the frame weighs the same - 2 Kg.
I started sharing images of the completed bike here in 2012 - https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/millenium-falcon.214634/
The current evolution is probably its most extreme, I used the bike as a TT bike set up mule and eventually got carried away by turning it into an aero TT bike with 3D printed cladding - https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/millenium-falcon.214634/page-4#post-3195566
The next evolution will probably be a mix of period aero and modern lightweight parts with standard drop bars, I was always curious about how it would feel set up as a normal road bike.
I currently have 2 ongoing bike builds so it will probably remain an aerobike for the next few years.
SuperSid
Old School Hero
I have been trying to identify the model name of my father's Falcon, it might be a 1974 or 75 model, there are no chromed dropouts or forks.
It is metallic red with white Falcon graphics, it featured a single 3-arm steel crankset, a light support on the fork. The saddle was a Brooks style plastic one. I remember it had black bar tape when new. I think it had mudguard fitted as standard.
It looked like a 1973 Black Diamond but without the chrome, I've never seen a photo of a similar looking frameset on the internet.
His bike was slowly upgraded with alloy parts and was used by me as a winter bike when I was a teen. Its 28 pounds mass certainly made my legs stronger.
It is metallic red with white Falcon graphics, it featured a single 3-arm steel crankset, a light support on the fork. The saddle was a Brooks style plastic one. I remember it had black bar tape when new. I think it had mudguard fitted as standard.
It looked like a 1973 Black Diamond but without the chrome, I've never seen a photo of a similar looking frameset on the internet.
His bike was slowly upgraded with alloy parts and was used by me as a winter bike when I was a teen. Its 28 pounds mass certainly made my legs stronger.
Mandobob
VCC Falcon ME
A photo would be good to identify it.
