New Project - 'Green Lion': Some more photos

[Johnsqual]

Hello,

I just won this on e-bay in Belgium. Quite chuffed because I really wanted it:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/170710301981? ... 500wt_1106

It's a Groene Leeuw (Green Lion) from Belgium.

GL was a long lived and popular team that went through various incarnations up to the 1970's. They were really a 'Flandrien' team, winning several Paris-Roubaix, RVV and so on. Some famous (in Belgium, at least) riders included Briek Schotte, Athur Decabooter and Eric De Vlaemick, the last being a cyclocrosser of course. Damn, if I ever found a vintage GL cyclocross I'd need a change of trousers.

The bike's a bit of a state and needs a respray, but it's a nice project for the winter I suppose.

Any advice on what to put on it is welcome: PO says it's from 1960, and apparently GL used Simplex equipment then. Don't know if I can afford a Simplex JUY derailleur though And saddle? A Brooks, or some continental equivalent? Oh, and is the fork crown Nervex? Looks a bit like
one of theirs.

Cheers for looking,

Johnny

 

[Old Ned]

Looks like a good buy at that price. Also ridden by Michael Wright as a pro in the Wiels-Groene Leeuw team in the 60's. Mafac Racer brakes required and a Stronglight/TA chainset with either Simplex or Campag Gran Sport or Record gearing. There was a lot of mixing of components in those days, complete 'groupsets' as we know them now were unknown. Riders used to take their own saddles/seatpin, bar/stem combos and even pedals/clips/toestraps around with them to put on another frame at different races.

 

[Elev12k]

Very nice That is Cult.

Have you found much Groene Leeuw online yet?

 

[Johnsqual]

Hello Elev,

Cheers, a brand that's rather unknown outside Belgium, but well loved by the
Belgians it seems.

Not much luck scouring the internet for info. I think I've found pictures of about five bikes in total, and none quite as old as this.

I've learned that the bikes were built on contracts by loads of different frame
builders so pinning a precise date on it may be tricky. Someone once found a directory of frame builders in Flanders from the 1950s or 60s and it was about 30 pages long with 10 or so addresses on each page.

Anywho, I want to do a decent job of this project and will try to keep a diary of it on here as it progresses.

Mvg,

Johnny

 

[Johnsqual]

PS,

Think I may have sorted an appropriate rear derailleur. See pictures. However, I have a dilemma. It is on a bike that someone was going to send for scrap.
Thought it might make a decent beater, so went to rescue it, but turns out to be a little more interesting than that...

I turned up at their place and one of the couple sort of aplogetically said, 'the bike's really old, it belonged to my dad who was an amateur racer, but it's in the way so we want to get rid of it'. Oddly, they both knew a bit about bikes and that the parts were nice, but weren't bothered about selling them on ebay or whatever.

Er, anyway, the pics show the bike, some really rather lovely lug work and some really rather horrible rust. What do people think? Too far gone to save? It hasn"t gone right through the frame, but the chrome is completely gone round the seat stays. It's pretty rough looking.

I'd rather not break up a nice bike with some history but if the rust's too bad...

Oh, the brand of the bike is "Safe". With that rust, I rather doubt it



Johnny

 

[Johnsqual]

Also ridden by Michael Wright as a pro in the Wiels-Groene Leeuw team in the 60's.

Cheers Ned. I hope I can do a good job on this one. I forgot about the British connection. I wonder what it must have been like riding for a mostly Flemish team in the 1960s...

Johnny

 

[Goldie]

Also ridden by Michael Wright as a pro in the Wiels-Groene Leeuw team in the 60's.

Cheers Ned. I hope I can do a good job on this one. I forgot about the British connection. I wonder what it must have been like riding for a mostly Flemish team in the 1960s...

Johnny

Loads of reminding your team mates not to bother with mayonnaise on your chiips

That looks great. It looks like the paint on the top tube might have worn off rather than rusted - surely not from rider's legs rubbing on the top tube?

 

[Elev12k]

It looks like there is a book on 'Groene Leeuw' >> book

I also spotted Groene Leeuw content on the forum 'WielerArchieven', but it is all in Flemish/Dutch of course.

 

[Old Ned]

Also ridden by Michael Wright as a pro in the Wiels-Groene Leeuw team in the 60's.

Cheers Ned. I hope I can do a good job on this one. I forgot about the British connection. I wonder what it must have been like riding for a mostly Flemish team in the 1960s...

Johnny

Michael Wright was actually more Belgian than British. He could hardly speak English at the time but due to his family history (English mother?) he could race on a British licence.

 

[Johnsqual]

Hey,

Managed to find a single link about that potential donor bike (the red one in the pictures).
In dutch but a couple of pictures: phwoar, look at that head badge

http://www.mechelenblogt.be/2010/08/mechelse-velos

Like I say, the rust may be too bad, but it would be a shame to cannibalise
this bike if it can be saved.

Johnny