How about "Helium"? I've only seen one, a cheap but nice utilitarian mixte
with generator lighting wired through the aluminum fenders, half-chainguard
and a matching rear rack. Pictures of it at
http://bulgier.net/
I'm sure it's made by Peugeot, but the big downtube decal says Helium. Probably early- to mid-60s based on the Simplex rear derailleur - it has a white outer parallelogram arm with a blue logo. When did Simplex Prestige get the red logo?
It's got a pretty nice leather saddle, similar to an Idéale #6, looks French (says "Croupon"), but the brand name is "VeryBest" - wacky!
And speaking of wacky, what's up with that big ol' manhole cover in the top of the downtube lug? I suppose it is for lubing the lower headset race, but why's it so big? The little grease fitting on the back of the headtube on so many Italian and English bikes does the job with so much less metal and extra fabrication complexity.
Mark Bulgier
Seattle, Wa
USA