Peter,
Thank you for posting this very interesting information. No idea on the axle nut - never seen one of those before.
It is a very cool bike!
In the catalogue, it was interesting to see that the top of the line racing bike was spec'd with Maxi-Car hubs and Stronglight 49D cranks - both more common on cyclotouring bikes in 1952, when racers mostly used cottered steel cranks and traditional cup-and-cone hubs from various makers.
It seems that Pelissier liked the cyclotouring components - I still am looking for confirmation that in the late 1940s, the La Perle professional team used Maxi-Car hubs and Nivex derailleurs - perhaps also Stronglight alloy cranks? They were managed by Charles Pelissier... Does anybody have photos of La Perle team bikes from 1945-1952 roughly that could help?
The randonneur bike cost more than the best racing bike in the catalogue, yet it was at least a step below the standards of the best constructeur bikes like Singer, Herse or Daudon. Does anybody know how much a franc was in dollars and how much 49,500 francs would be today?
As a final aside, it is interesting that the racing bike DID use Maxi-Car hubs, but the randonneur bike used different, cheaper hubs.
And are those aluminum racks? That was rare back then, but I know there were a few makers who offered tubular aluminum racks - Barra was one, and another guy made some for Alex Singer.
Jan Heine, Seattle Editor/Publisher Vintage Bicycle Quarterly c/o Il Vecchio Bicycles 140 Lakeside Ave, Ste. C Seattle WA 98122 http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com
>
>If anyone needs restoration details, this bike is pretty much as he
>purchased it in Paris in 1952. It was the most expensive Charles
>Pelissier bicycle; check the catalog. I can look at it more closely
>upon request, take pictures including macro. It's in my hands right
>now on loan, and not gathering dust in his garage. I have larger
>pixel images of these photos if anyone needs them, plus higher
>quality TIF scans of his slides of the downtube decal/transfer.
>
>..........Peter
>......................................
>Peter Brueggeman
>San Diego Calif USA
>pbrueggeman@ucsd.edu