[CR]Special Arliguie - Lazarides ?

(Example: Production Builders:Cinelli:Laser)

Date: Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:12:23 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Norris Lockley" <norris.lockley@yahoo.com>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR]Special Arliguie - Lazarides ?

It's an odd thing really. For years I have travelled through France and for other years when I have not been over there I have probably been scouring the sepia or turquoise printers ink off the pages of Miroir de Cyclisme and But et Club.
>From those early magazines I learned about bikes such as Tendil, Automoto., Special CNC, Colomb, Garin, La Perle, Danois, Urago, Coupry, and..Special Arliguie, but, much like Alex, down there in the SW of France I never actually came across an Arliguie until last year, although I had managed to fill my store-rooms with bikes of all the other brands many years ago.

I think that the tale of my discovery of the Arliguie whose purchase was negotiated over several glasses of white Sancerre, at a bar on the side of the canal Lateral a la Loire at Menetreol -sous- Sancerre, is already in the CR archive, but I am not certain that it would answer the questions posed by Alex.

Arliguie cycles were made until the late 50sin the small town of Montargis, about 45 minutes due south of Paris.on the Autoroute du Soleil...the proprietor was R Arliguie. I have not been able to find out much about the size of the company or whether it was a regional manufacturer of the same type as Helyett, whose factory were only about 30 kms further south at Sully- sur -Loire. My own opinion is that Arliguie was more of a racing cycle specialist..but that is only because I have never found any other type of Arliguies, and I have visited Montargis often.

The flam ruby paintwork of Alex's bike appears to be the company's racing team colour much as green was Helyetts livery, and orange was Stellas. Just as is my frame, Alex's is understated, nothing flash - just those tricolour ones on the seat tube and the top-eyes. Alex's frame uses just like many French frames of the 50s, a set of Prugnat short point lugs, and Simplex ends. Prugnat lugs were made at Moret sur-Loing, a small very pretty town linked with the impressionist painters, and with Sisley in particular, which is about a twenty minute ride from Montargis.

If any of the List's members happen to find themselves driving south out of Paris along the A6 autoroute and in the general direction of Fontainebleau, it would be worth heading off into that beautiful town and then taking the back roads to Moret-sur-Loing. The former Prugnat factory which is situated on the banks of a canal and which was destined to become a tourist hotel when Prugnat moved out, has been saved as part of the country's cultural patrimoine, having been turned into a cycling museum. There'e also some superb restaurants in the town.

My own Arliguie was something of a very pleasant find, particularly as I had never seen one before. The lugs are short- point ultra plain Prugnats..but the points have been filed to slender and narrow curves, much like the lugs found on top-of the range GIOS Torino frames.The drop-outs are Simplex and the fork crown, unlike Alex's, is a well-profiled and lightened cast or forged one The workmanship is stunning..the frame simply elegant.

The equipment, for a bike that I assume was early 50s, was Lam Iseran stirrups with CLB/ALP levers, Durax octagonal cranks, Lyotard pedals, Philippe stem (like Pivo and ATAX) with Pelissier bars, Perle saddle, and Simplex Tour de France gears. The seller had misplaced the wheels unfortunately, and he had forgotten where he had bought the bike - it was after all just another old bike. to him..so I have no provenance.

The Lazarides brothers appear to crop up regularly among old bike finds, and I hope that Alex has checked out the provenance of his machine and the ambulance driver. About two years ago I was offered one of Rene Vietto's Tour de France machines from the late 40s..or should I say, a frame/fork, saddle, bars and stem. The seller, a very reputable French collector told me that all these components had Vietto's name either engraved or stamped on them, and that he had bought the parts from a former mechanic whop worked for both the Lazarides brothers and for Vietto..the frame and parts having been found after many years in his garage.

I went ahead with the purchase and on opening the box pulled out a small frame, about 50cms, much as Vietto would have ridden, a pair of severely sloping handlebars, much as Vietto would have used, and a steel drop-head stem, much as Vietto used to use,. The saddle was a customised and lightened Ideale. So far so good...

The frame, unfortunately had been altered and the original rear drop-outs removed and modern forged ones added...very clumsily. The frame had also sprouted quite a number of braze-ons such as cable stops..but these were not just any old cable stops..they appeared to have been wrought by unskilled hands..and the brazing was atrocious.....and the frame was dreadfully heavy...no Vitus, Rubis or Reynolds tubing here.

Further inspection showed the stampings and engravings...The top tube carried the name Rene Vietto stamped crudely in 1/8" capitals, the pressure of the hammer blows producing a slight dent in the tube..the fork crown faired slightly better..but the handlebar stem suffered badly as did the saddle.. Chrome-plated drop-head stems of the Titan and Cinelli varieties are things of simple and smooth beauty..but Vietto's model in all its crudely brazed- up and unfiled joints looked a miserable sight under its single coat of silver paint...Further inspection was needed ! Scratching off some of the paint on the lower end of the quill uncovered a line of dots circling the tube...a line broken only by the word STOP. Now the last time that I had seen this stem treatment was on a low-end mountain-bike from one of the far eastern manufacturers..so the stem was a home-made fake. As for the bars..these had started out in life as a MAES type bend, that had been bent out sideways..and very unsuccessfully..into the hallmark Vietto slope..

Worse was to come as I judiciously scraped some of the aerosol paint from three points on the underside of the down-tube to uncover three tiny equidistant spots of brazing spelter.....where the frame had. at some time in its earlier life sported three small thin soft metal tags used to secure the dynamo cable wire to the frame..So what had started out, Nervex Serie Legere lugs and all ,as a dynamo-rigged touring bike, had been transformed into a Vietto Tour de France machine..with a provenance as dishonest as the frame and parts themselves.

Looking again at Alex's bike, it appears to be the real deal..a well-crafted Arliguie..but whether it really belonged to one of the Lazarides brothers, I wouldn't like to say with any authority. Apo, the more successful of the brothers rode quite a small frame, perhaps a 50/51 cms, much like Vietto..but maybe Lucien got astride a 53cms..

I now steer clear of Lazarides and Vietto mementos..but did I tell you about the five Arliguies that belonged to Camille Clerambosq...?

Norris Lockley...Settle Uk

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