At 6:05 PM -0700 5/12/09, Jerome & Elizabeth Moos wrote:
>So it is actually badged Duravia. Headbadge says "DURAVIA" and
>"METAL AVIATION". Seattube decal says "METAL AVIATION" and
>"GUARANTIE 3 ANS"
>
>Aluminum tubes and DO's. Lugs are sort of gold colored, could be
>brass. Can't tell if the tubes are glued, screwed or pressed into
>the lugs. RD shifter boss riveted to the toptube. There is a cable
>guide integrated into the seatlug to guide what appear to be twin RD
>cables and another integrated into the rear brake bridge. The
>seatlug guide has a third hole for the rear brake cable. Verticle
>rear DO's. This seems to take a Cyclo-type chainstay mounted RD,
>except the mounting plate isn't actually attached to the chainstay,
>but integrated into the right rear DO, protruding forward from it.
>No boss for a front shift lever, I presume this was either a 5-speed
>(or maybe 3-speed) or had a rod-type FD.
>
>So anyone ever heard of this marque? Jan? I think this could be
>older than the 50's, maybe even pre-WWII.
Never heard of it, but there were plenty of aluminum bikes in France in the 1940s and 1950s. Most were rather utlitarian, like Germany's Kettler 40 years later... Utility bikes aren't really my specialty.
As a starting point, you could weigh the bare frame. Unless it is lighter than a nice lightweight steel frame, it's nothing special. A Barra weighs about the same as a nice Crumption carbon frame, and is lighter than most, if not all on-topic or KOF steel frames.
Jan Heine
Editor
Bicycle Quarterly
140 Lakeside Ave #C
Seattle WA 98122
http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com