I've been following the entries regarding Frejus bikes with interest as I was once an owner of one. I thought I'd tell my story:
I can't recall the model, but it was tricked out in Campy Nuovo Record gear, except the brakes, which were Universal centerpulls. Tubing was Columbus, no eyelets on the dropouts. It had the signature Frejus mink and oxblood red paint scheme. I'm guessing it was one of their high-end models.
I took ownership of the Frejus in 1972 or 3, after my first quality lightweight, a Peugeot PX-10 was stolen. I bought the bike from a shop in NE New Jersey, maybe in Clifton or West Paterson (I grew up in Passaic). I recall the bike cost a grand total of $300. The PX-10 had a Brooks Swallow saddle that I liked a lot, so the very considerate store owner swapped out the Swallow saddle from his own bike onto my Frejus. To this day, this has been the only complete bike I've ever purchased new.
For the next two years, I rode my Frejus around campus, on excursions into Manhattan's Central Park, and around northern and central Jersey. After graduating from college, the bike flew out with me to Los Angeles in May of '74. Two weeks after arriving in California, my Frejus got stolen no more than 20 yards away from me while I was playing tennis at Griffith Park. It was locked up onto a pole right in front of the Pro Shop entrance, where I thought it would be pretty safe. Needless to say, I never saw that bike again.
I'm now the proud (crazed?) owner of 10 roadbikes, 8 of them vintage. But y'know what, I still miss my long lost Frejus.
Bill Silverman
Pasadena, CA
rsilvercat@earthlink.net