Re: [CR] Spence Wolfe Bikes

(Example: Production Builders:LeJeune)

Date: Sun, 6 Dec 2009 21:14:55 -0800
From: Jerome & Elizabeth Moos <jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>, <Carb7008@cs.com>
In-Reply-To: <c04.720882d1.384ddbce@cs.com>
Subject: Re: [CR] Spence Wolfe Bikes


Mafac calipers with Weinmann levers were not that unusual. My CID tourer sold out of (I think) Georgetown Cycles on the other coast, has that setup, and I've seen several other such bikes with no connection to Spence Wolfe. I would speculate that Weinmann levers were popular because the incorporated a quick release, whereas Mafac brakes usually had no QR unless you count slipping one side of the straddle cable off. So why didn't more bikes just use all Weinmann? Maybe folks liked the greater adjustability of the cantilever-type shoes on the MAFACs, despite their tendency to squeal. Or maybe the squealing was seen as a safety feature, making a bell unnecessary :-)

Regards,

Jerry Moos
Big Spring, Texas, USA


--- On Sun, 12/6/09, Carb7008@cs.com wrote:


> From: Carb7008@cs.com <Carb7008@cs.com>

\r?\n> Subject: [CR] Spence Wolfe Bikes

\r?\n> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org

\r?\n> Date: Sunday, December 6, 2009, 10:17 PM

\r?\n> Dear Fellow Enthusiasts,

\r?\n>

\r?\n> The recent Hetchins Mixte outed was purportedly purchased

\r?\n> thru Spence Wolfe

\r?\n> and his Cupertino Bike Shop.  After some research, it

\r?\n> appears that Spence

\r?\n> Wolfe bikes often had custom identifying touches such as:

\r?\n>

\r?\n> Modified Campy rear derailleur with Simplex cage for

\r?\n> touring

\r?\n>

\r?\n> F&R tied and soldered spokes

\r?\n>

\r?\n> No downtube graphics

\r?\n>

\r?\n> Handle (drop?) bars drilled for bar-end shifter cables

\r?\n>

\r?\n> Mafac c-pulls with Weinmann or other? levers

\r?\n>

\r?\n> Can anyone add to this list of identifiers and/or confirm

\r?\n> whether Spence

\r?\n> Wolfe build or sales records from the 60's-70's might be

\r?\n> available?

\r?\n>

\r?\n> Jack Romans

\r?\n> Sacramento, California