Vintage Falcon road bikes

[andyscherer]

Very well then. First ride, around part of the Ashokan Reservoir in upstate New York.

 

[Illaveago]

It’s amazing what a lasting impression things can have on one at that age. Probably why we like vintage bikes, always looking for things we wanted when we were younger. Your red Falcon looks nice. Why not look for a purple bike and keep your current one original. Can’t have too many bikes.

23 ?

 

[Illaveago]

I have just been thinking about my Rotrax frame which turned out to be a Falcon . It has been in my garage waiting for me to get round to it again . I have just dug it out and compared it with my 70's Viking Severn Valley . They both have the same wheelbase but the Falcon has a longer crossbar . Whilst I was comparing the frames I checked my Falcon and found that the original frame , paint wise isn't too bad . The paint has yellowed over the years and there are a few places that need a bit of paint . Local repairs could be done if I could find a similar colour . The white band could easily be redone. Parts wise I should have most on it in my spares boxes . I could always borrow some wheels off another bike .

 

[Mandobob]

I have just been thinking about my Rotrax frame which turned out to be a Falcon . It has been in my garage waiting for me to get round to it again . I have just dug it out and compared it with my 70's Viking Severn Valley . They both have the same wheelbase but the Falcon has a longer crossbar . Whilst I was comparing the frames I checked my Falcon and found that the original frame , paint wise isn't too bad . The paint has yellowed over the years and there are a few places that need a bit of paint . Local repairs could be done if I could find a similar colour . The white band could easily be redone. Parts wise I should have most on it in my spares boxes . I could always borrow some wheels off another bike .

How about a photo or two?

 

[Mandobob]

I have just been thinking about my Rotrax frame which turned out to be a Falcon . It has been in my garage waiting for me to get round to it again . I have just dug it out and compared it with my 70's Viking Severn Valley . They both have the same wheelbase but the Falcon has a longer crossbar . Whilst I was comparing the frames I checked my Falcon and found that the original frame , paint wise isn't too bad . The paint has yellowed over the years and there are a few places that need a bit of paint . Local repairs could be done if I could find a similar colour . The white band could easily be redone. Parts wise I should have most on it in my spares boxes . I could always borrow some wheels off another bike .

Very well then. First ride, around part of the Ashokan Reservoir in upstate New York.
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Do you know the tune Asokan Farewell by Jay Ungar? One of my favourite tunes that I play on my mandolin.

 

[andyscherer]

Do you know the tune Asokan Farewell by Jay Ungar? One of my favourite tunes that I play on my mandolin.

Now I do. Thanks for referencing it, quite a lovely melody.

The top photo is very close to the location cited as the inspiration for Ungar's composition, small wonder. I'm quite fortunate to have this very close to our upstate house. The west side of the reservoir has a 10-mile rail trail, my wife and I ride out and back almost weekly.

Thanks again for your input on the (presumed) model.

 

[Illaveago]

Here is my frame . The white bits could be masked out and sprayed with white aerosol. The primed areas on the blue bits would have to wait until I found a similar colour.

 

[Mandobob]

Here is my frame . The white bits could be masked out and sprayed with white aerosol. The primed areas on the blue bits would have to wait until I found a similar colour.

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Hi there. That looks to me very much like a late 1970s Falcon Professional Cr-Mo frame. What do you think?

 

[midlife]

The long seat stay caps look like a Falcon Pro Super or Super Pro in cro mo to me as well.

 

[Illaveago]

Hi there. That looks to me very much like a late 1970s Falcon Professional Cr-Mo frame. What do you think?

I just measured it and it is 26.6 mm . I don't know how I missed it before . It seems that you are right .
The frame was finished to a very high standard with the lugs really sharp without blobs of braze. The lining was also very thin and accurate. I thought it was braze as I washed the paint off . The ends of the seat and chain stays are rounded . I have run my finger round inside the seat tube and there isn't a seam so it is tubing .

 

[Illaveago]

It is a right puzzle !
I have found a catalogue from 1978 which shows the New Professional in Cro Mo. The brakes listed on the catalogue are Weinmann 500 side pulls just like what the frame came with . I have looked at the back of these for a date stamp and they would fit in the time frame being 77. Now this is where it becomes interesting , they are anodised gold. I originally thought that they came from a Raleigh black and gold model but these came later . The gold brakes would tie in with the gold lining which was done to a very high standard and is around every lug , including the rear brake mounting where it located on the stays . The other thing is that the gold lies on top of the white panel on the head tube . The white was also on originally as I have found the remains of a vinyl sticker with the blue metallic / white demarcation line underneath . Falcon used vinyl stickers normally on the seat tube and down tube so why have the sections been sprayed on ? The model in the catalogue shows the later style block lettering on either side of the seat tube without any white panels .
The long spear pointed lugs have heart shaped cut outs , I'm not sure what type of lugs were fitted or finished on the Cro Mo Professional .
The brake caliper mountings have the reinforcement but don't have the recesses like the later type . Oh! No braze ons fitted . The rear dropouts are Shimano with the screw adjusters .
So ! It is a strange one ! So at sometime in the past someone has gone to a lot of effort to mask out, spray and line the frame when they could have simply applied stickers .

 

[Illaveago]

I am sorry but I need to make a correction !
I couldn't understand how I had got confused over the internal diameter of the seat tube . I could have sworn that I had measured it before and found that it was 27.2 . The other day when I measured it I was surprised to get a reading of 26.2! Going back through the earlier posts I found that I had previously measured it as 27.2. I have just gone out and measured it again and have come up with various figures! To obtain a more correct answer I removed the Campag seat post from another bike and fitted it . It is 27.2mm!

 

[biggs682]

I am sorry but I need to make a correction !
I couldn't understand how I had got confused over the internal diameter of the seat tube . I could have sworn that I had measured it before and found that it was 27.2 . The other day when I measured it I was surprised to get a reading of 26.2! Going back through the earlier posts I found that I had previously measured it as 27.2. I have just gone out and measured it again and have come up with various figures! To obtain a more correct answer I removed the Campag seat post from another bike and fitted it . It is 27.2mm!

So are you doing a U turn ?

 

[Illaveago]

So are you doing a U turn ?

Seems popular at the moment !

 

[Mandobob]

I just measured it and it is 26.6 mm . I don't know how I missed it before . It seems that you are right .
The frame was finished to a very high standard with the lugs really sharp without blobs of braze. The lining was also very thin and accurate. I thought it was braze as I washed the paint off . The ends of the seat and chain stays are rounded . I have run my finger round inside the seat tube and there isn't a seam so it is tubing .

I think you may find that the lugs are Bocama which were fitted to both Professional and SuperPro models.

Does it have the rear brake bridge strengthening?