Vintage Falcon road bikes

[midlife]

Falcon built frames for Raleigh / Carlton but not the other way round. If Raleigh wanted more frames they had the clout to get them elsewhere and Falcon did the Carlton type seat stays on their line.

The badge holes look Falcon

 

[Illaveago]

I'm sure it is an early Falcon built at a time before they forgot how to braze fittings on .
The badge is an original metal one held on with brass studs.
Whilst trying to do some research into the model I came across a lot of Falcons with wrap around seat stays. It shares the same thin pencil seat stays as my Black Diamond so hopefully it should ride as well if not better.

 

[Illaveago]

Yes, I thought that too after seeing some brochures on the internet. Looks like it has been repainted, which is most likely the reason no decals exist now. The head badge is a foil one so they might have got it off and reglued it afterwards.

I discovered a catalogue which shows the Black Diamond without chrome forks .

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

My old early 80's copy of the cycling Bible, Richard's Bicycle Book, has the Black Diamond in it's list of basic quality recommended bikes. I've found that book to be very sound in it's advice, and it mentions some well-proven machinery, some of which I have either ridden or owned myself.

 

[Kempstonian]

I discovered a catalogue which shows the Black Diamond without chrome forks .

So mine might be original paintwork then? I do wonder what happened to all the decals though. They haven't worn off, that's for sure.

 

[Illaveago]

So mine might be original paintwork then? I do wonder what happened to all the decals though. They haven't worn off, that's for sure.

I think around the mid 60's Falcon seem to have switched to vinyl type stickers. Mine are curling back around the edges.
Someone could have removed them at sometime in the past and it wouldn't have left any marks .

 

[Illaveago]

I have a Falcon frame:

View attachment 489651

It was a complete bike when I got it but at 23" its slightly too big for me, so I used the parts on another bike. I think this is a Black Diamond but it had lost all its decals except the head badge, which I removed in order to have the frame powder coated (its in the photo resting on the BB).

This is the bike when I bought it:

View attachment 489652

Now I've had second thoughts about the powder coating. I don't think I would recover the cost of it if I sold the frame afterwards, or even if I rebuilt the bike. I'd like to maybe swap it for a smaller frame of some sort and maybe build a bike I could actually ride!

Why don't you give the frame a T cut or something similar, fit some alloy wheels and get it going again?
My Black Diamond has been utterly transformed after fitting some alloy wheels and double clanger and is the most ridden of all my bikes .

 

[Illaveago]

I was reading a VCC magazine last night and found an article in which an owner said that he had a Falcon which he bought in 1967 in which the frame number ended in a 7. Could it be that the last digit refers to the year of manufacture ? My Club Special ends in 0 which would fit with the year in which my investigation seems to point to .
It would be interesting if owners could check their bikes to see if my theory has any validity ?
I will check my Black Diamond later .

 

[Paulus]

The Falcon I own has the frame number M910323 It is stamped at the bottom of the seat tube near to the bottom bracket. I thought it was a 1978 /9 model.

 

[Illaveago]

The Falcon I own has the frame number M910323 It is stamped at the bottom of the seat tube near to the bottom bracket. I thought it was a 1978 /9 model.
View attachment 491735

It could be that you are right. The style of transfers would suit a later period.
Have you checked the back of the brake calipers for a date stamp ?
It is just a theory I was trying out.

 

[Paulus]

It could be that you are right. The style of transfers would suit a later period.
Have you checked the back of the brake calipers for a date stamp ?
It is just a theory I was trying out.

I will take the calipers off and have a look.

 

[Illaveago]

I would have thought that the company must have a code of some sort so that they could keep track of things especially if they had any problems which needed resolving .

 

[Paulus]

I will take the calipers off and have a look.

Had a look, but no date stamp anywhere. They are Shimano Tourney centre pull calipers and the only stamp is "Japan"

 

[Illaveago]

Had a look, but no date stamp anywhere. They are Shimano Tourney centre pull calipers and the only stamp is "Japan"

I went and had a look at my Black Diamond. The number is stamped into the bottom bracket C 24547. I looked for a date stamp on the rear Weinmann 730 side pull , it to hasn't got a date stamp either . I'm not sure what I did with the front one .
The rear derailleur is a Simplex Prestige so it has a limited time period for when it was fitted but could have been in the period 67 to 72.
The seat post sticker is a made in Lincoln one , 1967 was when Falcon moved there .
So at the moment it could be 67 or 72. I will have another look to see if the style of transfers could narrow down the date .

 

[Kempstonian]

Why don't you give the frame a T cut or something similar, fit some alloy wheels and get it going again?
My Black Diamond has been utterly transformed after fitting some alloy wheels and double clanger and is the most ridden of all my bikes .

I'm sure now that the paintwork is original, because somebody scraped some off to see the frame number more clearly and the blue is the only paint on there. If it was resprayed it must have been a long time ago. The blue paint does have some black touch ups where I presume there were rust spots. Why the owner didn't use blue paint I don't know but the black seems to be a bitumen like paint, so it may have been to stop the rust coming back?

I bought it as a complete bike but its a 23" which is just too big for me, so I've used the parts elsewhere now.

The frame number by the way looks like G27200. The G is very small compared to the number.