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Post by sprockit on Feb 21, 2016 21:41:52 GMT
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Jem
Viscount
?
Posts: 3,390 
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Post by Jem on Feb 22, 2016 6:19:49 GMT
Yes, it does show it to be a kind of utility bike with flat bars in the advert. (and a rather broad saddle)
I didn't really want to see this at this moment , as I have little cash, and no shed space!
But, it's my size, looks in decent shape and would be a fine addition to the stable. I think I will keep an eye on it and see what it goes up to.
Edit - when I look closer, it seems to be a very close relation to my Deore 18AX, ( the frame looks identical) SA handlebar stem, but minus the 600 headset. Front wheel not original, but those mudguards, pedals are saddle are most likely on it from new)
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Post by dracco on Feb 22, 2016 13:49:33 GMT
This looks a lot like mine did, before I refurbed it. The principal differences are that this one has the top tube decal identifying it as the Wayfarer, and a different chainset and bottom bracket (mine has the peculiar Selecta BB). This is a bit smaller than mine (which is a bit too big for me, ironically).
Mine also had a Brooks Vitesse saddle: let me warn any prospective buyers that this is certainly NOT a rather broad saddle, nor is it a particularly comfortable one, having an inflexible plastic shell with a thin veneer of once-suede-type leather (I replaced it with a B17: MUCH more sympathetic to the nether regions).
Note in the photo how little clearance there is between the leading edge of the front mudguard and the tyre: I've also found this when fitting new mudguards.
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Post by sprockit on Feb 23, 2016 10:33:46 GMT
Mmmh! Error in listing, eh?
Perhaps seller has been watching our comments on here, or A N Other has intervened with a private offer or deal.
Like you Jem, I think the bike is original apart from the front wheel.
What's fascinating for me though is the revival of a model from the earlier days when Viscount were still using aircraft in their advertising pictures. The seat tube and down tube transfers/decals on the bike seem to me to be from the latter end of the Viscount years (as on your Deore 18AX and my Sport and Sprint), and knowing how the same Viscount model could end up with different components, perhaps the production line ran out of top tube stickers for whatever model was on the line, someone then found some old ones in a box somewhere, and a few more bikes roll off the line as Corsair Wayfarer.
Busaste highlighted 'parts supply issues' on the CTC (or should I say Cycling UK) forum, and I dare say as Viscount went downhill as they fell to their demise, that any combination of frames, components and transfers could and would have been thrown together to produce bikes that could be sold, trying to keep the wolf from the door.
It's only my own personal theory, but could explain why a top tube transfer from earlier days ends up on a bike from near Viscount's end.
I may of course be completely wrong!
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Jem
Viscount
?
Posts: 3,390
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Post by Jem on Feb 23, 2016 12:35:47 GMT
 Mmmh, confession to make...I have the bike.... I know this might be seen as bad form (and it is in some ways), but it was nearby and was exactly the price I would have bid up to on ebay. Sorry to those who might have been in the running for it. On the back of snatching up the 600ex at the weekend , this might just seem plain greedy...... but let me explain... I am giving the bike on semi-permanent loan to my friend who came to DFR3 last year and who had to loan my red Aerospace Sport. He is going to have it and get some miles in on it before the July Rally and has been looking for a nice Viscount almost since last summer. He saw a few less than desirable ones and asked me to check them out (sometimes overpriced too) and he was getting a bit despondent that I kept rejecting the ones he was eyeing up. I told him to be be patient, and I was worried he'd buy a heavy old later model with poor parts on and then regret it, or spend more doing it up than it was worth. As to the question mark over what bike is - I believe that although there was an earlier Corsair Wayfarer with straight bars and coloured Bluemmells mudguards and with a broad saddle - this is a later Wayfarer that is a very close relation to the Deore AX and 18AX. Same frame. It has Altus RD and 600 FD. It has SA stem and SR bars. Tourney brakes, and the rear wheel is Rigida (front is too, but not a match and not original) I think the rack is original and maybe an option when bought. The reason I think this is that way way back on the old CTC thread, Goldie (who is a member here) talks about a Gold Corsair Wayfarer , and although the pics have long since gone, the description below remains and is pretty much 100% identical (and the colour is gold). So unless that was the same bike being sold way back then - this can't be an accidental top tube badging mistake using on decals can it? See here for info www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RETRO-VISCOUNT-RACING-BIKE-NO-RESERVE-/260735163694?hash=item3cb506dd2e&pt=UK_Bikes_GL&nma=true&si=kmXW8jsPlmf4fwuIPywEQPudfQ8%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557Anyway - here's a couple of pics- It's in good shape and will just need new tubes/tyres a grease and clean up (and the use of a front wheel from something else)  IMG_2585 by Sooper 8, on Flickr  IMG_2586 by Sooper 8, on Flickr
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Post by dracco on Feb 23, 2016 16:46:09 GMT
Very similar to mine (see viscountandlambert.boards.net/thread/428/restoring-viscount), except smaller and having the top tube decal. - Mine had no sign of ever having had one. What size wheels does yours have. When I acquired mine, it had 700c/25mm which I suspect were a later addition. I would guess that the original had 27" x 1.5" wheels. Otherwise, mine has the Tourney centre-pull brakes, the SA/SR stem/bar combo and the Shimano 600/Shimano Altus derailleurs(although I've now swapped them for Suntours - front, rear and shifters). I think that mine had definitely been in the wars a bit in the past, since there were some odd combinations and faults, some of which are still being sorted out. (Including the mismatched cranks: I have a Shimano Adamas AX right-hand crank and a Shimano Selecta left hand crank - only when taking everything apart did I discover that the RH crank was a 170mm while the LH crank was a 165mm. No wonder I've been riding round in circles). The RH and LH brake levers aren't matched, either, which makes me think it must have been in a crash or similar at some stage. Still a good ride though. |
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Post by triitout on Feb 23, 2016 19:39:46 GMT
It's funny how you can go long stretches without a good find and now two bikes have fallen out of the trees and into your lap. Sweet pick'in Jem!
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Jem
Viscount
?
Posts: 3,390
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Post by Jem on Feb 23, 2016 20:42:22 GMT
I will of course be extensively test riding this before it goes over to my friend on loan! Just my size! EDIT - I just found the post from Cusqueno with the gold Corsair Wayfarer frame. I'd for gotten about that viscountandlambert.boards.net/thread/868/hello-all |
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Post by sprockit on Feb 24, 2016 1:46:02 GMT
Great to see the bike's gone to a good home where it'll be appreciated and ridden, rather than being spread across the land into various bits boxes!
. . . and helping out a friend as well - nice one Jem.
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Jem
Viscount
?
Posts: 3,390
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Post by Jem on Feb 28, 2016 18:44:54 GMT
Put a couple of mismatched wheels on this, this afternoon and gave it literally a 5 minute test ride. It felt very nice indeed. A bit like a super-charged Deore 18AX. I can't weigh them but this feels a lot lighter than the Deore 18AX.  Corsair Wayfarer by Sooper 8, on Flickr |
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Post by sprockit on Feb 28, 2016 22:13:25 GMT
How was the saddle Jem?
My 5-speed Sport has a Brooks Vitesse 200 saddle, very similar the 400 on your bike, and it feels like I'm sitting on the top rail of a stair bannister!
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Jem
Viscount
?
Posts: 3,390
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Post by Jem on Feb 28, 2016 22:16:57 GMT
Like a rock!
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Post by dracco on Feb 29, 2016 18:08:11 GMT
Don't say you weren't warned! I'm b*ggered if I ever get on a Brooks Vitesse again.
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Post by dracco on Mar 2, 2016 19:04:57 GMT
"I can't weigh them but this feels a lot lighter than the Deore 18AX."
For the record, mine had a stripped-down frame weight of 2.48kg, and (as of this morning) a total weight of 12.55kg. (includes muddies and a rear pannier rack)
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Post by cusqueno on Mar 2, 2016 20:22:01 GMT
There was a thread here somewhere that we'd posted some weights of Viscounts on. Perhaps Soop can find it again. Could be we need another spread sheet of model weights?
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Jem
Viscount
?
Posts: 3,390
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Post by Jem on Mar 2, 2016 21:29:25 GMT
There was a thread here somewhere that we'd posted some weights of Viscounts on. Perhaps Soop can find it again. Could be we need another spread sheet of model weights? I found it! I will post this top on the registration thread too, just in case Scott can incorporate it in the spread sheet. EDIT - Error in the Deore listing, should say 28lbs not 18  |
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Post by oldroadietehachapi on Mar 3, 2016 2:50:26 GMT
Don't say you weren't warned! I'm b*ggered if I ever get on a Brooks Vitesse again. Try a Brooks Imperial; I find them very comfy. Ride On Jim |
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Post by dracco on Mar 5, 2016 14:09:37 GMT
I have a B17 that I find very comfortable, thanks.
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Post by cusqueno on Mar 5, 2016 14:42:01 GMT
Perhaps I am just well-padded (no sniggering at the back), but I find the Viscount/Middlemore saddle, which came with a lot of the higher end Viscounts, quite comfortable for everyday commuting (8.5km each way). Even the original Lambert 'suede' saddle is ok for the DFR rides.
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Jem
Viscount
?
Posts: 3,390
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Post by Jem on Apr 17, 2016 16:29:51 GMT
My friend took the Corsair Wayfarer out for his first ride on it yesterday afternoon. As I thought, he loved it! But he didn't love the saddle. It has got to go. A strange squeaking/creaking from the crank now though.  |
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Mmmh, confession to make...I have the bike....
