Bertin C.37

[vent]

Bonjour,

I just stumbled over the first racing bike I bought. Though it has been standing around for quite a long time, I could not make my mind up what to do with it yet. Although I prefer bikes in their original condition, this will be a candidate for a repaint as soon as I have some ...a lot of... spare time. But I might show it already in it's present condition.

Fortunately, all rust is mostly surface, and the frame looks very good from inside.

It's a Bertin C.37 in a rather unusual colour. All I know is that it's from the late sixties or early seventies. Does anyone know if there a way to narrow down the year, or know about the orange colour? - Maybe I'm wrong, but as far as I know, C-37 from that era were usually black with a red?

The parts are a wild mix, and I'm not sure what's original and what's not. The dropouts are Campagnolo, but the rear derailleur a Huret Allvit, and the front derailleur a Jubilee. The hubs, by contrast, are Nuovo Tipos, the rims have probably been replaced. Stem is a 3ttt, the sadlle an old Ideale.

Also, I'm not sure whether the fork has been replaced or just been repainted.



...Unfortunately the first clamp was loose and the previous owner didn't care about it...


...A dent. Sadly...






Best,
Ralf

[vent]

Apparently, the bike is not an export model, but has spent it's previous life in or around Paris. At least it has a sticker from 18 Velo Vintage...

[Munny]

With a pump in place, the dent won't be visible.

If the other tubes are in a reasonable state, I would match a partial repaint on this area of the top tube.

More and more, I believe that an original state, even damaged, is better and that when we paint, we have to pay attention not to alter too much the patina.

On the patina aspect, your Bertin is very good

[vent]

Yes, I also prefer bikes with patina, but I think this one's too rough for that. The frame has dozens of smaller or larger paint chips that would make it difficult to preserve. I intend to remove the paint chemically and sandblast only the rusty spots. Fortunately, the paintjob and replacement decals won't be too complicated. :-)

[Romuald]

Nice frame work, Prugnat short point, Wagner Crown.



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