Cycling UK Forum

Hello there.

Would anyone be able to put an aproximate date on this frame? It's a Falcon 'designed by Ernie Clements' 531 Tubing and looks like it has seat stays that wrap around the top of the seat tube. I don't know any more. Saw it advertised and considering it as a winter project but haven't seen it yet.

cheers

I think this bike dates from the late seventies or early eighties. I would assume that it has some of the original parts attached to it in which case it can be dated quite accurately even if the frame number cannot be interpreted. The brakes, hubs and rear derailleur will be date marked with a number or letter code.

I have a Falcon frameset from the mid 1980's and this has a different badge. The one in the picture has a design that resembles the earlier badges ('70s) in design but the ones of this design I have seen were all metal badges, not transfers.

Edit; the style of the Reynolds transfer can sometimes help date a frame, since they varied the transfer in subtle ways over the years.

cheers

Looks like a Falcon Olympic from 1968 ish.

Smethwick?

all the ones of that age that I have seen I think have had a metal badge, not a transfer.

cheers

It looks like a Falcon Model 88. I bought 2 of these in 1975. A Gents and a Ladies. The chainset is original (Sugino). It was 5 speed and had a Shimano Titlist rear mech and down tube shifters, Allrounder bars and Weinmann alloy rims and Weinmann centre pull brakes. The saddle was a Brooks mattress, which I changed for a leather one. The ladies frame was identically equipped except for some reason it had a steel cottered chainset. I used mine for commuting for about 13 years and found it a lovely ride. I updated it to 10 speed and dropped handlebars after a while and used it for light touring /day rides.

It gets a mention as "especially nice" in Richard's Bicycle Book.

MikewsMITH2 wrote: It gets a mention as "especially nice" in Richard's Bicycle Book.

-he wasn't wrong, either, was he? A nicely thought out lightweight which isn't going to break the bank, with about the right balance between frame, wheels and components. As you found out, worth upgrading, too.

cheers

I presume you already are aware (and I hope I have got my facts right here) that Ernies Clements was the father of Edward Clements, who runs Clements Cycles in Ledbury, Herefordshire. Perhaps Edward might be able to give you an idea of its age.

-he wasn't wrong, either, was he? A nicely thought out lightweight which isn't going to break the bank, with about the right balance between frame, wheels and components. As you found out, worth upgrading, too

I sold mine to buy my daughter a bike for her 9th birthday. We were very hard up at the time and we had taken up mountain biking, so it wasn't being used much. I advertised it in the local paper and they were literally queuing up to buy it! The first guy was trying to knock me down when my wife came out and asked "is it sold, as there's another chap on the phone wants to come round?" the buyer rapidly paid up the full asking price. The phone kept ringing for another week after that. If I was in the market, I would jump at getting another.

I converted a similar Falcon to single speed recently.