A very rare steel light touring bicycle by constructeur Nicola Barra. Original finish and transfers. Fillet brazed Vitus tubing. Barra front and rear racks and Barra handlebar stem. Duprat Professionels cranks and Stronglight alloy ring. Tank pedals. Cyclo aluminium 3 speed gear. Alloy 650B rims, Maxi hubs and Trois Étioles spokes. Grand Bois Hetre tyres. Durex mudguards. Mafac cantilever brakes (probably replacements) Ideale 63 Cyclo-Touriste saddle. Later Jos lighting. Almost finished with just a few details to sort out….. nice papillons need to be found, a couple of the cyclo cable tabs are broken and do I change the handlebars to drops?
Better known for his Aluminium bicycles (Barralumin), Barra also made porteurs – http://velo-porteur-ancien.over-blog.com/article-velo-porteur-barra–42730275.html – and steel bicycles such as this one. Steel machines of his are rarer than the aluminium ones. He is also credited with inventing the first modern cantilever brake around 1936. These brakes even had adjustable toe-in.
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