Yellow Jo Routens Touring/Camping bicycle

At the Copake bicycle swap meet, there was an inaugural bicycle ride(see earlier post). A fellow Classic Rendezvous member showed up with this beautiful Jo Routens bicycle to ride. It is rather difficult to find one this large and it is interesting to see how the builder dealt with the size of the frame, by gusseting the lugs, to help stiffen and strengthen the frame. It must have been a 1940s-1950s model, with the use of the Le Chat style front derailleur. This french bicycle is outfitted with the obligatory Cyclo rear derailleur, Stronglight cranks and headset, Mafac brakes(happen to be the tandem model), and of course, an alloy rail Ideale saddle. It was built for 650b wheels, common among french camping and touring model bicycles.
I love the routing of the rear brake cable through the seattube. This is done usually by slotting the seatpost so the cable can run through the seattube unobstructed.

A history of Jo Routens can be found here.

(click on pictures to enlarge)

Copake NY bicycle swap meet pictures pt.2

A hobby horse, precursor to the what we know as the bicycle. The rider would straddle the bicycle, and push along, it was before they employed pedals and drivetrains and tires and . . .you get the idea.

All the bells and whistles on this Monark Silver King. What a beautiful late 1930s aluminum bicycle.

A mid 1960s Schwinn Paramount that was for sale at the Copake swap. The handlebars and saddle were changed, to make it more casual.

Nice pile of Schwinn balloon tire bikes- Black Phantoms and such.

Jo Routens touring/camping 650b bicycle.
it was not for sale
(more pictures here)