Twenty-two years old and never been kissed

I recently wrote about the Recherche; a private label frame that I built in California from 1985 to around 1987. Only a little over 200 were built, and I wondered at the time of writing, what would be the chance of finding one in my size?

Not only did I find a frame, but came across one built in 1985 that had never been built up into a bike. New Old Stock that has probably been hanging in a bike store somewhere for the last 22 years.

The picture above shows virgin paint on the front and rear tips that has obviously never seen a pair of wheels. The steering column was also uncut so a headset had never been fitted.

The picture illustrates the special and distinct treatment of the fork ends and rear dropouts on the Recherche. The brass filler was allowed to sink into the end of the tube to give a scalloped effect.

I will be building the bike up this weekend in readiness for the Cirque du Cyclisme in Greensboro, North Carolina the following weekend. Watch for more pictures this coming week.