FINDING THE FALCON "SINGLE SPEED"

Sadly, the Falcon is another one of those bicycles that ended up in the Old Shed and failed to bring any history with it.  I have run across quite a few old Falcons and cannot recall much about how I found any of them.  I might have picked this Falcon up in a local used bicycle shop basement, then again it might have come my way another way.  I just can't recall.

This happens more and more as the total number of bicycles I find grows.  In 2006 I took the time to keep a list of every collectable bicycle that I brought home.  Total for the year - sixty two.  Some of these bicycles were very nice and included finds like a gorgeous full Campy Pinarello Trevisio, a Bianchi 848, a Super Mondia Special and an old English Phillips and a great many more that do not come to mind, at the moment, but might well be included elsewhere in this modest volume.  2007 saw close to a hundred vintage road bicycles find their way into the Old Shed.  And the one hundred mark will be broken in 2008.  Without records, I can no longer keep track.

And the not knowing where this one or that one came from impacts the components I installed on the Falcon.  I used items that I had collected from somewhere at sometime.  I did not go out of my way to find anything special.  The only new items actually purchased for the bicycle were the single cog freewheel and two control cables.  Everything else is recycled, as is the cycle.

So, in a sense, the Finding the Falcon story might be the most interesting of all since its history is clouded and a collection of how I found many bicycles over the years.  Two things are certain though - I did have fun spending a couple of days building the Falcon "SS" and the bicycle was a hoot to ride.  Single Speeds are just great for around town jaunts when there is no place special to go with nothing to carry on the way back.  And they are just as great if there is!  Give the single speed experience a try.  You will probably like it.

NEXT - BUILDING THE FALCON "SS"