Orago Urago Super Sunbeam Middow Mixte Demi-Balloon 650B Bolbros Telefol Abrosio

Description

I
think
this bike was made in France circa 1949 (a banner year for bicycles of this type, if Daniel Rebour drawings are anything to go by.)  Rides well and is fully functional, with a solid feel on the bars and pedals when standing
up on hills.
The bike and most of its components are so rare, there's nothing to be found about either it or them on the entire www-- as if it were all made in some alternate universe.  Search for Orago, and (other than this ad) find only a town near Milano, Italy. It must have been related to Urago, since both the name and the head-badge are very similar.
Many parts of evident quality and (I am pretty sure) mostly French origin but with names all new, formerly unknown to me
: a Middow headset, Bolbros brake calipers, Telefol brake levers, New Watson head- and tail-lights, '33 Super' (German) hubs, a pressed-alloy
'Strengther' luggage rack, a very light, sand-cast alloy center stand (with numerous embossed trademarks and batchmarks) a Mory bottom bracket bearing set, Abrosio (
not
Ambrosio) fenders.  'ABC' grips.
It also has or had a few items which are familiar if not common: red Michelin 650B demi-balloon tires**, Italcerchi (Milano) rims, a 'Best' freewheel**, a Soubitez dynamo, and a Pivo stem (and bar, too, I think.) 'Bell' alloy wingnuts, only 3: one of the fronts was missing; a bronze 'Marcel Luxe' fills in.  Solibloc Tornade pump. 'Sunbeam' chain guard...but, not the British one.
**these items have been replaced; the 2nd photo above, and several others below, show the bike before they were replaced.
Cables (French-made 'Ejac' unlined, gray housing) chain, French-threaded Lyotard pedals, 'Dulcior' #34 3-spring tensioned leather saddle, and seatpost (polished alloy, 25.8mm)  were added. The original inner tubes were latex and had degraded into what looked like several huge gobs of bubble gum. The red Michelin "Demi-Confort' tires were probably not the originals but were likely on the bike for 35 years or more, and are now only good for display, not for riding. New, similar-width Panaracer (made in Japan) 'Fatty Lumpkin' tires are newly mounted and have about 2 miles (of 'test riding') on them.
The rear hub is double-threaded, same on both sides.  The original 'Best' freewheel was worn, sloppy, and rough, making quite a racket both pedaling and coasting.  It was replaced with an excellent, very little used, 4-pawl French-threaded 'Atom', with a new chain (1/8", KMC nickel) too; now all runs very smoothly.  There is also a vacant shifter boss on the right top tube, evidently for a 3-speed option.
The '33 Super' hubs have nice, smooth bearings, and say only 'Germany' (not
West
Germany) on them, so, they might have been made pre-WWII.
The original paint might be described as decayed elegance: chipped, badly scuffed and scratched in large areas and in many places, with some surface rust. Where it isn't marred, in some places it still has a good gloss and appearance. It's an unusual dark brown color, with a lot of ornate
accents and pinstriping, in off-white, red, and gold, all hand-painted (and not a single
decal or sticker.) Chrome is in fair or poor condition on rims, crank, and fork.  Left and right crankarms don't match exactly.  The insides of the frame (that I could see, down the seat tube, bb area, and head tube) looked fairly clean and mostly free of rust. No dings or dents, except where the kickstand is clamped. There are 5 separate badges (head-tube, seat-tube, and 3 on the downtube) all mechanically attached with either with screws or rivets.
Bottom Bracket, fork, pedal-cranks, and rear hub are all French-threaded.
The center-stand balances the bike so close to the middle that it will hold either tire off the ground, about an inch or so.
The seatpost is fairly long (about 250mm) but only has about 3" of adjustment, because of the riveted badge on the seat-tube, which acts as a stop. It would have to be shortened to go lower than the position shown in these photos.
The original internal headlight wire is still in place, with a newly replaced section professionally spliced onto the front, where the original wire's insulation was weathered and cracked. The new wire was additionally insulated and reinforced with heat-shrink tubing where it passes thru the head tube.  Both lights and dyno work.
Mechanically in good shape throughout, with smooth, clean, perfectly-adjusted bearings at all locations. The wheels are decently round, true, and well tensioned. The brake levers feel soft, needing no more than one finger or two, but work OK.
The 'ABC' grips are almost paper-thin, and very short. I could barely resist changing them to cork, or to anything else thicker and longer and grippier, before riding the bike. They are however in good condition, almost completely intact.
Fairly light, weighing in at under 29 pounds as shown (according to my spring-scale) despite having steel rims, cranks, pedals, hubs, plus the fenders, 3-spring leather saddle, lights, generator, pump, rack, kickstand, etc.  One of its badges proclaims it's made with ''Special'' tubing.
FedEx to the contiguous 48 states; USPS to all points beyond.  Will ship in 2 cartons, very carefully packaged with every precaution taken to ensure that nothing will be damaged in transit, fully insured.  Reassembly will be necessary.  Please allow up to three business days for packing and dispatch. Or, for an extra charge I can have it custom-crated and shipped via freight, to require much less re-assembly: the front fender, and wheel, headlight wire, etc, would then not have to be re-fitted. Or--if you can pick up in-person at our store, then get a discount and custom-fitting and/or other options included. It's in Independence, MO. 64050. 816 461-7433.
Expensive shipping rate to some destinations (eg, Australia) is due to smaller 79" (girth + length) carton size restriction for that country on every service except 'Global Express Guaranteed'.   If your country is not listed, please ask for a quote before purchase.
Click to view supersize image
Click to view supersize image
Click to view supersize image
Click to view supersize image
Click to view supersize image
Click to view supersize image
Click to view supersize image
Click to view supersize image
Click to view supersize image
Click to view supersize image
Click to view supersize image
Click to view supersize image
Click to view supersize image
Click to view supersize image
Click to view supersize image
Click to view supersize image
Click to view supersize image
Click to view supersize image
Click to view supersize image
Click to view supersize image
Click to view supersize image
Click to view supersize image
Click to view supersize image
Click to view supersize image