LAMBERT~Viscount |
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Many (!) pictures
of the web master's nearly stock 1st edition Lambert (1972-3?).
The third short
lived Reg Harris bicycle, this time by Viking/Lambert, circa 1973.
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Lambert ...
An elaborately advertised and promoted brand name introduction was made in 1972. The USA directed portion of the enterprise was reputed to be well-financed by a member of the Marriott family (hotels, airline catering, etc.) The bikes were an incredible value in their time - the standard model Super Sports sold for $124.95 which featured the same frame as the more expensive models, that being of a seamless "aircraft" tubing. The next model Professional Grand Prix was $134.95, sharing features with the base model except with having "sew up" tires & wheels rather than the 27" clinchers. The gold plated top model (of which I only seen one!) Professional Grand Prix 24 ct was with the addition of "Genuine" gold plating. It sold for $259.95! I couldn't say how many of the gold model really existed....it is said that only 100 were made. It was also understood that the frames were originally made by the old Viking factory in south London. The first batch were lugged frames and quite nicely made. Later they became filet brazed (i.e. lugless.) The Lambert components were all pretty special. The company really went way out on a limb, rather than buying all the various pieces from the normal sub-suppliers, they made or had made for them, parts of their own design and markings. No bicycle manufacturer had made grand attempt in the post war cycling scene except possibly the huge Raleigh Company, and in that case not with the sporting emphasis as in Lambert's case. These special parts included sealed hubs, sealed bottom bracket (although the first batches had conventional cup & cone bearings), crank sets, front and rear derailleur , brakes and brake levers, handlebar and stem, seat posts, sealed bearing pedals and a special cast aluminum front fork (more on that later.......!) The headsets, rims, chain and tires were the only off-the-shelf items! Alas, all the Lambert labeled components were not top grade, but also not so bad either, considering the era & the newness of the designs! The problem areas were as follows:
- The 2nd generation
sealed bearing bottom
brackets were troublesome; - The handlebars became loose from their riveted center sleeve (gold anodizing or not!) - The rear derailleur (a single parallelogram similar to a Huret Svelto) did not work awfully well, and was allegedly retired from production due to a patent infringement lawsuit brought by Suntour/Maeda Ind. - The front fork ("Death Fork") started to break at inopportune moments ! After a few
years, Lambert became insolvent and thereafter became "Viscount" cycles, which
in turn became heavily invested by the Yamaha Motorcycle Co. A new burst of life
arose for the marque, but rapidly all the special parts went away and
"normal" pieces appeared, i.e. Suntour and Shimano derailleurs, etc.
Then the frames became Japanese and Taiwanese (which wasn't too cool in
those days) Yamaha finally de alone (the Trusty Co. had in fact
been the behind-the-scenes manufacturer for some time)" and staggered on for
a year or so before disappearing forever!
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