This bike is for sale in France at the moment (March 2013). Or it may just have been sold, since it's an interesting bike. The inscription tells us clearly who the maker is: E. Pinson et Fils, Rennes.
The only problem is, that I can't find any information about this E.Pinson. If you know more about this, please contact me.
It is a simple and starighforward bike with a nasty front fork damage, but some interesting details. The caps around the hubs for instance. Are they made by Pinson? I guess they are a later addition to prevent the standard Bown Aelous ball bearings from dust or stones.
The same question arises when we look at the mudguard around the rear wheel. A mudguard? On an ordinary? I can imagine that it was original: the French sometimes had interesting ideas about building bicycles, and later: cars.
When I look at the front wheel hub, there is a clear resemblance with the BSA wheel. This could have been bought at BSA. This gives the impression that E.Pinson wasn't really a full size factory, but a family that assembled bicycles and sold them with their own name. But all this is just a guess. I hope the new owner will find out more and tell me all about it!
Thanks to Marc for the pictures.
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