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(Appropriate that he used a French bike, as Retro Direct was first used in France in 1869. Pedalling backwards or "Retro" would give you one gear ratio, while forwards or "Direct" gives you another. Many methods have been used to accomplish this but the simplest and most efficient is the Hirondelle style used by Jon. Both the top and bottom runs of the chain run over the tops of 2 different sized freewheels, both mounted on the rear hub. With 2 chainrings you could have 4 speeds. Mark S.)
The bike has some nice old parts in the usual Sharratt style. Including a “moustache” handlebar with plastic Mafac Guidonet brake levers and Mafac center pull brakes that have a neat little front rack attached (mainly to keep a big handlebar bag from dragging on the tire, since it couldn't carry a very large or heavy bag on its own).
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