RIP Frans Du Toit

[Shebeen]

A dedicated thread to the man behind Du Toit and Le Jeune handbuilt steel bicycles (and more).

He passed away on 3 April at the age of 76.

please share memories of him, and his bikes. If you have any of pictures of ones you owned too.

His instagram got quiet, but there will be a lot of content on the web so please post that too.

 

https://www.instagram.com/dutoitcycles/

 

 

 

 

 

[Albatross]

My first “proper” road bike. Bought 2nd hand from a work colleague who had the bike built from scratch for him , I’m talking frame built to fit him. Carried me home over several Argus’s. 

[ChrisF]

No photos, but way back when we owned a couple of Le Jeune bikes.

[NC_lurker]

Had the pleasure of cycling in a team with him almost 20 yrs ago to do Hell & Back plus a couple of K2Cs. Absolute gentleman always willing to share his wealth of knowledge. Remember him carbo loading on baked potatoes the night before Hell & Back as if he was expecting a famine 😆

[BuffsVintageBikes]

RIP Francois, it was a pleasure knowing you over the years, firstly as a competitor in the WP Vets league and later as a follow vintage steel bike enthusiast. You were tough as nails on your bike and you were a master of your craft when it came to building custom steel bikes.
Widely regarded as one of, if not the best, steel frame builder in the country and one of the very few licensed to build with Reynolds 753 tubing.

Besides Le Jeune and Du Toit, Francois also built bikes for Peter Allan Cycles. I'm fortunate enough to own quite a few of his beautiful crafted frames 🙏

Photo 1 is me racing my Peter Allan 531 at iL'Classico last year in Riebeek Kasteel.

Photo 2 is me winning the Best Unrestored SA Built bike at Eroica in 2023 with my Du Toit 531. The bike was custom built for the Major of Calvinia and I bought it from him when he retired to Port Owen.

Photo 3 is one of the riders bikes at Eroica 2024.

Photo 4 is a friends 531 Le Jeune which I restored for him.

 

[Underachiever]

My track Le Jeune (circa '87) he built for me.

 

 

[Prince Albert Cycles]

my 531 Lejeune about 1992 .

Francois had a love for Prince Albert and the Karoo and owned property here.

In about 1993 my son then 15 and I on a tandem had a race long dice with Francois and his daughter same age as my son  on their tandem during the Argus 

RIP Francois 

[eddy]

I spent my first paycheck in 1985 on a custom 531p Le Jeune in a pearl bronze with yellow decals, yellow polka-dot bartape. I was so chuffed with that bike.

I swapped it back to him in around 2001 as part exchange for his Pinarello Paris.

RIP Francois

[Shebeen]

[Zebra]

Managed to find 2 pics of my Francois du Toit-built Peter Allan bike, shown here during my ‘Tri phase’ 😆

The bike was rather unusual, using Reynolds 708 for the main triangle, and then 736 (?) for the rear stays and forks.

Reynolds 708 was ‘pitched’ at Track riders, Touring riders and heavier cyclists 😇, since if offered a stiffer frame, with 8 ‘flats’ visible when staring down the seat tube, sort of like looking at the rifling of a gun.

When i eventually had the bike resprayed/restored, we re-applied Reynolds 708 ‘Restored’ decals to the main triangle.

Fun memories, Argus cycle tours, Triathlon, cycling up the East Coast of Australia with it (!), and then crashing it in the USA, before the bike was cut and re-purposed for a mates young Son.

R.I.P. Francois - gone too soon.