Hi,
I am also interested in EMPO's history, because i've bought an old EMPO Sport bicycle about 2 months ago. So i started digging and found it was an old Dutch bicycle factory founded in 1913 in Vorden. They were bought i suppose in 1979 by PON, 6 years after PON was sold to Union. There is not much information about EMPO in the internet, generally dissipated - i havent found any complex archive in web yet.
Underneath stays little about the EMPO bike i've acquired lately.
This is how it looked like, when it was sold to me (photos were made by previous owner and attached to the ad):
http://postimg.org/gallery/1drmu4bzo/4ed583d7/
I am trying to get this bike back on the roads - replaced wheels in front to stainless 22x622 with SA drum brake hub and in the rear to chromed 19x622 with Sachs Dreigang Torpedo (H3111 to be precise) - both rims are van Schothorst. Tyres are now 37-622 by KENDA, with white sides, removed dynamo and now waiting for the new retro-looking battery powered lights - they are now on the road to me. So as the switcher for gears.
It's interesting that this bicycle has two 6003 machine bearings in the bottom bracket with pressed in Hatta axle. Right bearing has a little loose (hardly noticeable) thanks to some idiot's idea of welding chainguard's bracket plate to the rim of the bottom bracket. Not annoying loose, but it exists. Also, lower mudguard's bracket is gone so i had to make little plate bracket to fix it toegether.
Unfortunately mudguards are now only cleaned and straigtened, but i havent got rid of rust and remade varnish already.
It looks like this at the moment:
http://postimg.org/gallery/itio1fj8/9f2e17e6/
Have a good day everybody and dont be annoyed by my offtopic.
