Hello,
I am hoping that somebody on this forum could help me with my old bike. I bought it many years ago off EBay for just messing around. It has a road racing frame and is very comfortable to ride. My curiosity has been growing about the frame. I would like to find out about its maker.
It has been badly repainted at some time in the past and has no indications of the builder. However, the frame looks to be of good quality. There are Nervex Lugs and Campagnolo forged ends. The lugs are all chromed as are the front forks and parts of the rear stays. The head badge has been lost but there remains two horizontal attachment holes. The frame number is 1395 which is stamped on the LHS of the lug at the top of the seat tube. There are no braze ons at all.
My suspicion is that it is a 1960s or early 1970s road frame (no braze ons) but cannot guess anything else. The equipment on the bike does not help much either. It s mixture of vintage Campagnolo with Shimano 105 wheels.
Can anyone suggest where I could pursue my enquiries? The bike is so comfortable to ride, I would like to restore it to its former glory.
Many thanks in anticipation.
David
Posted on: 31 October 2014 by Bruce Woodhouse
I suspect it will be pretty impossible to trace it. With no fixed makers mark on the metal (or any very distinctive design element) I guess you are going to struggle beyond identifying the tubeset and lugs.
I presume it has been re-painted at some point and lost the original design?
Bruce
(I'm on the mailing list of a rather fun company called Steel Vintage Bikes in Holland. Every month they send a catalogue of some lovely restored classic bikes-for serious money. I have a new Zullo and have half an eye on tracking down an old one if it came up.)
Posted on: 31 October 2014 by Clay Bingham
No promises but I have found classicrendezvous.com to have lot of information, by country, including brands you've never heard of before. Some have distinctive build elements , build location, or history that can help you narrow the field.
Posted on: 31 October 2014 by David S
Thanks for the replies.
The only distinctive aspect of the frame is the attachment of the rear stays to the seat post, which is unlike any I have ever seen. I will follow up on your suggestions.
My only other hope is that when I take to present black paint off the frame I may find some clues. However, the paint is of poor quality and underneath there seems to be a thick grey primer. This is a great shame as the frame seems to be a high quality product.
David
Posted on: 31 October 2014 by lutyens
I think Bruce is right. It will be very difficult. However you may find that the location of the number may give you a clue. Was there a frame builder who used that location? Most frame builders just stamped the number under the bottom bracket! It needn't be as old as you think. My Ron Cooper was early 80s and was only 801! You say that there badge holes. You may narrow it down by who put badges on the frame! Many frame builders didn't use badges, just decals. Similarly carefully removing the paint and the primer may prove useful because if the paint job is so poor it has probably been hand done rather than sprayed and the original decals etc may still be under the 'new' paint somewhere.
just some thoughts. Good luck and have fun.
James
Posted on: 31 October 2014 by fatcat
David
You should be able to assess the frame quality by weighing it. Around 2.2kg, it could be Columbus SP, around 1.9kg, it could be Columbus SL. If the inside of the tubing is rifled and it weighs 1.9kg it will be Columbus SLX.
A clue to it's origin lies in thread sizes. Good quality bottom brackets usually indicate the thread size on the bearing cups.
Italian - 36mm x 24TPI
British - 1.370 x 24TPI
French - 32mm x 1mm
A few photos would help.
