Road Framesets, unknown maker

Sometimes we find ourselves with a lovely, well-made frame or bike, but we cannot identify the maker.

On this page: 56cm Taiwan steel touring frameset | 63cm Italian Columbus road frameset

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56cm Taiwan-made Touring frameset. Used, $300.00

56cm seat tube x 56cm top tube

• 140mm head tube
• Two sets of water bottle braze-ons
• New burgundy powder-coat paint job
• Unicrown fork
• Cantilever brake braze-ons
• Rear rack braze-ons
• Forged dropouts with eyelets

This frameset has lovely workmanship, but we don't know who made it.

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63cm Italian-made road frameset. Used, $500.00/frame, fork & headset

Given that it has 1010a long Campagnolo dropouts with fender eyelets, top tube cable guides as well as its other finishing details, this frame was probably built in the 1970s.

At some point it was re-sprayed with the chrome nicely masked off.

The lugs are stamped, long-point Prugnat style with generous cutouts.

The seat stays have rack eyelets, but we don't know if they are brazed on later or were attached by the frame builder.

The seat stay caps give no help in discovering the frame provenance, as they are made by Columbus with the Columbus trademark Dove engraved in them.

We simply have to accept that this is a great example of the framebuilder's art and leave it at that.

Here are the specifications of the frame:

• 63cm seat tube
• 59.5cm top tube
• Head tube 20cm
• Chainstay 44.5
• Wheelbase 1040
• Rear dropouts 126mm
• Seatpost diameter 26.8
• Designed for 700c wheels
• Has eyelets and rear rack braze-ons.
• Made with Columbus double-butted SP tubing
• Frameset comes with used Campagnolo Nuovo Record headset.

It's a nicely-made, classic Italian frame.

A slightly different shot of the frame

The frame turned around.

The Columbus Dove seat stay caps are nicely chromed

The flat Columbus fork crown, chromed as well.

Inderneath the crown, showing the brazed-on blade reinforcements.

A look at the headtube and the lovely cut-out lugs.

Close-up of one of the top tube cable guides.

Downtube water bottle bosses

Underneath the down tube: This wonderful little braze-on is to keep the clamp-on downtube shifters from sliding down the tube. Anyone who has had this happen will appreciate this framebuilder's thoughfulness.

Looking in the bottom bracket shell. It looks like it has been professionally tapped and faced.

Front view of the seat tube cluster.

The rear brake bridge (nicely lugged) and braze-ons for a rack.

Another view of the rear brake bridge.

Chrome-plate Campagnolo front fork tips with eyelets. Sweet!

Traditional long rear Campagnolo dropouts with eyelets. The longer dropouts give more options for wider gearing.

The rear dropouts from the other side

The rear triangle. A few things to note. The drive-side seat stay has a chain hanger, great when removing the rear wheel. Chainstay is chromed, fewer scratch worries. And the chainstay has a cable stop, no need for a clamp-on stop.