Hello everyone,
I’m new to this forum and I really hope you guys can help me out. About three months ago I managed to obtain the vintage steel frame pictured below relatively cheaply. I had it checked out by my LBS and they told me it was structurally sound so I build it up. It rides like a charm and I’m quite happy with it. However, I’m starting to get a little curious as to find out what frame exactly I acquired. As you can see in the pictures, it doesn’t have any decals on it except for two small Italian flags on the seat stays and a ’Columbus Gara’-sticker on the seat tube (that being said, given that this sticker is legitimate, the frame’s not exactly high end but no junk either). There are some marks on the downtube that indicate that there used to be other decals there that some previous owner obviously wasn’t too fond of (I probably should mention that the guy I bought the frame from didn’t know anything about its previous whereabouts or history). The finish itself might well be the original one and is in pretty good condition, it’s just showing a bit of chrome here and there. There is a number located on the bottom bracket housing, which, however, just says ’54’. Could that actually be the serial number or am I in fact looking at the frame size? There doesn’t seem to be another number anywhere on the frame, though.
The Italian flags plus the fact that it has Italian bottom bracket threading have me inclined to believe that it might actually be an Italian frame. I’m no expert on the subject, but I don’t think it’s any older than late 80s/early 90s considering it features a 130 mm rear hub spacing (which, according to my LBS, has not been tempered with) and recessed brake mounting points.
So, in a nutshell: what the hell did I mount a pair of wheels on there? I'm absolutely clueless, so any help would be greatly appreciated. Until then, I’ll happily ride this thing blissfully ignorantly. Many thanks in advance!
I’m new to this forum and I really hope you guys can help me out. About three months ago I managed to obtain the vintage steel frame pictured below relatively cheaply. I had it checked out by my LBS and they told me it was structurally sound so I build it up. It rides like a charm and I’m quite happy with it. However, I’m starting to get a little curious as to find out what frame exactly I acquired. As you can see in the pictures, it doesn’t have any decals on it except for two small Italian flags on the seat stays and a ’Columbus Gara’-sticker on the seat tube (that being said, given that this sticker is legitimate, the frame’s not exactly high end but no junk either). There are some marks on the downtube that indicate that there used to be other decals there that some previous owner obviously wasn’t too fond of (I probably should mention that the guy I bought the frame from didn’t know anything about its previous whereabouts or history). The finish itself might well be the original one and is in pretty good condition, it’s just showing a bit of chrome here and there. There is a number located on the bottom bracket housing, which, however, just says ’54’. Could that actually be the serial number or am I in fact looking at the frame size? There doesn’t seem to be another number anywhere on the frame, though.
The Italian flags plus the fact that it has Italian bottom bracket threading have me inclined to believe that it might actually be an Italian frame. I’m no expert on the subject, but I don’t think it’s any older than late 80s/early 90s considering it features a 130 mm rear hub spacing (which, according to my LBS, has not been tempered with) and recessed brake mounting points.
So, in a nutshell: what the hell did I mount a pair of wheels on there? I'm absolutely clueless, so any help would be greatly appreciated. Until then, I’ll happily ride this thing blissfully ignorantly. Many thanks in advance!
