Help Identify Frame Please

[Pain or Shine]

Hi fellow classic bike nuts, and hopefully Sherlock Holmes types. I need help identifying this frame before I can decide how to proceed with the restoration.

It has a Reynolds 531 sticker that dates from the 1970s. The braze-ons suggest late 1970s or 1980s. Lugs look like Cinelli. Dropouts are Campagnolo. BB is Italian thread. The most unusual feature is the seat post clamp. The seat tube is not split but it has a movable block inside that creates a clamping movement when the bolt is tightened. The sloping shoulder fork as unusual lug / gusset work on the inside of the fork arms. The brake bridge is also unusual. It has a serial number under the BB, but no other identifying marks. It has internal cable routing in the top tube andbottle cage bolts only on the down tube. I'll attach as many close-up pictures as I can

 

[Midlife]

Peugeot Comete had a seat bolt like that, maybe MBK. Not French though......
Interesting

 

[Pain or Shine]

Re:

The closest seat/top tube lug with a similar seat tube clamp bolt I could find is this Cinelli one. When the seat stays are welded directly to the underside of the bolt, I think it will look like my bike. But as to where and by who the frame was made, I still have no clue. Best I can guess is that it is probably Italian, probably made by an artisan builder who didn't produce many frames,but I'm open to any suggestions and advice.

 

[rogerzilla]

531 is unusual for an Italian bike (they'd generally use Columbus tubes), and I'm assuming it's Italian from the BB thread (no-one in the UK would use an Italian BB shell, although builders like Ron Cooper often built very Italian-style frames).

Mata and Legnano used 531, maybe a few others. This should help narrow it down.

 

[Old Ned]

The expander-bolt style seat pin was more 'common' on French bikes, especially Vitus aluminium and carbon. There's one on show in the current AL bikes thread. I reckon you could convert it to conventional style by carefully slotting the seat lug and seat tube (with a hole drilled at the end to prevent further cracking).

 

[Pain or Shine]

I looked carefully at the images I could find for Legnano, but could not make a match. The Reynolds 531 sticker matches perfectly to what I see on Legnano frames dated 1973/74, so it places it in early to mid 1970s, but the lugs are different and my serial number does not fit at all. So, I rules out Legnano.

I can find very little about Mata.

If it offers another clue, my frames serial number is stamped under the BB and it is 0072232. The 7 is larger than the other numbers. In this picture you can see how the number wraps around the BB. The cutouts in the bottom of the BB is visible as well as the brazed on cable guides.

Anyone with more suggestions?

 

[Midlife]

The under BB guides were not prevalent in the early 70's, neither were the brazed on front mech hanger. Does it have internal routing in the top tube?

 

[rogerzilla]

Re:

72 may be the year and 232 a serial number. If so, you're looking at a small volume builder who expected to make < 1000 frames a year.

 

[Midlife]

It's later than 1972 with the braze on style, lugs, fork crown and allen key brakes..... Where does the rear brake cable go?

 

[Pain or Shine]

The under BB guides were not prevalent in the early 70's, neither were the brazed on front mech hanger. Does it have internal routing in the top tube?

Yes, it has internal cable routing in the top tube. The front hole starts under the tube and the back one exits on top of it. Both are on the left side of the tube.