who built my classic road bike frame...?

[robg2]

Could anyone help to identify who built this frame?

I think it dates from the early 80s - I've had it since 1990. It's quite sporty geometry for the time, supposedly Reynolds 531, has Campag forged dropouts and came with a few high-end Shimano 600 (Arabesque) bits. There aren't any particularly distinguishing features though, except...

frame number is here:



...and is just 'S893'


and the main tube lugs look like this:




Any ideas - or suggestions where I might be able to find out?

[230TE]

http://www.retrobike.co.uk

Someone on there should be able to help. Looks interesting anyway.

[littleandy0410]

A quick google of "road bikes heart shaped lug" brought up 2 possibilities. The first was a Miele:


But the more likely is this Olmo:


http://www.mytenspeeds.com/My_TenSpeeds_1/Feature_...

[andySC]

I'd go with the Olmo option, unlikely to be Reynolds tubing if that's the case, most probably Columbus.

[Enricogto]

If it's Olmo it's not Reynolds nor Columbus but Falck (you can see the above pictured), really common in Italy till the late eighties when they went bust.

Enrico

[robg2]

Blimey you chaps know your stuff... thankyou!

I have to agree that the Olmo option looks possible if based on the shape of the lugs. I'll do some Googling and see what else I can come up with. Someone somewhere might know what pattern of frame number they used.

[Bonefish Blues]

King of Mercia also has heart-shaped cutouts and are built in Reynolds tubing but they do seem a slightly different heart shape:

http://www.merciancycles.co.uk/frames/22/king-of-m...

[robg2]

I think that's not it - as you said, the lug shapes are too different.

I've just signed up to the 'London Fixed-gear and Single Speed' forum as they seem to have a long running thread on identifying oddball bike bits. Fingers crossed then!