Originally Posted by CV-6
I was eyeballing the pictures again and noticed the front caliper is nutted and the rear is recessed. Seems rather odd. Kurt's comments on the tubing were pretty much verified by another source although that source is convinced it is 531, no 501 mentioned.
I know this tubing has been confirmed as Reynolds, but I did not know that it had been definitely determined to be some form of 531. What puzzles me is what form of 531 was used under the 555RSL badging - it would have made no sense to use 531C, for 531C was already in the lineup as a more expensive tubing option for this model. Likewise, I doubt if they used 531 straight gauge, for that would make the lowest-end Team frame second to the double-butted, Japanese manufactured, 555SL-equipped Prestige, Competition, Super Course, and Grand Prix models, which were all below the Team in the '84 hiearchy, respectively.
The fork is original - why they rigged a nutted brake over the recessed hole is beyond me, although I suspect that the shop or individual that built the frame up happened to have a pair of non-matching front and rear SR calipers. Why the mounting bolt wasn't simply ground down or replaced is a mystery - one not worth solving, IMHO - anyone can swap it to recessed.
Take care,
-Kurt