I am by no means as expert on Flandria bikes, but I do own one that is similar to the bike you are interested in. I do not think they are generally regarded as high quality bikes and I believe they produced mostly commuter-type bikes for the general Belgian public. That is basically what mine is- a lugged steel frame of unknown type. They did sponsor a racing team or two, but I believe that was to promote their brand like any other sponsor (telekom, motorola, molteni, etc) and not because they typically produced racing quality frames. So, I would say it depends on what you're after with this bike. I am very happy with mine and I use it as a daily commuter (a short, flat, 1.2 mile commute each way). I like it because you don't see many of them, it's in very good condition for it's age, and it has a cool integrated rack and over-the-top chain guard design. In reality it isn't much different than the bajillion three speed Ralieighs out there, except it's made in Belgium!