I had a SOMEC for a minute. I bought it on an impulse because it was very cheap. I sold it because it didn't quite fit me, and because I wanted an aluminum track bike for the track season. The tubing was probably Columbus Aelle, which, as TNCLR said, was on the low end of Columbus's spectrum of tubing. It doesn't mean it makes for a bad or low-quality frame, however. My SOMEC was a lovely bike - fully chromed beneath the paint, lots of nice little flourishes here and there, those sweet pencil seatstays, the pantographed fork crown, and with a curious full-Miche group possibly from the early nineties. The prior owner had touched up scratches and chips in the paint with nailpolish, which I didn't like - I would have preferred the spots of chrome shining through. The PO also hung it on his wall for about twelve years where it accumulated dust, crap and crud, thickened black grease - you know, the result of a decade and more of constant indoor cigar smoking. I spent hours cleaning it - you wouldn't believe how much effort it took. Even after a lot of scrubbing, cleaning, polishing, wiping, et cetera, it still smelled like twelve year old cigar smoke. The metal smelled like smoke. Anyway, I got it nice and clean and then got it damn messy doing reconnaissance for Sludgement Day. It was effin' great.

I recently saw it sitting in a local bike shop - the new owner was waiting on some new drop bars, a cross lever, and new pedals. It was nice to see it. I was fond of that thing for the few weeks I had it.

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