Kevindale

I'm finally back home in Rachet City, and I've succeeded in getting the stem extracted from the steerer tube on the 82|83 Tommasini. The fork reveals the following stampings: '33' in the front, 'P' on the side, and '59' on the back. Any ideas what they refer to?



You can clearly see the 5 spirals in there. I'm assuming that this is Columbus SL, but I'm wondering if those spirals in the steerer tube are also present in SP and SLX forks?

Mods - can you please move this to the regular C&V forum. Thank you!

T-Mar

The helically reinforced steerers were used on all full SL/SP and above tubesets (i.e SL/SP, SLX/SPX, TSX, MAX, EL, Genius, etc.). Some sources but not all, refer to it being used on Cromor, so it may have been era dependent. The 59 is probably a reference to the frame size. I'm not sure about the P and 33, though the P may represent Prestige, which was the Columbus SL/SP model. It could also represent a heavier gauge fork, such as SP, as opposed to lighter SL.

Edit: 58-60cm was the frame range where most builders would transisition from SL to SP and some would even use SP gauge in blades, down tubes and chain stays on smaller frames.

Kevindale

As always, thank you, T-Mar! I thought the 59 may be for the frame. I've measured the seat tube at 58.4 cm c-c, and 59.5 c-t, so that would fit.

Did Tommasini call some frames 'Prestige' even before they started putting the 'Prestige' decal on the top tube? Was 'Racing' indeed a distinct frame model designation?

AlexCyclistRoch

Well, the 33 is probably offset, and the 59 is steerer tube length. These can easily be checked.

Kevindale

As best I can measure, offset is 48-49 mm (centerline of steerer tube to center-line of axle), if I measured correctly. Is there a simple, standard way of measuring offset?

The total (vertical) length of the fork, from the tips of the dropouts to the top of the threaded steerer tube, is indeed right about 59 cm exactly. The steerer tube itself is about 20 cm (to bottom race) or 23 cm (to very bottom of the tube).

T-Mar

I think I remember this bicycle now. It was pre-1984 based on the decals, but still had a front derailleur hanger?

Since that time, I've done some more digging and did come up with an undated piece of literature that specifically mentions Tretubi, Racing, Prestige, SPX and CX frames. I believe the literature is from 1984, based on the decals and model names. SLX came out in 1984 and it's worth noting that the both SL and SLX model bear the Prestige name, while the CX frame bears Super Prestige. This may be due to confusion over getting the new SLX model ready for the catalog.

Both the Racing and Prestige frames appear to have SL decals and the only difference I noticed was that the Prestige has a front derailleur hanger while the Racing does not. This only adds to the confusion, as it seems to contradict what I remember of your frame. Regardless, it does confirm Racing as a legitimate Tommasini model name.

Kevindale

Yes, that's my bike - no 'Tommasini' decal with stacked letters on the seat tube, 'Tommasini Racing' on the chain stay, and the FD braze on. All the dating cues narrow it to 82-83, including the date codes on various parts.

I wonder if the factory got feedback that people interested in the Racing frames wanted more flexibility in where the hung the FD, and didn't want the braze-on? It's hard to see any difference, besides the FD tab, between B and C in that catalogue page.

T-Mar

I thought your fame used the older style decals (i.e it doesn't have the "swishes" on each side on the Tommasini down tube logo)?

Kevindale

Yes, that's mine above. I've seen a couple of bikes with the same decals on the seat tube but with the swishes on the down tube. This pattern seems to go with the model decal showing up on the top tube:


So I guess what I have is the 'old style' and then there was a transitional set of decals for a year or so (above specimen), and then the seat tube decals changed to this:



And then even later examples ('90s) show the seat tube 'Tommasini' going from stacked vertical lettering to the same kind of decal as on the down tube, and the swishes disappearing.