dougb

I bought a Giordana frame several years ago. It doesn’t have model decals, but it does have tubing decals on the seat tube and forks - Columbus SL. The bottom bracket shell has “58 SL” stamped into it. I believe it’s a late 80s-early 90s frame, perhaps a Scorpius or Antares model.
I’m curious about the manufacturers mark cast onto the bottom of the shell. Raised letters within a circle read, “SR” - I think.
I appreciate any thoughts on what “SR” signifies. I know there’s some mystery about who built Giordana frames. Perhaps this mark could shed some light.




Giordana bottom bracket shell

unworthy1

AFAIK there's no mystery about *most* Giordano frames: they were built by Billato.
This BB shell is investment-cast and that logo is the shell maker, unlikely the same as frame builder.
I don't recognize it as being one of the well-known Italian IC brands but since there's a recognizable "R" perhaps it's an early Roto?

Hondo6

Whoever made that BB shell, it looks like @cudak888 's recently-purchased Raleigh may have the same - or a very similar - marking on it's BB shell (lower right in photo below). So Raleigh may also have been using it at some point.

cudak888 

It's definitely the mark of the bottom bracket shell manufacturer, independent of the builder. Even though it's the first thing that pops into mind, I doubt its Sakae Ringyo.

A framebuilder active during this time may know. What era is the Giordana from? The Raleigh is a '91.

-Kurt

juvela

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bulgie Doug Fattic MauriceMoss



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dougb

Based on the tubing decals, it’s late 80s - early 90s.

Chombi1 

Bottecchia used the same markings on their BB shell to indicate frame tubing ajd size in the mid to late 80's......

Seanaus

Frame is by Billato I'm sure, BB shell I have no idea.

Hondo6

Exactly what I came to mind for me too. I seem to recall seeing that same (or a VERY similar) mark on the backside of some Sakae Ringyo crank arms - though memory is unreliable sometimes. (Those cranks are now in storage and I can't readily access them to check.)

But like you, I don't ever recall seeing Sakae Ringyo listed as a source of frame parts for lugged frames anywhere.

JohnDThompson 

Not quite the same:

Hondo6

True; that one's definitely different.

However, SR has used different variants of their "SR" logo. I was possibly thinking of this version - though I also seem to remember another that's even closer to the one on the BB shells in question above.



Image from Velobase.

Or maybe I'm just "out to lunch" due to bad memory. Wouldn't be the first time, and almost certainly won't be the last time either.

dougb

Haden produced a couple of lug sets called Royal Sovereign. Perhaps the logo is to be read “RS”.


Haden catalog page from equusbicycle.com

MauriceMoss

I've tried to find out who was behind these "SR" branded bottom bracket shells but never got very far. I had been thinking of starting a thread but, now that this one is active, I might as well just add here the info I have.


There were 3 brands of bottom bracket shells that all seemed to hit the market in Italy around the same time (mid-late 80s): BSE, Chierici (the model with their logo appearing on the underside) and SR. They had decent market presence (especially SR and Chierici) but for a very short period, as all three disappeared pretty quickly.


While I don't know who was behind these "SR" branded bottom bracket shells, I'm pretty sure they were made in Italy and not in Japan. Vast majority of examples are on Italian made frames (ITA threading), with a smattering of frames from outside of Italy (as you'll see from the list). I've never seen any examples from Japan.


Re: Sakae Ringyo, which usually gets mentioned whenever these shells come up for discussion - the only Sakae Ringyo logo (there were at least 3) that looks similar is different from the marking on these shells, so I'll just leave this side-by-side for reference:





Here's a list of brands that I've seen use SR shells:
The SR logo also appears on items other than bb shells, albeit far less frequently. I've seen one example of lugs with that logo:




The logo also appears on some Columbus (mostly) aero seat posts. I reached out to Columbus about this, thinking they've got to be at the center of this branding/marking, but I never received a response.










So, in the end, I don't really have much that would help move the ID further. I just hope that additional info might jog memory of someone who was involved in frame building in the late 80s who might have used (and ordered) these shells.