windsor lugged frame
 

today at the market i saw an old bike that looked abandonded. as i was looking at it the owner came up and offered to sell it to me.
its an old chromed windsor with nice looking lugs. the only thing i did not like is that it has a serial number stamped right on the seat tube, and the numbers are rusting a little. i dont think that these numbers are original, they look more like they weres tamped by local authorities registering bikes, or maybe upon importation of the frame into mexico?
is it common for frames to have a serial number stampes on the seat tube like this?
are old windsor lugged frames any good?
thanks!

Some of the old Windsors have have the serial numbers on the seat tube. At least some of the ones made in Mexico. Not sure about the later ones from Japan. The CR website has some pictures that may help you figure out what model you saw.

My old WIndsor has the S/N stamped on the upper seat tube lug.

if those chrome lugs looked ornate, as in a Nervex Pro sort of style, chances are it's a Carrera or Super Carrera...heavy weight gaspiper but fairly sturdy and some have Suntour forged dropouts. If the lugs were a clean and simple design, pierced with an inline series of round holes (ala Cinelli) then it's a Pro (Profesional) and used Columbus tubing...much more desirable.

ok, the whole bike is chromed, does this help identify it?
would the serial number on the seat tube help?
I am going back to see it tomorrow...

*edit* just lookad at some Nervex lugs online, they dont look like that. no curvy cuttouts or fancy corners, just regular-looking shapes on the lugs....

Pictures work the best for ID of a bike. Roger

Otto Cap usually stamped serial numbers directly into the side of the seat tube, just below the seat cluster lug, and I have seen Allegro frames with serial numbers in about the same place.

I have an early eighties Windsor Professional, the S/N is stamped right on the seat lug, NDS.

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/4862/55514375oh1.jpgok, here´s some pics...http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/6862/13do8.jpghttp://img165.imageshack.us/img165/738/11xv8.jpghttp://img244.imageshack.us/img244/7465/10ea1.jpg
http://www.bikeforums.net/%5BIMG%5Dh....jpg%5B/IMG%5Dhttp://www.bikeforums.net/%5BIMG%5Dh....jpg%5B/IMG%5Dhttp://www.bikeforums.net/%5BIMG%5Dh....jpg%5B/IMG%5Dhttp://www.bikeforums.net/%5BIMG%5Dh....jpg%5B/IMG%5Dhttp://www.bikeforums.net/%5BIMG%5Dh....jpg%5B/IMG%5D

Looks pretty low end and It's in rather bad shape, the fork is obviously bent, and it might just be the photo but the right seat stay looks bent too. Its pretty cool in its own way though, are the drop outs forged are stamped? Hard to tell from the photos

Well, that's NOT a Pro. Looks a bit similar to a Carrera, but different in some respects, and Carreras were not fully chromed, as this one is. Seems like those numbers were stamped with a really heavy hand, deep enough to interfere with the seatpost, I would think.