Hi there,

I'm new here so hello!

I was hoping somebody would be able to throw some light onto a bike I've owned for a few months now.



Now I really should have done some homework before I bought this guy, with a name like Tossini it must be an Italian frame right, and look - there's an SLX sticker.

However it wasn't until I gave it a bit of a service that I realised he wasn't who he's pretending to be. First off - the tubing is pretty nice, light with a good "ping" and takes a 27.2 seatpost - but it ain't SLX as there's no rifling down the seat-tube. It also takes a British threaded BB, so the chances of it being Italian are greaty diminished!(?)

That said - it's still a lovely bike and I'm planning on respraying it soon as the paint is really showing it's age. It's probably been resprayed at least once in it's life as there's evidence of sandblast in the seat-tube.

My theory is that it's probably a 60's/70's Dutch/Belgian/British frame that someone bought in the 80's and "Italianised" it as was the fashion. If anyone could throw any light over it I would greatly appreciate it... the lug's in particular are pretty unique (although badly painted!) although I have found similar one's on this late 70's Raleigh Competition GS:




I believe the lugs have probably been made by BCM (Bocama), also the fork has Campagnolo ends - though I have no way of knowing if it's original to the frame!




No other marks apart from the number on the seat-tube lug (75) which I guess is the angle.

Sorry for the large post, I'd appreciate any help people can give me!

Thanks very much.

I think your guesses are very good ones...anything at all stamped on the fork's steerer? Is the pinchbolt the type that screws into a threaded eye on the left, and if so is it a metric or standard bolt?

No - nothing stamped on the fork steerer. I'm not sure how to check if the pinchbolt is standard or metric, although it does screw onto the threaded eye on the left. It has got an unusual (well - none of my other bikes have got one!) slot for the left eye to "grip" onto:

The graphics look suspiciously like something cobbled together by whoever "customized" it. Just not quite refined enough to pass for being from an actual manufacturer. Any indication if the rear track dropouts were later replacements for what may have been original road dropouts?

Its another one of those "ini" bikes.

Sweet bike. I myself am about to try identifying a supposed "Italian" tack bike.

It's hard to tell - they are probably stamped ends rather than forged owing to their thinness. So that probably indicates an earlier frame?

I'm sorry, but I'm totally distracted by the droopy chain in the photo! Otherwise, it looks like a nice bike, even if it is misrepresented as an Italian SLX bike when it might not be one.
Good eye with noticing the similarities to that Raleigh's lugs. The ones on your bike look fancier, though, with the top tube and seat tube lug both having those nice teardrop-cutouts. Maybe Tossini was the last name of the PO or something, and they just decided to Italianize it? Whatever it is, I think you still got something good quality, cool and unique; it's not like you bought a Peugeot UO8 at a PX10 price!
Another thing: It could just be that I'm not familiar with '70s track bikes (because I'm not), but that bike looks more '80s to me. Are there any dead-giveaway signs when it comes to track bikes that readily indicate the decade?

Don't worry - chain has been undrooped

I can't add anything useful about the origin of the bike, but I love the idea of using the name "Tossini" to describe any bike recovered from the trash/skip. I wonder if the person who re-labeled it was being cheeky in that manner?

Phew! For a moment I was worried you were riding it like that...
Chris, I didn't even think about that as a brand name for trashpicked bikes, but that's pretty awesome. Maybe someone should start a "Tossini" thread for that purpose- though I guess the theme of bikes from the trash has been covered numerous times already. Oh well.

When I saw the title of the thread, the first thing that came to mind was Rivendell's "Resurrectio" decal set...

Ahhh, yes. Italian affectation was the thing back then......

Dad: What is this?
Mom: It's sauteed zucchini.
Dad: It's I-tey food. I don't want no I-tey food.
Mom: It's not. I got it at the A&P. It's like... squash.
Dad: I know I-tey food when I hear it! It's all them "eenie" foods... zucchini... and linguine... and fettuccine. I want some American food, dammit! I want French fries!
Mom: [to the cat, who has jumped up onto the table] Oh, get off the table, Fellini!
Dad: Hey, that's *my* cat! His name's not Fellini, it's Jake! I won't have any "eenie" in this house!
[to the cat]
Dad: Your name's Jake, you hear?

well the seat clamp is not the 'Dutch" style that I was guessing: it has a slot for a bolt with a "cleat" to fit in it. Chances are good that it's a Dutch or British frame and maybe 531 (at least the main tubes) or something like it. Stamped track ends are not uncommon even on good quality frames of that vintage, so it's not necessarily a low-end or even mid-level frame. I'd think anything from Raleigh/Carlton/Gazelle or another big brand would have a serial number on the BB shell, so this might be from a smaller shop.