brokentelephone

Hi All,

I bought a bike in London, UK from a guy I found on gumtree (like craigslist). I paid £200 which seems ok (could've found cheaper but was impatient) as the bike is kitted out with various modern Campag bits and pieces and Campag rims.

The fork doesn't match the frame (it's some red Bianchi thing which looks older than the style of the frame).

There are no distinguishing features on the frame that I've found to suggest who made the bike. The BB Shell Lug has an M or W cut-out, and a serial number, but otherwise, nothing. Bike is all brazed, bar the BB shell, and looks to be done by a very experienced builder (or a good machine).

Is there somewhere on a bike a custom maker would leave a mark? I don't even know what type of tubing it is!

Thanks very much

Vonruden

I'm not positive, I thinks some Masi's had M drain holes. Could be wrong.

Chrome Molly

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...s-quot-)/page3

Possible Miyata or Masi, I'd guess...

TampaRaleigh

Probably Masi.

Like this?

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_rrNd02yYoI...s1600/M+BB.jpg

T-Mar

Also Marinoni.

brokentelephone

Here is a pic of the BB -- unfortunately, I didn't explain well. The M/W is actually not a cut-out at all, just stamped into the metal.

Any ideas? Thanks

I was told it was custom, and probably British, but ???

mikemowbz

Someone may recognize that mark (I can say that it doesn't look like Marinoni that I've seen, nor Masi, both of which tend to be marked with an 'M' cut out of the BB shell, but that's about it). More pics of the bike couldn't hurt...

brokentelephone

Hopefully someone has seen it before! I'll get some full pics up tomorrow.

Thanks so far!

Pars 

Not that I will be able to help much, but what threading is the bottom bracket? If it is English (BSC) that would probably rule out Italian maker, etc.

brokentelephone

Thats an idea -- too bad I don't have any tools (assuming I need tools to figure that out). Clearly, I don't know much about bikes -- learning though.

Will check it out in the AM and give more details.

Pars 

A hub with the freewheel removed will screw in and fit in the left side (non-drive side) of a English BB. The drive side (right) of an English BB is left hand thread, so don't try it there. And go very easy as you don't want to mess up the hub threads. Is a BB still installed? If so, the cups are typically marked with the threading.

unworthy1

I think it's a Silva or Technociclo BB shell, possibly a Shaula (Taiwanese copy) and don't know what that "W" might signify. Don't think it's the brand of bike, however.

brokentelephone

I've submitted a few more pics, though they seem kind of unhelpful as I am a crapola photographer.

I can tell the tubes are butted just based on pinging them, and the brazing looks quite professional, but maybe all brazing looks good?

Any further ideas? The bike as it is set up seems quite light (my Specialized Tarmac Expert is 16lbs and this doesn't seem drastically heavier) -- this could be a sign its an ok frame? I'm just using it to commute to university but would prefer to make it look nicer than it does now (which is dreadful -- half chromed, half stripped -- the stripped end is likely to rust up nicely if left in London rain).

Thanks very much so far!

cudak888 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't those Columbus Max chainstays?

-Kurt

brokentelephone

Looking at the bike itself and then at Columbus Max pics online they certainly appear to be (to me).

Does that get me anywhere closer to knowing who made the bike?

Thanks

noglider 

I can't help, but it's a really nice bike.

brokentelephone

Thanks!

what makes you say that tho? Just out of curiosity, b/c I don't even know what makes it a good bike hehe!

unworthy1

I will jump in and answer: It's something like a Columbus Max tubeset (similar if not exactly) and it's what we call "fillet brazed" in the US, known as "bronze welded" in the UK. That's usually done by an experienced hand-builder, not a robot on an assembly line, and given the components this was once a well-equiped bike, with what is probably one of the best riding steel tubesets ever (though people may dispute that last point). I think you got a bargain, in spite of the non-matching fork. Get it to a powder coater or painter, build it back up and enjoy!

brokentelephone

Ahhh amazing! Thanks for the heads up - glad to know it's worthwhile to spend some $ on. I've just ordered a Rolls saddle, Cinelli bubble tape, and will get it powdercoated within the next month. Will post pics as I progress.

brokentelephone

I plan on having powdercoated soon, and the reason I wanted to find the maker was so I could put on the correct decals.

Assuming I don't find the maker, what does one do? I like decals and think bikes look a bit naked without them, but obviously, I don't want to be a massive poseur.

Any ideas?

toytech

Make up your own. I have been thinking of building a frame with an Italian name like Manicotti or Fettuccine on custom decals

brokentelephone

Any ideas where to get decals made? Something like OEM quality (as opposed to going to a Kinkos and having them cut vinyl or whatever).

Thanks

unworthy1

Kinko's in the UK? You may find that the plotter-cut vinyl is the best bang-for-the-pound, especially if you can live with simple one-color graphics. The new decal maker in the UK (bicycledecals.net) doesn't seem to offer custom production, but good old Nick at Lloyds Cycles does:
https://hlloydcycles.com/page3.htm
And then there's Greg Softley (Cyclomondo on eBay) in Australia and Velocals in San Diego, USA, they both can do custom work, too.

T-Mar

If that "M" were flatter across the top, I'd say Mondonico. I've seen pics of a very similar BB on one of their Columbus EL-OS frames but nothing showing the underside.

unworthy1

now that's a thought: mondonico...but whenever I've seen pantographing on one of those it has an "A" above the "M" (for Antonio Mondonico) and haven't seen any from his son (Mauro) but I guess those might have "MM".

The question: does this frame have BSC threading in the BB and would a mondonico from about this era have that or Italian?