(Page down for link to pics..edit) I was at the civic waste amenity dropping off some junk, and I noticed a racer frame with 70's lugs, then I spotted the 531 sticker.

I brought it home also grabbing the wheels with as new touring tyres.

The stickers say tour de France, nothing else. I'll get some pics later, wondering if there was ever a bike brand simply called Tour De France. Or maybe they're just cheap stickers put on by one previous owner.

I think I need to make more posts before I can upload pics..

Something like this?: Gitane USA - Tour de France

Defo different forks. And has braze ons for cable on top tube. I will try and upload pics.

531 is just the Tube maker, for French companies Reynolds Made the Odd Metric Tube sets 25 & 28mm instead of Inch and 9/8" for the rest of the world.

DSCN0633_zpsd1170cc1.jpg Photo by carlosfandango | Photobucket click left arrow to see more pics

I'd be surprised if it was from the 70's what with the unicrown fork and the amount of braze-ons: cable guides, double water bottle mounts, ect. It looks like some of the tubes have been repainted that flat gray, so do you think the decals are original?

It should be interesting to see what other people come up with.

Weinmann calipers. Shimano crank n gears. Forks look odd.

As I got it for free it might be worth building it up?

The bar and seat tubes look original paint. Yeah that grey paint is horrible.

80's with those lugs?

The sticker right at the bottom is a standards sticker, I think the stickers on seat tubeb n bar tube might be original. Got me baffled.

Dual bottle braze-ons and horizontal rear dropouts say 80's to me, with a fork at least 15 years newer. Speaking of dropouts, you would expect forged drops with adjusters on a frame with 531r. Anything stamped on those? My guess is this is a "creative" repaint and decal swap. The seat post diameter would confirm this. The bottom bracket threads and shell width will offer some clues as to where it was made.

Reynolds is the name of the tubing company that sold tubing to the bike company. 531 is the brand name of the allow used. It's similar to standard 4130 chrome moly, but it's stronger, being manganese molybdenum (sorry, not chrome vanadium!). "R" designates that the tubes were "standard diameter," but with thinner walls than standard. The thinner walls mean a lighter frame, but more importantly more flexible, tube for tube. It's a very desirable frame because of those tubes. The only think of the vintage from Reynolds was 753, which was the same dimensions but a stronger steel allow. Not stiffer, but stronger; able to take deeper flexing without damage.

531 is a manganese molybdenum alloy. It doesn't have any chromium or vanadium in it.

Definately! I would use a vintage fork and ditch that one.

I'd feel safe in saying mid-80's with the cable guides on the top tube. Likewise the holes drilled in the bottom bracket to allow the derailleur cable to pass through. The foil decal on the seat tube is definitely not any Gitane I've ever seen. If you want to go nice, it'd be worth media blasting and repainting/powder coating and just get another 531 decal to replace the original.

Any reason to think the 531 sticker is original? The original waterslide decals I have seen do not hold up very well. The one on my Raleigh was half gone by the time I replaced it, but I bought that one new and knew what it was...

With those graphics, rear dropouts, unicrown fork, and bottom bracket, I'm going with late 80's top of the line road bike from the show room floor of Service Merchandise.

The decal should give you some clues about the tubing used. If it is all 531, partly 531, butted, etc. For example see:

https://www.equusbicycle.com/bike/rey...-transfers.jpg

I can't see enough from your pictures, which are blurry and poorly lit.

As the bike seems to have been repainted and possibly redecaled, you might not trust the 531 decal. Those are easily bought.

You can strip all components from the frame, including headset and bottom bracket, and weigh it. A full 531 frame in that size, without fork, should weigh roughly about 2000 to 2200 grams. Heavier would suggest it isn't what it claims to be.

Is it worth rebuilding? Not sure. The frame, in that condition and if 531, is worth maybe $20 . . .

LOL. I helped produce some Service Merchandise catalogs about 15 years ago. That's a pretty good guess! I suggested Gitane before seeing the pics, but it looks like a mid-range (posing as higher) dept. store bike. For dating purposes, I had those same brakes on a '84 Peugeot PGN10. But the unicrown fork seems later(?). Anyway, mid-range contract/rebranded bike from the mid-80s with a Reynolds decal added later seems right to me. Pretty soon someone is this forum is bound to come along and know exactly what it is and have owned the very same model, but that person isn't me. The bike is worth getting back on the road, but the rust is troublesome and I wouldn't waste a lot of money or energy on it.

Most distinguishable feature is this fastback seat cluster, I think. Anyone recognize it?

seat cluster -

Brampton Victor?

Those were the first to pop up in my searches, but they look more sophisticated than this.

^Coincidentally, the '84 Peugeot PGN10 I mentioned above with the same brakes also had a similar seat stay junction, but the overall seat cluster was quite different. Not suggesting it is a Peugeot, but might show something of a design trend among mid-80s French builders if you can trust the made in France decal.



God I hate that fork. The more I look at it, the more I hate that fork.



The paint seems to reveal another layer of purple and blue paint underneath, but who would repaint a bike to look like a no-name dept. store bike?

That Reynolds sticker does not say "531R" nor does it say "double butted tubes, forks, and stays." So if the sticker is original, I can't imagine the frame actually being 531R, which was nearly the top tube set. As it is, it states that the main tubes are 531 and that they are butted. Most commonly the TT and DT are double butted, and the ST is single butted. The forks and stays might be any kind of steel, and might or might not be butted. They could be CrMo and butted, or they could be lowly 1020 and not butted. We won't know.

With those dropouts, I think it's '90s.

I think it's a decent steel frame, midrange overall. It could ride extremely well or very poorly. If you don't have an everyday bike, this is worth building up.

Who would repaint a car or a panel truck to look like a generic no-name model. Maybe apply some red herring stickers or pin striping? Who might eventually dump such a car?

What kind of shifters are those?

+1, It will probably make a nice ride, probably no collector's value. I'd have it stripped, powdercoated with a lugged fork and build it into something.

Marc