Originally Posted by
streetboy651
I'm considering a purchase of a 70's Italian road bike with original Campy NR gruppo. Top tube has a decal (exact wording) Reynolds 531 Butted Tubes Fork & Stays. There are NO Reynolds decals on the fork. Does this mean the fork is not Reynolds 531? I don't see any glue residue on the fork to indicate a decal may have once been there. Thanks…
The Italian Legnano and Frejus bikes were produced in Milan by Emilio Bozzi. From the late 60s through the the late 70s both brands used Reynolds 531 tubing on their top models. They also used Italian made Falck tubing interchangeably on those bikes.
If you scroll though these Classic Rendezvous pictures of Legnano and Frejus bikes you'll see some with Reynolds 531 tubing decals on the top tubes and also the forks.
Legnano main
This frame has Reynolds 531 Decals on the top tube and fork:
Legnano green 60 cm* frame set
Here's a Legnano with a Falck tubing decal on the down tube:
Uwe Just's Legnano #EV6547
CR Frejus link:
FREJUS, home
Along with Legnano and Frejus, Masi and other well known Italian brands used Reynolds 531 tubing back then too. The reasons were that Reynolds tubes were more accurately sized, rounder and had a smoother finish than Columbus tubing from that time which made them easier to build with.
The early Reynolds decals were fragile water slide style and got damaged easily especially on the top tube and fork blades.
Also a number of makers didn't bother to put decals on the forks if the primary Reynolds decal stated the the forks and stays were made of Reynolds 531. A lot of bikes made with Columbus tubing didn't have fork decals either.
I think that you answered your own question:
"Top tube has a decal (exact wording) Reynolds 531 Butted Tubes Fork & Stays".
verktyg
Chas.