HPL

I thought this small frame was kind of cool looking. Apparently Swiss made frame; paint/decals appear original. Overall in decent shape for what I believe to be a late '70s- early '80s bike. Odd thing is that I think it is 100% Italian made (paint ?); possibly a Giovanni Losa built frame which would be a nice surprise. It has Losa dropouts front and rear, Losa cut-out lugs and cut-out BB shell (if I'm wrong let me know, going by other "non-Krapf" examples of Losa frames). Very nice workmanship. 27.2 mm seat tube I.D., 49 cm seat tube (small, but I just rode my 47 cm Lemond in the New England hills), will make a nice climber for me. 52 cm top tube (will use a 120-130 mm stem), 124 mm rear spread, 70 mm BB shell with Italian threads. Lightweight, I believe Columbus "SL" tubing main triangle; no markings, or ridges on fork steerer. If anyone has knowledge on this frame/marque it would be appreciated. Not much out there except Swiss "made" (more like "branded" in my opinion). ebay examples were pretty pricey. Certainly worth building up without
breaking the bank, keep paint as is except touch-up/rust prevention; I doubt there's many kicking around the streets Stateside. This frame did not seem as "nice" as the ebay examples, of course it will look better cleaned/polished/built, but I think it may be substantially older. Once again ignorance to when this marque was established, and what years did Losa build frames for them, if indeed he did.

Take care all,

thinktubes 

Pics aren't working...

jamesdak 

Can't see the pics either. There is one on EBAY I've been watching for awhile. From what research I did it does appear that Losa made some of there. The one I'm watching has an unattractive paint job and price or I would have bought it awhile ago to see how it rides.

Looking forward to seeing the pictures of yours.

HPL

Photos were slow coming out of the darkroom, and electromagnetic wave propagation through the ether has been rather sluggish with the weather and all in my neighborhood. Keep looking and they'll magically appear; I hope.

Headbadge decal has "krapf", "SCHWEIZER MEISTER 82" (Swiss Master), and "Bischofszell" (Swiss City)

HPL

Photos delayed, but now in.

VtwinVince

Interesting frameset, and possibly the best name ever for a bike.

unworthy1

It's labeled "Krapf" but this is definitely the work of Giovanni Losa (Milano region) who did contract-building for MANY big brand-names. Even the drop-out have "LOSA" stamped on them. "Vani" Losa was a master craftsman, whatever the brand that was ultimately placed on his work.

HPL

Thanks for the verification "unworthy1". I was not familiar with the marque only the presumed builder. The details are very clean/sharp. My only Swiss bike prior to getting this frame is a Cilo with Columbus "SL", but now I'm wondering if the framework was outsourced also. I'll have to see what BB it has, might be another Italian build. I've stripped the Cilo of parts except the BB, a larger frame than I"d normally ride; might be fit for the auction block if I'm not motivated to build up a frame I might rarely use.

HPL

Apparently the name translates to "misshaped person"/"small malformed person", German meaning "hook" (old); "crescent".

If I make it my beater, may I call it my "krap" bike?

unworthy1

Cilo was a legitimately Swiss-made brand, at least for a great deal of their production (if not all of it). Very few were sold in the US until (here the rumors start) Ochsner in Chicago area became a major importer of that marque in the early '80s. But many of these were house-branded and not sure if the "Swiss-made" frames were all from Cilo or if production switched at some point to Italy contractors. Anyhow here's a link to a very early SWISS Cilo with some history of the marque (thanks to Craig Griffith):

Cilo Bicycles | Swiss Bicycles | A website about Swiss Bicycles

HPL

Cilo frame I have has a 70 mm BB with Italian threads. Columbus "SL" tubes, OE group was Dura-Ace.