Originally Posted by
fmradio516
So if these are Campy track dropouts, is it feasible to think that the derailleur tab is the one braze on listed higher up on this page? The transition looks very smooth, if so. It looks like one piece.
Knowing what we know now, would it be more beneficial to part it out and sell the frameset for cheap? Wheels are tubular, so would it make sense to un-lace the wheels and just sell the Record hubs? Im trying to find someone with a freewheel removal tool. LBS says he has a Regida tool that might work, but idk. I really want to find someone with the correct tool.
It isn't hard for a decent framebuilder to braze on a derailleur tab to a dropout with brass and then file the combination smooth. It is possible that they did this after the frame was made and that is why the ends are painted silver. This might have begun life as a track bike that was then converted to be a time trial bike. The reason I think this is a track frame is because the head angle looks steep combined with very little fork rake. It makes no sense to make a road time trial frame with a steep head angle. That would make the steering more squirrelly. In a time trial you don't want to think about steering, you just want to go in a straight line. This is probably good news because your friend will get more if you sell it as a track frame than a hodge podge of parts making it a time trial bike.
Track frames have higher bottom bracket heights than road frames. Carefully get the bike to stand straight up without leaning over to the side and measure from the ground to the center of the BB. If it is somewhere close to 11" it probably started out life as a track frame. It has track rear dropouts. A british road frame would likely have a BB height of 10 1/2" to 10 3/4".
I certainly hope you don't let your LBS take off that Campy freewheel with some standard freewheel remover. Yes it will come off and yes they will most likely damage it and greatly reduce its value and make it harder to sell. Don't be impatient! Bikes used in time trials likely have the freewheels stuck on hard. The rider starts out with a lot of power from a stand still trying to get up to speed as quickly as possible and as a result really tightens the freewheel. The most value on that bike is in the freewheel and you want to be a good care taker.
If it is a track frame, it really makes the most sense to part out the bike. There will be a lot more interest in a track frame. I recommend you do the same with the rear wheel too. They are not a matching set with a high flange rear and a low flange front. They are not a pair. And the rear rim is heavy while the front is light. And the back wheel wasn't laced in a way I would want to buy it. Be sure and get that valuable freewheel off before you unlace the rim. It would be a huge mistake to leave the freewheel on and unlace the rim. A HUGE mistake.
You might not want to unlace the front wheel. It is really nice as it is. I really miss being able to buy light weight tubular wheels. Clinchers are heaver and ride harsher by comparison.
I'm going to repeat myself but wait to figure out who might have made that frame before you try to sell it. That will increase its value. A typical buyer won't be able to tell your friend's frame from a much cheaper S bend seat tube frame and you won't get interest for it. I'd guess the majority of buyers will judge the quality of the bike based on its ratty paint job.