Smut peddler 

hi guys new to the forum always enjoy reading the posts and get a lot on insight and problem solving from you guys so thanks. decided it was about time I join! any way just bought a Columbus steel frameset the fame is branded Wernli Sports w/ no decals indicating what model. never heard of it so I was hoping someone on here would help me with some info or a link to more info online. thanks and greatly appreciated

cb400bill

Thread moved to our Classic & Vintage forum.

wrk101

Looks private label/store brand to me. No one saved brochures and catalogs for such bikes. Hundreds if not thousands of brands. Looks like a Swiss sporting goods store. Suggest you contact them.

T-Mar

Welcome to the forums. Frame characteristics such as dual bottle bosses, a pump peg, internal brake cable routing and fade paint push it into the late 1980s. However it has the earlier style style Columbus decal used during this period, which was replaced for 1988. The blue border indicates it is not SLX/SPX while the high placed dove and large text to the lower right indicates it is not full SL or SP. It looks like like it may may say Tretubi? If so, this indicates a Columbus SL main frame with lower grade stays and forks, with Cromor or Aelle being the most likely candidates.

As noted, Wernli Sports appears to be an extant Swiss sports store, so contacting them may provide a definitive answer on the source. It is most likely a contract build from a local source, such as Cilo or possibly one of the larger Italian contract builders such as Biemmzeta or Billato, circa 1985-1988. Members will probably request the BB threading standard and detail pictures of lugs, bottom bracket shell and any markings , fork crown and seat stay caps.

Smut peddler 

So i basically bought a swiss Novara . Well thanks for the info guys i appreciate it.

Road Fan

Well, this could be a really fine frame. I would not dismiss it. There's nothing in the tubing discussion that is not a mark of a good frame.

wrk101

Private label in the 1970s typically meant junk. It was the bike boom, so anything with two wheels sold, whether it was any good or not. But then the boom ended. Private label in the 1980s and 1990s often meant very nice. They can be the sleeper frames out there. They usually are available for a low price due to lack of name recognition but are often comparable to really, really, nice stuff.

By the way, during the 1980s, there were several nice Novara bikes out there. I find the new stuff blah, but they had a lot of really good stuff in the 1980s, so I wouldn't dismiss one of those either. Nashbar branded bikes in the 1980s were nice too.

Now as a bike to make money on, not so good. Again, they just don't get the respect they deserve. But as a keeper, you have a really nice frame there. Chrome stays, nice paint, Columbus tubing = there is a lot to like there if it is your size.