I saw quite a few of these frames in Jack's shop before he closed 3 years ago and they ranged from absolutely crappy to not-so-bad at all. Many were severely shop worn, apparently from kicking around in Jack's warehouse for 20 years! Gippieme dropouts were most common but some had Campagnolo, Shimano, Aquila or no markings at all. There also were a variety of lug patterns, and braze-ons.
Flying Dutchman was the Denver Wheel house brand. I think over the years Jack Van Gent put that label on frames from a number of different manufacturers. He also had lower level/quality Libertas and Aquila frames/bikes. All were alleged to be (and looked to be in detail) Italian manufacture with British threading! Has anyone ever heard of Aquila bikes?
I agree some were falsely labeled as Reynolds; in those cases even the Reynolds decal looked slightly "off". But many I think were genuine Reynolds and Columbus tubing.
I bought maybe 20 of them. My college student son is riding one now and enjoying it tremendously. After frame alignment, repainting and adding braze ons, they aren't bad at all! Although there are variances in models, most are classic road geometry. Using "normal" (long) reach brakes, plenty of fork rake, slacker angles and longish chain stays. I have maybe 3 never-titled (!) framesets left, two have Imron paint and braze-ons added. Mid-to-larger sizes if memory serves. If anyone is interested at $250.00, let me know.
Dale Brown
cycles de ORO, Inc.
1410 Mill Street
Greensboro, NC 27408
336-274-5959
fax 336-274-6360
http://www.cyclesdeoro.com
http://www.classicrendezvous.com