The dropouts are made by Cyclo, the British components co who also made gears and other parts. They were commonly fitted by British framebuilders from the late 1930s through to the late 50s. The lettering reads reg'd Design - this is like a weaker version of a patent - the shape of the item was protected from copying but no unique function was implied. Registered Designs ran for just 15 years with a short extension possible. It is not a safe assumption to assume that all the lugs are Nervex - British framebuilders would sometimes build with whatever suited the particular design.
Hilary Stone, Bristol, England
> I would like to know more about a bike that I have. The left rear
> dropout has several things stamped on it in addition to the serial
> number. One stamping reads "CYCLO". There is something in front of that
> which I can't make out. The right rear dropout also has several phrases
> stamped on it. One appears to end with the word "design". What kind of
> dropouts are these?
> The bottom lug is stamped "NERVEX" with a long series of numbers
> below. The seat lug has 72 degrees on it. I am assuming that all of the
> lugs are Nervex because of the bottom lug. Is that a safe assumption?
>
> Paul Patzkowsky Longmont, Colorado