Fred Rafael Rednor wrote: <snip> I think the major problem is that for the most part the Italians did not suffer from "decal envy". The whole business of applying the tubing manufacturer's decal to the frame was, I believe, a marketing effort on the part of Reynolds. In Italy you were expected to simply trust your framebuilder. Even my 1969 Atala, whose brochure claims that the tbing is Columbus, has no tubing manufacturer's decals. You can tell from the frame's weight, the spiraled steering tube and the "ping" sound made by flicking the main tubes and stays that it's quality material. But there's no way to know, short of stripping the paint, whether it's really Columbus or if it might be something like Falck instead. ++++++++++++
I'd just add a note or two: (1) First, the only bike I knew for sure was Falck was a fine beast. Seamless, and with a Falck symbol on the tube set (upper end of down tube). It was, if I recall correctly, an oval like Columbus, with a sort of outline/hollow T emblem that actually looked more like a 3-lobed Roots blower impeller (if you follow that trivia!). (2) Somehow, as I have started to think about it in response to this thread, the tubing decal issue bears a resemblence to "Intel Inside" campaigns. When does it make a difference? (Let's not start an Intel war, please).
But, this leads me to a weak attempt at humor, an inside joke:
Q: How does Harvey Sachs's 1974 Sears 531 double-butted frameset differ from a Richard Sachs? A: The sears has Reynolds decals on the frame and fork, but absolutely no workmanship in its construction. With Richard Sachs frames, it is exactly the opposite.
Harvey Sachs
McLean VA