Hi there,
My name is Tim Fates and I'm from Walnut Creek, (Nothern) California, and I, too obsess over vintage lightweights. I feel like I just introduced myself to a support group. My primary ride is a mountain bike, but my current obsession and soon to be commuter/ recreational vehicle is a mystery frame I've been builing up. I started the project with the intention of building up a beater single speed to learn more about working on bikes and to have a project, and now that I've totally blown my budget (quintipled it), I'm passed the point of no return.
Let me tell you a little about the frame. I've attached some not so great quality photos of the "before" if you're interested. I'm hoping to have the bike rideable this weekend, so if there's any interest, I'd be happy to post the "after". The frame is Italian, I purchased it at a semi - local bike shop in Berkeley, CA. The proprietor told me he thought it might be an Atala, mid to late 60's. It was pretty beat up - lots of rust and some really unfortunate dents in the seat stays from a rack of some sort. I've logged more hours than I care to admit trying to ID the frame, and I'm just about ready to settle on it being a mystery bike. In addition to the photos, I'll list some other identifiyng marks and numbers below if anyone cares to take a guess at the make.
I've since painted the frame black, keeping the chrome lugs and tips, I kept the cottered cranks (re-tapped them to 9/16 - they were French), and mostly everything else is a mix of new/ more modern stuff (Nitto stem/ bars, Mavic wheels, etc.). I just need some pedals to arrive, and I'm rolling. I'm pretty excited.
Here are the serial numbers, etc. if anyone would care to help with the identification:
R725538 - on the seattube below the seat cluster
MFN8978 - bottom bracket shell, somehwat haphazardly
22.5- twice on BB shell, once on steerer tube
7 - once on the BB shell, once on the steerer tube
Brev Capagnolo - on each dropout
If you made it this far, thanks for looking!
Tim Fates
Walnut Creek, CA