One thing you can try, is to remove the front wheel, turn the bike upside down in the stand, shine a flashlight into the underside of the steer tube, and look for five raised lines that go up a few cm in a spiral pattern. Of course, you may have to remove crud, grime, rust, etc. that has stowed away un disturbed way down in there.
Here's a pic of what I'm talking about: <http://www.wooljersey.com/gallery/fujifish1/OtherVintage/Parts/SpiralSLX0 1.jpg.html>
These steer tubes have been in use in high end Columbus frames at least since the 1950s, and as late as this mid-latter 1980s, and perhaps later than that. In about 1984, other tubes began to have the ribbing too, called the SLX tube set. I don't know if the rifled steer tube was used more recently than that, so this may not be helpful with a frame of a more modern Columbus tubing.
Ciao, Mark Agree Southfield MI USA ~ ~ ~
Date: Wed, 21 Oct 2009 23:42:29 +0100 From: Alan Paterson <alanpaterson@btconnect.com> Subject: [CR] Are Battaglins always Columbus? To: _classicrendezvous@bikelist.org_ (mailto:classicrendezvous@bikelist.org)
Just bought an old Battaglin, listed as Columbus, but there are no decals, following a respray. I have no doubt whatsoever that it's a genuine Battaglin - it's stamped into the rear triangle, apart from anything. And even at a glance, the geometry and the slim elegance of the rear triangle clearly indicate a very superior frame.
And yet...I remain curious as to whether it really is Columbus. It doesn't seem as light as my Dawes 653, but I can't really do a like for like comparison as the Dawes is a fixie, which obviously lightens things up a bit.
It's not a major deal, but if anyone has any thoughts, better yet, information, I'd appreciate it.
Cheers
Alan Paterson
London, England