Well done Gold Trader. I had never seen the site mentioned and I am very impressed by the period literature. I suspect that immediately post war there was a shortage of parts from Italy (and France), but by the late 40's it would seem that parts were available again. I have Gnutti cranks, Fiamme rims and high flange FB hubs with 49 on the cone nuts which I feel sure is a date stamp (as Campagnolo have on locknuts) and are certainly from this time. I suspect that companies like Bayliss and British Hubs were (post war) making products that undercut the Italian manufacturers, which may be why hubs from these companies are more common. Other areas of interest here are the ranges of products offered by Fonteyn before WW2. Gloria alloy brakes, Super Champion tub rims (Record), and AVA stems. AVA stems were considered to be top equipment at the time. Only later did AVA gain a reputation for poor quality stems which now means that the earlier stems can be found at very low cost despite being excellent quality. The earliest that I have seen AVA Dura stems advertised is 1937. At that time most UK manufacturers were still using steel.
