"Campagnolo Special" mystery frame

Thought I'd post a few pics of my now (almost, possibly) finished mystery bike. I actually posted this before in a previous incarnation, to try and ID the frame, but not surprisingly I've not managed to ID it, so it remains a mystery. I've made it a bit more Campy, but not got the whole hog (can't quite splash that much cash just yet... :| ).

The frame has Nervex Pro lugs and Campy dropouts. History of the bike suggests it was once raced. The fork is clearly a replacement, and has the Colnago spade logo on the crown, which is frankly a bit odd. Still has the original Campagnolo decals on the frame (1960/70s'?).

Brake levers are a bit special/odd - no idea of the make of those. Any ideas? A random ebay buy of mine.

Some bits and pieces:

Campagnolo Athena rear derailleur
Shimano RX100 Biopace chainring (one to upset the purists... :shock: I like it so I've left it on)
Miche Performance brakes
Campagnolo Chorus hubs + skewers
Mavic Rimtec 190H rims
Cinelli Campione del Mondo bars
Wrights W3N saddle

i really like the brake levers what is the tubing please.

Re:

Yeah, the levers are pretty interesting. Found them when looking for some nice drilled ones that didn't cost an absolute packet...

The tubing is Reynolds 531 (so far as I know - it has new decals from the previous owner, but I think it's safe to say that's correct).

dont know,campagnola 531 nervex lugs ? hopefully some one here can give a more experienced
opinion. i would have thought 531 nervex lugs.... french. but this game can be full of surprises.
i do like the white lug lining .

Well, so many framemakers used Nervex lugs, really... if I had to guess I would say it's from a British framemaker. But yeah - the paint job is one of the things that attracted me to it in the first place. For such a nice frame it was quite a steal - just because it doesn't have a known make, it was very cheap. Saying that, I've spent well over that to get it to this point!

my apologiese,i was not sure if campagnola had frames built by contractor s and branded as their own.
the answer seems to be no they did not...didnt think so..thanks for clearing up.

best wishes...nice bike kevin the gerbil

As you're in Sheffield, could it be a Wilson? Any number on it anywhere? Could be worth showing it to Nigel.

I've seen those brake levers somewhere. Possibly Dia-Compe or similar from the era when components were fancy engraved like Shimano Arabesque?

Re:

Old Ned":3695rjz6 said:

As you're in Sheffield, could it be a Wilson? Any number on it anywhere? Could be worth showing it to Nigel.

I've seen those brake levers somewhere. Possibly Dia-Compe or similar from the era when components were fancy engraved like Shimano Arabesque?

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Both good calls - Wilson was my first thought (I bought the bike from someone in Doncaster). I emailed them with a few pics, and they said it was possible, but they don't have records for frame numbers before the 1970s, so he couldn't be sure. Might be worth taking along to them in person, though...

Thanks for the input.

I wouldn't read too much into that campag sticker, the local dealer near us used to dish similar ones out like candy.

I had them on both my Vitus 787 and the Dave Marsh 653 that replaced it. Bugger to get them off the backing in one piece IIRC.

mattr":1b3f2ymi said:

I wouldn't read too much into that campag sticker, the local dealer near us used to dish similar ones out like candy.

I had them on both my Vitus 787 and the Dave Marsh 653 that replaced it. Bugger to get them off the backing in one piece IIRC.

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Oh yeah, absolutely - the Campy stickers don't really tell you that much at all. The only reason I think that it might have been originally been raced is that the frame had a name on that I presume to have been a rider's name, rather than a makers - seeing as I can't find anything about "Martyn Young" as a frame-maker (see pic - from previous owner - he removed the name). Of course someone might have just have had it custom-made and wanted their name on it! Who knows...