Concorde Frame ID?

can anyone help me identify this great little concorde frame?













my friend bought it the other week for a song. it looks like
it's been renovated as the paint and decals are as new
and the tubes are immaculate inside too. i have stripped
and rebuilt the bike and can feel the helicoils inside the tubes
at the bottom bracket shell.

any idea what model this is - i only recall ever selling two models - the
squadra and the astore and both were in the PDM colours of the late 80s.

thanks.

When you say helicoils inside the frame, do you mean the threads have been repaired, or do you mean there is rifling in the tubes?

If the tubes are rifled then my very limited knowledge would say Columbus SLX or SL tubing, which would make the bike either a (very desirable) Squadra which was made in SLX or possibly the slightly less well known Gavina, made in SL or it could be a slightly later Prelude which was made in SLX or the Aquila, made in SL. The little Italian flag on the top tube would seem to indicate the frame was made by Ciocc, I don't know if there is any proof of this as Ciocc claim they have never made frames for anyone else, but it seems to be common wisdom. There are also mentions of Bilato making the later frames.

Concorde's can be extremely puzzling to research, as there is little solid information on the internet and due to the fact they used to source their frames from all over (Northern) Europe, but they are nice bikes and they are starting to get a bit of a following on here. The PDM colours still appear to be the most popular, but elsewhere in Europe you'll see them in all sorts of colour schemes, and I bought my Astore because it was finished in the American team colours.

Value wise, they vary like mad. The two Squadra frames I have chased have both gone for over £300 just for the bare frame, I paid £130 for my Astore, a PDM Astore frame went for a similar price the other day and yet I have seen Prelude's, Gavina's and other models go around and around the net, it seems to depend more on the finish, with the exception of the Squadra.

Your friend has a very nice bike there, lets hope we have a summer this year, so they can enjoy riding it.

EDIT:

Ooops, forgot Columbus TSX which was also rifled, and which could make it an Aquila.

Like I said, tracking down Concorde models is an inexact science.

As an aside, Veltec the company that owned the Concorde brand have very recently gone bust, which is a bit of a shame.

yes, that's right - rifling inside the tubes at the bottom bracket shell.

now wasn't SL a non rifled tube set? i remember SLX coming out at the time and
the big deal about it was the rifling inside where strength mattered the most
ie at the BB area and also in the base of the fork column.

all the PDM coloured frames that we sold at the time had the little italian
flag on the top tube - i can't remember seeing one without. the Prelude
frame that you mentioned was perhaps a 90s frame as i have no recollection
of it at all, i'm afraid. you mentioned that a few companies made frames
under the concorde badge - i had no idea about this and indeed at the time
remember all kinds of folklore about who really made them!!

what about the fork on her frame - i don't remember seeing that kind of
"unicrown" style on anything of that era, but it's unmistakably a concorde fork.
as far as i remember they all had the typical italian "external sloping" brazed
crown of the cinelli SC (?) style - raleigh also used this style as well as th
"internally sloping" SCA crown as an option on their SBDU frames.

thanks for your extensive reply - you've thrown up a lot of information there.

cheers,

craig

ps here's shot of the complete bike - the only thing missing are the red look pedals
which are due any day now..

You're right Craig, only TSX and SLX have the five rifle grooves, I got a bit carried away.

I'm pretty new to road bikes and to Concorde, so the subtly of the fork passed me by. All the pictures I have seen show the bikes with a flatter sloping shoulder to the fork, I'll have another look at the very sparse information I have, but the fork may help to put a year to the bike and it's manufacturer.

Actually, reading back my reply, I've made a mistake, as the Prelude was made in SL, not SLX, which would mean that this bike could be a Squadra or possibly an Aquila (frameset) in TSX, or possibly another model that I've yet to come across (I'm sure there are plenty), either way, it is a top of the line frameset.

Regarding the Italian flag emblem. I have come across Astore with and without the flag and many other models too, but I can't recall seeing a Squadra without the flag. Of course, being Concorde, I'm sure there are some out there.

Hi guys
It looks very much like my Squadra which was TSX with the exception of the head tube, which had the little C's engraved in the lugs, and also the bottom bracket which on the Sqaudra had the 'aerofoil' type otherwise the fork is the same, the chrome work and also the number hanger. So while I dont think its a Squadra based upon having the differences I definately think its pretty close, quality wise. I dont have much experiance with the other models to remember the subtle differences.
SL was non rifled but super light, SLX is rifled at the ends of the tubeing and TSX is rifled along the whole tube, supossedly to add a bit more comfort and was used for stage racing. The rifling is a different depth and less ridges than SLX.
Nice, and quality whichever model.
Hope this info is useful to you.
Cheers
Jamie

89? Concorde Squadra, TSX, 48cm C Record (with the exception of the mirage rear mech)

yup, i have no recollection of a concorde prelude at all - just the squadra, aquila (thanks for reminding me
about that one!) and the astore and only recall those models in SLX and aelle tubing.

indeed i can remember the squadra with the new at the time cinelli "spoiler" bb shell and i wonder
if those little "C"s on the lugs aren't cinelli rather than anything to do with concorde. i have them on
my hinault frame which is built entirely with cinelli cast parts.

lovely looking concorde in the photo - it's a long time since i've seen that colour scheme -
very nice indeed and a nice set of GP4s and vittoria rallye/ giro continental gum sidewall tubs
would finish it off retrotastically!!

thanks for the info, chaps..