What could this frameswt be?

I've had a Topbike frame not dissimilar to this one, unfortunately there aren't really any distinguishing or obvious details on this frame meaning it could be one from hundreds of small issue frame builders. It's clearly a very well finished and specced frame and it appears to have a race number tag (oops I can see it's just a brake cable guide). Are there any markings or letters under the bottom bracket, could well be a pro order. It's a very similar situation in France, lots of individuals, most of them very talented knocking out fairly bulk products for bigger bike shops, chains and even professional team riders.

CNC Special is one such outfit based in Paris, it had legendary frame builders like Rene Andre, who was protégé of Herse. I've got one of his track frames (the shop had two lines, one for everyday use, and the other almost exclusively for professional teams, especially the eastern European bloc of Russia, East Germany, Poland etc ect.). They had a fairly big production of off the peg frames over the years, notable by bright silver foil decals.

The only real way to distinguish between the two (apart from the very high level of finish and metal filing, smooth lugs etc) was that the pro frames had hand painted decals, same as Rene Herse and a few other high end bespoke builders. They built pro frames for the Lejeune riders, Peugeot and Mercier Teams and it's documented that Eddy Merckx was a client.

All of these frames would likely be presented in a raw, filed and sanded finish ready for painting in the team colours. This was not considered 'cheating', merely a way to avoid tooling and paying for a specialist bike unit, and a guarantee of the very best quality builders without having to put them on the payroll.

My frame came from an over order for the Russian Olympic track team, who allegedly ordered 12 frames but would eventually only pay for 6. I've got the original receipt for it, along with a copy of an order for one Barry Hoban who rode for Lejeune Pelforth at the time.

Sorry can't be of more help, but once a frame like this has been repainted or lost the original decals, identification is extremely tough.
 
I've had a Topbike frame not dissimilar to this one, unfortunately there aren't really any distinguishing or obvious details on this frame meaning it could be one from hundreds of small issue frame builders. It's clearly a very well finished and specced frame and it appears to have a race number tag (oops I can see it's just a brake cable guide). Are there any markings or letters under the bottom bracket, could well be a pro order. It's a very similar situation in France, lots of individuals, most of them very talented knocking out fairly bulk products for bigger bike shops, chains and even professional team riders.

CNC Special is one such outfit based in Paris, it had legendary frame builders like Rene Andre, who was protégé of Herse. I've got one of his track frames (the shop had two lines, one for everyday use, and the other almost exclusively for professional teams, especially the eastern European bloc of Russia, East Germany, Poland etc ect.). They had a fairly big production of off the peg frames over the years, notable by bright silver foil decals.

The only real way to distinguish between the two (apart from the very high level of finish and metal filing, smooth lugs etc) was that the pro frames had hand painted decals, same as Rene Herse and a few other high end bespoke builders. They built pro frames for the Lejeune riders, Peugeot and Mercier Teams and it's documented that Eddy Merckx was a client.

All of these frames would likely be presented in a raw, filed and sanded finish ready for painting in the team colours. This was not considered 'cheating', merely a way to avoid tooling and paying for a specialist bike unit, and a guarantee of the very best quality builders without having to put them on the payroll.

My frame came from an over order for the Russian Olympic track team, who allegedly ordered 12 frames but would eventually only pay for 6. I've got the original receipt for it, along with a copy of an order for one Barry Hoban who rode for Lejeune Pelforth at the time.

Sorry can't be of more help, but once a frame like this has been repainted or lost the original decals, identification is extremely tough.
Thank you very much for this long and valuable reply.

I really appreciate your help, i had no idea such things were going on back then!

Cheers.
 
@Kolbyboii

I should have said "helical reinforcement ridges"; but "rifled" was easier. Often times a builder will use a partial tube set or mix of Columbus (or other brand) tubing and might use a lower cost steerer; or use a "factory" fork made of more generic parts.
On a Columbus frame, seeing those ridges generally means the frame was made of a higher grade of tubing (i.e. lighterweight) so an easy check for anyone to do when an owner states their frame is a full Columbus SL/SP (and other sets). Columbus uses 5 ridges; and Vitus also uses a similar design with 6 ridges in the steerer tube; Columbus' is a butted steerer, not sure if the Vitus is butted or not. On Columbus Brain they did the exact opposite and instead on ridges protruding, they made a thicker tube and cut grooves (presumably to lighten and not strengthen).

Image from Columbus SL specs page:
View attachment 968000
Really great info!

Thank you very much for sharing this.
 
There were shedloads of mainly columbus tubed frames made for Belgian and Dutch bike shops - to be badged up for each shop and sold as their brand. Overcapacity in the Italian market and the strong connections between the Walloon steel belt and Italy meant many builders headed north to ply their trade. I have a similar frameset to this in the shed (not as nice) gifted to me by a pal who lives in Belgium, sold through the Topbike chain.

Sorry, not helpful to your cause @Kolbyboii but some background on why it will perhaps prove very hard to pin this one down.
The knowledge you shared with me is very valuable for me, so you have helped me in a certain way.

Thank you very much.
 
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