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Since
the Champion Mondial and the other high end Gazelle frames
were almost entirely made from
Reynolds tubing,
why not explore the subject a bit closer?
See also how to use the Reynolds
decal to roughly date a frame |
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| Reynolds
Decals of the past & their meaning - compiled
by Terry from Reynolds in Aug. 2004 |
| Decal |
Notes |
Intro |
End |
Frame material |
Stay material |
| 531 Double Butted |
Diagonal 'Double Butted' on decal. For road or
touring. Decal upgraded to one of the following 3 in 1981 |
1935 |
1981 |
531 manganese molybdenum |
531 manganese molybdenum |
| 531 Competition |
Double butted tube selected for road racing |
1981 |
2003 |
531 manganese molybdenum |
531 manganese molybdenum |
| 531 Super Tourist |
Double butted tube selected for road touring
|
1981 |
2003 |
531 manganese molybdenum |
531 manganese molybdenum |
| 531 Designer Select |
Double butted tube. Builder mixed 531C & 531ST
for optimum frame properties |
1981 |
2003 |
531 manganese molybdenum |
531 manganese molybdenum |
| 531 Butted Main Tube |
Only the three main tubes butted |
1935 |
2003 |
531 manganese molybdenum |
builders choice |
| 531 or 531 Main Tubes |
Not butted |
1935 |
1981 |
531 manganese molybdenum |
builders choice |
| 531 Special Lightweight or SL |
Double butted frame tubes. Thinner than 531 Competition |
1978 |
1981 |
531 manganese molybdenum |
531 manganese molybdenum |
531 Professional
or P |
Remarketing of 531 Special Lightweight |
1981 |
1986 |
531 manganese molybdenum |
531 manganese molybdenum |
| 531 Speedstream |
531 Competition with the main frame tubes oval
in centre |
1975 |
1980 |
531 manganese molybdenum |
531 manganese molybdenum |
531 Club Sport
or CS |
Double butted main tubes |
1982 |
1985 |
531 manganese molybdenum |
501 chrome molybdenum |
| 653 |
Double butted tubes. Upgrade of 531 Professional,
rear stays now 753 - fork material still 531 |
1986 |
1995 |
531 manganese molybdenum |
753 manganese molybdenum |
| 753 |
Double butted tubes.
753 is 531 material heat treated |
1975 |
2004 |
753 manganese molybdenum |
753 manganese molybdenum |
| 753 T |
Special very thin tubes for track use |
1977 |
1985 |
753 manganese molybdenum |
753 manganese molybdenum |
| 753 R |
Standard 753 butted tubes for racing |
1977 |
1985 |
753 manganese molybdenum |
753 manganese molybdenum |
| 501 |
Double butted frame tube |
1981 |
1995 |
501 chrome molybdenum |
builders choice |
| 501 SL |
Thinner version of 501 |
1990 |
1995 |
501 chrome molybdenum |
501 chrome molybdenum |
| 500 |
Not butted |
1985 |
2002 |
500 chrome molybdenum |
builders choice |
| S.M.S |
Not butted, high tensile carbon steel |
1980 |
1982 |
SMS high tensile steel |
builders choice |
| 453 |
Single butted, high manganese / titanium steel
alloy |
1983 |
1985 |
453 steel |
builders choice |
| 700 |
Main frame tubes 531 tube, not butted,
with 8 flats along length, 753 stays |
1982 |
1983 |
531 manganese molybdenum |
753 manganese molybdenum |
| 708 |
Butted main frame tubes with 8 flats along length
of tube not butted, 753 rear stays |
1982 |
1986 |
531 manganese molybdenum |
753 manganese molybdenum |
| 731OS |
Oversize butted main tubes with 8 internal flats
in the butt section. 753 rear stays |
1982 |
1990 |
531 manganese molybdenum |
753 manganese molybdenum |
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Here's
the spiel about the
elusive 653 tube set: |
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Email
from Reynolds (thanks to Wim in France):
Information on 531, 631, 753, 853 & 953 can all be found
on our web site www.reynoldstechnology.biz.
All of these are different strength materials.
The 653 was very different, as it was NOT a material, but
a tube concept set.
The main triangle was 531 tubes, and the rear stays were 753
The question of weight is difficult as we offer the frame
builders a variety of tube diameters and thickness to build
a frame, so unless we know the exact tubes used, we cannot
offer weights.
..and from Wikipedia:
653 - Following feedback from Eddy Merckx that a pure 753
frame was too harsh for certain stages of the Tour de France,
Reynolds produced a 653 tubeset which combined 753 stays with
531 main tubes and forks. The 531 used was a thinner gauge
than usual produced specifically for use in the 653 set. Eddy
and other riders were very pleased with the result, which
combined a light, ultra-stiff and efficient transmission with
a more forgiving and comfy ride. |
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This one was too large
resolution to fit across the page in one bite, so I chopped it up.
See below |
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Thanks
to miamijim for this info, which is consistent with the catalog
pages shown here:
All of the following information is directly from Reynolds via email....I'm
simply repeating it:
In 1981 Reynolds rebranded their frame tubes with no apparent
change in specification. Prior to the rebranding their DB tubes
had the typical green lettering while the SL tube had red lettering.
Following the rebranding in 1981 the DB tube with green lettering
was split into 3 sub groups all of which have 531 stays:
531 Competition: Same as the
DB tube prior to 1981
531 ST Super Tourist: A heavier
version of the traditional DB tube designed for touring bikes
531 Designer Select:
A combination of Competion and Super Tourist tubes mixed as per
the builder
531 P Professional: Formerly
SL. A lighter version of C and continued to use red lettering.
In 1982 a new group of tubes was introduced:
531CS (Club Sport): This
consisted of 531C main tubes and 501 chromoly stays. |
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The frame builders data
sheet on the left is from 1974, while the ad below is from somewhere
between 1977 and 1981. This is the largest resolution I could find
these images in, but on my screen I can still read it. |
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Above and below: The753
tubing first appeared in 1975, as a heat treated version of the
venerable 531. This process enables the tubing to be drawn a little
thinner, thus saving a few grams.
The decal above is likely the early to mid eighties transfer, while
the one on the material data sheet below, with the stepped numbers,
is from 1977. |
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Back
to Gazelle Main |
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