Reynolds tubing

“The Patent Butted Tube Company Ltd” since 1898….

Updated 8.1.2014

A history of the
Reynolds Tube Co. HERE

An excellent web page showing much Reynolds literature and specifications HERE

The First Half Century

1914 Advertisement
1914 frame decal
Until '531" intro in1935, the top Reynolds tubing was "High Manganese."

Advertisements in French trade magazine

Scans courtesy Bob Hanson

1938 ad in Cycling showing frame & fork.
A decal as appearing on a 1953 bike.
Small sized straight gauge as seen on many Raleigh Lentons and Rudge Pathmakers...

The 1960s ~70s

The classic "full set" decal that marked the best bicycles in the world in the 1960s & 70s.

The same tube set but with a subtle change of wording. Reportedly, the Schwinn Bicycle Co. objected to the phrase "Butted tubes, forks and stays" because it implied that the forks and stays were butted, which they are not. (They are "taper gauge") So Schwinn used the above decal. Interestingly this decal also occasionally appears on other, even non-USA bikes.
Same era full set but not double butted
Butted main frame but not necessarily Reynolds at all in the rest!
French, 3 tubes db, but not necessarily Reynolds stays nor forks.
Straight gauge 3 tubes....
Reynold's radical heated treated and thin gauge 753! article
Notice more printing along the bottom but still no reference to Tubing Investment Co., Reynolds owners...
Fork decals vary by size and art layout. They were not always used on many bikes. This one is French...
English version

Mid 1970s and forward...

It is not entirely clear when the Tube Investments subscript started to be used in the decals, but it was approximately early to mid 1970s.

Short-lived tube designation.. That of the Reynolds 531 SL, a lighter gauge version of the venerable tube set.
Fuzzy image of the English language version...
Check these decals out! Can you figure these out?

More recent developments:

These versions of Reynolds are principally from the late 1990s & up till the present.
A light gauge set in the classic alloy..
This set is ridged internally as well as being butted..
A tube category introduced to appeal to the tig welders
Next step up in quality over the 525 and with the same intended market.
New for the once top-of-the-line set.
The current premier set featuring heat strengthened alloy.. There is also (not pictured) a "8 tubes 853" decal used by Bob Jackson and ?

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