Condor No2 - Bill Hurlow 1959.

AvT's knowledge is excellent, but he seems to have missed the elephant in the room - which is that tubulars are the same size as modern 700's (indeed that was the size for which they were made ), so a frame made for sprints and tubs might just as well have been made for 700's. What's more, most frames intended for 26's were usually made so gappy that 700's actually fit them better than the intended size.

So, it's the frames that were intended for 27's that are most difficult to cater for today since they are not going to look good except with 27's which, as we know, are not really very satisfactory from the riding point of view.

As to the width of the rear drop outs, this only tells you what the last owner was using the frame for, since the distance was often adjusted according to the owner's current requirement; the frame builders' maxim being 'braze it and bend it'.