Mystery Frame ID
05-06-23, 04:57 AM
#26
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But once your pants are on ...
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05-06-23, 07:16 AM
#27
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...or maybe he shall be changing his avatar to the George Peppard character...
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...or maybe he shall be changing his avatar to the George Peppard character...
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05-06-23, 08:41 AM
#28
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I love it when a mystery thread comes together. And I knew all along that Maurice's avatar was just a disguise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MVonyVSQoM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MVonyVSQoM
Last edited by jethin; 05-06-23 at 08:50 AM.
05-11-23, 04:09 AM
#29
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This is an interesting one. I haven't come across an exact match or frames with aspects that would definitively clinch the id, so this is gonna be a best guess.
First off, the lugs are Haden Concorde C301, which would generally eliminate Japan as the origin:
You don't see these Concorde lugs too often out there, and they seem to mostly appear on British and American frames. The number that was initially mentioned was a possible match to a few makers (including Witcomb of London) but looking at the size/font and how it's stamped (somewhat unevenly), I'd eliminate Witcomb (plus the frame doesn't look as nice as theirs usually do):
The guess I'm going to go with here is Romic. Aspects that are consistent with Ray Gasiorowski's work:
* Frame number (1063722178) format, location and stamping. The Romic numbers from this period (76 to early 80s) were 9-11 characters long, stamped across the bb shell, pretty much never perfectly lined up:
* Haden Concorde lugs: Ray's price/spec sheet for 1977 shows all 3 models being built with Haden lugs. While Ray used all sorts of lugs over his career, if the mystery frame was made in 1978, it seems likely that he would have still been using Haden lugs at the time.
* Overall style seems to match Ray's work (according to someone who worked at his shop: "We're building bicycles here -- we ain't building jewelry").
Even though the pics aren't the most detailed, here's a 1977 Model 75 owned by bf member vtchuck that comes close to the mystery frame:
If this frame is in (or came from) the Houston area, that might give this guess a bit more weight.
First off, the lugs are Haden Concorde C301, which would generally eliminate Japan as the origin:
You don't see these Concorde lugs too often out there, and they seem to mostly appear on British and American frames. The number that was initially mentioned was a possible match to a few makers (including Witcomb of London) but looking at the size/font and how it's stamped (somewhat unevenly), I'd eliminate Witcomb (plus the frame doesn't look as nice as theirs usually do):
The guess I'm going to go with here is Romic. Aspects that are consistent with Ray Gasiorowski's work:
* Frame number (1063722178) format, location and stamping. The Romic numbers from this period (76 to early 80s) were 9-11 characters long, stamped across the bb shell, pretty much never perfectly lined up:
* Haden Concorde lugs: Ray's price/spec sheet for 1977 shows all 3 models being built with Haden lugs. While Ray used all sorts of lugs over his career, if the mystery frame was made in 1978, it seems likely that he would have still been using Haden lugs at the time.
* Overall style seems to match Ray's work (according to someone who worked at his shop: "We're building bicycles here -- we ain't building jewelry").
Even though the pics aren't the most detailed, here's a 1977 Model 75 owned by bf member vtchuck that comes close to the mystery frame:
If this frame is in (or came from) the Houston area, that might give this guess a bit more weight.
05-11-23, 10:27 AM
#31
Stop reading my posts!
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wow! never saw THAT (Romic) as even a distant possibility!
Just goes to show ya what you can learn from a Master (such as MauriceMoss)
including that Romics were built with tubing OTHER than Reynolds 531 (which I had thought) cause the price list shows 2 models made with Tange #1, and I may be wrong but that burgundy example seems to have a light blue Columbus label!
True?
Just goes to show ya what you can learn from a Master (such as MauriceMoss)
including that Romics were built with tubing OTHER than Reynolds 531 (which I had thought) cause the price list shows 2 models made with Tange #1, and I may be wrong but that burgundy example seems to have a light blue Columbus label!
True?
05-11-23, 10:50 AM
#32
I don't know.
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ok, sorry, I tried to follow along but failed... is there a consensus of what this is and the year it was built? I like crusty old frames, and this one is a beaut.
05-11-23, 02:47 PM
#33
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This is a relevant remark, as it explains why people tend to think of the Low Countries when they see frames that are well-built, but with little attention to finish. If you are building a bike for an aspiring racer with a small budget you're not going spend time filing lugs to perfection. If it doesn't make the bike faster it's a waste of the builder's time and the customer's money.
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05-11-23, 07:31 PM
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I'm sold. Very cool, and excellent detective work MauriceMoss ! I wouldn't have guessed Romic in a million years. Perhaps mssr Gasiorowski would have been pleased that this frame somehow made it's way to my Polish-American flavored neighborhood.
Last edited by jethin; 05-12-23 at 09:16 AM.
