LBCwanabe 

This followed me home today

Bianchigirll 

Nice looking MTB! All I know is is that it is very likely an '88, there was a very short window of fascination with U brakes.

What does the tubing decal say? What components are on it?

tiger1964 

Because it's almost Celeste? ​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Salamandrine 

Looks like a good one. Lugs but with a unicrown fork. Also, looks like thumb shifters. I'd guess about 1986. (?)

It's been a long time, but I'm pretty sure I recall U brakes being around for much longer than just a couple years. I don't have any catalogs laying around, but IIRC they came out around 1985. Cheap answer to the rollercam brakes. Seems like they lasted way too long, if you ask me. So maybe it's just an illusion of a long time, because they annoyed me so much. They were always a PITA to work on because the bike had to be flipped around in the stand.

clubman 

Drive side pics please? Looks like Suntour/Dia Compe.
I like it, which differs from the Like button.

LBCwanabe 

Yum










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LBCwanabe 

To think it lived next to the Salt air it’s whole life


This patina is why I love C&V the most 🤤

Bianchigirll 

I agre I am sure they were around longer but I think they only saw wide spread use at most price points in the '88ish time frame.

T-Mar

That's not a serial number format with which I'm familiar. I was expecting to see a Maruishi format, given the tubing decal. It looks very similar to that used by Maruishi and on their own models and the ones they built for Nashbar.

It's definitely not a 1986 model. While chainstay mounted brakes were available in 1986, the Dia-Compe 990 outfitted on this bicycle didn't become available until the 1987 model year. Also, the rear derailleur appears to be a 1st generation Accushift model (Alpha 5000?) which places it 1987-1988. I do have a 1987 listing for a Lotus Cherokee at $499 US MSRP., at which time time it was 2nd in the Lotus ATB line. Components look like a match but the tubeset is spec'd as Tange DB CrMo. There's no mention of butting on the subject bicycle's decal, so I suspect it's plain gauge and possibly a 1988 model. They may have downgraded it to hold the sub $500 price.

T-Mar

U-brakes weren't the problem, it was the chain stay mounting. Both Shimano and Dia-Compe introduced U-brakes for the 1987 model year, in response to the WTB/SunTour Rollercam. I'm not sure who first mounted a Rollercam on the chain stays but Fat Chance, Fisher and Ritchey were using the set-up by 1985 and it started appearing on the mass production brands for 1986.

Chain stay mounted brakes were popular for the increased braking power they offered. The larger and thicker chainstays were stiffer and this, in addition to their proximity to the bottom bracket, meant (at least theoretically) that the stays twisted less in reaction to the braking forces. Of course, the quarters were tighter for set-up and the confined area promoted the build-up of mud and ice which negatively affected performance.

A number of manufacturers mounted Rollercams and U-brakes on the seat stays and the performance was impressive, when the frame was designed with stiffer, oversized stays and/or used with brake boosters. However, it was overkill in most off-road applications and most manufacturers started reverting to the simpler and lighter cantilever brakes, in conjunction with torsionally stiffer stays, in the very late 1980s. The chain stay mounted brake fad was largely over by 1990, with its heyday being circa 1987-1988. Still, both Shimano and SunTour continued to offer U-brakes and Rollercams (now called Power Brakes) into the early 1990s. My Shimano literature shows U-brakes for ATB groups as late as 1993 and they've retained popularity in certain disciplines such as BMX-Freestyle.

Pemetic2006

Vintage Lotus Bicycles Home Page

LBCwanabe 

Thanks for all the response and resources. Here is a pic after tear down and cleaning. Everything is original but the grips, tires and brake cables 😏