Hexar

Hi Guys,

I got hold of a free Norco frame this week, and I could not find the model of it.


The serial number is DSBM 4110xxxx. So after some googling, I think it is made in Taiwan by Dodsun Bicycle and Machinery, maybe in November 1984 (4=1984 11=Nov) ? The Norco emblem on the head tube is also 80's style.


The fork puzzles me, the "style" looks much older isn't it? But it has cantilever/centre-pull caliper brake bosses, so maybe it is not that old? What type of fork is this?


The chainstay also looks older style? They have this "bend" near the seat tube, The 80s or 90s chainstays are all straight?


The most confusing part is the sticker, it says "special designed mountain bike chromoly tubing", but the frame looks like road bike frame, and it fits my 700c wheels better than 26" wheels. The frame is also quite heavy for a Chromoly frame. The construction is not lugged, so maybe it is quite "new"?


Anyways, I had hard times finding out the model of this bike, any help would be appreciated!


Thanks,

HH

Hexar

here are some pictures.

krjt

Do you have photos?

krjt

Thanks

krjt

Fork crown and blade spacing looks like a Mtb frame.

Hexar

Thanks krjt,
I did more googling, and found the specialized stumpjumpers from 198x look similar to mine, so maybe it is a Mtb after all.
https://forums.mtbr.com/vintage-retr...er-702293.html

Cheers,
HH

Hexar

I think it is called "biplane fork" after more googling.

RiddleOfSteel

It's a MTB frame for sure. That tubing decal and the front fork stay early Specialized Stumpjumper to me. 1983 or thereabouts. Fork for sure. The frame being welded and not fully lugged/brazed gives me pause. Seat post binding bolt is a match for early Stumpjumpers. Color seems to be vintage Specialized, though it could have been a repaint. Heck, the whole front triangle could be new and then the bike repainted. Usually Specialized put their tubing decals higher on the seat tube--just below the top tube.

rgvg

Maybe a Sasquatch?

Hexar

Thanks RiddleOfSteel, that welding looks really bad for sure.

Hexar

Thanks rgvg, I googled Sasquatch, but it seems like bigfoot maybe?

This picture looks very much like my frame.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/29916553@N02/14913157158

RiddleOfSteel

I think we have a winner.

rgvg

I thought I saw one or two Sasquatches with a bi plane fork on vancouver cl last year, but I could be wrong. But sure it might be a Bigfoot.

I have a pet peeve with craigslist's search function. If you enter "Norco" in the search box it always returns nothing. If you enter "Miyata" or "Nishiki" or anything else, it works fine. But not for Norco. For Norco you have to enter the model for the search to work, like "Norco Bigfoot".

RiddleOfSteel

I would say Bigfoot. Everything matches.

Weird on the "Norco" search term. I just did it with my Seattle CL page and it does the same thing. I wonder if CL gets confused with it being "north county" or some similar abbreviation.

Hexar

Thanks again guys! Appreciate the replies.

Hexar

Regarding CL searching, Maybe Norco is a Canadian brand and was not made into the "reserved" word list, and the search algorithm auto-corrects it, thinking the user made a typo?

rgvg

Yes, it's Canadian. I think it started in Burnaby, which is right next door to Vancouver. I would like to own one of their old road bikes, but craigslist is making it hard for me to search. I'm sure I'll come across one that would be the right size and the right price for me one of these days.

T-Mar

The subject frameset is from a 1985 Norco Bigfoot. It's unspecified, oversize, plain gauge CrMo for the main tubes, mated to hi-tensile strays and forks. It was 4th in a line of 6 ATB models.

clubman 

Here's another with some upgrades. It likely has an .833 stem.
I don't know why the welds on your bike are so poor. Mine are rather clean but I'm going to look closer.

clubman 

It also appears that your fork is missing the right canti post. Hence free?
It's a tank but it's balanced and I use it to haul a Bob trailer. Perfect workhorse.

Edit. Wait a second, the seatstay cluster's totally different. Weird stuff.

T-Mar

Check your serial number. It may be from a different year and/or source, as the the OP"s frame has a a fastback style stays that butt into the seat post's cinch clamp, while yours is traditional. Also, the OP's gear cables run under the BB shell, while yours run on top of it.

DiegoFrogs

As far as the missing brake stud is concerned, it seems that this style of stud was prone to this failure if the builder didn't add brazing to the swaged stud-box connection.

See here (way down the page) how I managed to modify a screw-in stud and a nut to fit. Given more time, I'd probably machine something out of a little block of steel or even aluminum to fit inside the box with a properly threaded hole instead of the nut, but it seems to work just fine every summer when I visit my family.

Good luck. These old MTBs can be a lot of fun!

Straightblock

I'd guess "Norco" is blocked in craigslist because there is an opioid wiith the same name.

clubman 

I've got 2 Bigfoots. The hard to read number looks to be 468_0469

Hexar

Here in Calgary, we tend to use kijiji more, I have almost never used craigslist myself.
Cheers.