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Can someone ID this frame please?

Old 06-30-20, 11:11 AM
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Can someone ID this frame please?

Hello,
I picked up this bike off FB marketplace for $35 and it is in amazing condition, looks like it was rarely used.

The frame has absolutely no stickers or headbadge at all and the paint job is so clean and smooth it doesn’t even look like stickers were removed. Looks like a manufactured paint job.

Guy I bought it from thought maybe a Raleigh frame but I’m in a vintage Raleigh group and they did not think so, someone mentioned maybe a Falcon frame?

I am not at all into building or fixing bikes so lots of the terms you all use are like a foreign language to me but I did look up some of the bike parts and it seems to me like this bike was possibly put together by someone that was into Building bikes and just chose to not put any identification as to the maker of the frame.

Here is what I have identified so far:

Dia-Compe Brake Levers
Weinmann Vainqueur 750/999 Brakes
Shimano Eagle Derailleur
Shimano gear shifters
Sake-Ringyo crankset
Yaan Chyung Rims
Golden Boy 26” tires look original

The Frame color is like a light Eggplant or deep Mauve or plum color.

so looking at the frame does anyone have any idea what manufacturer and or version and possible year? I’m thinking mid 70’s maybe early 80’s







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Old 06-30-20, 11:17 AM
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It looks mid-70's Japanese, and the fork crown looks to be a copy of a classic, pictured here (not my pic nor my Flickr account): https://www.flickr.com/photos/shu-si...n/photostream/

There are small imperfections around the head tube lugs that make it look repainted to me.
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Old 06-30-20, 11:22 AM
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Here are a few more photos of the other parts of the bike








There is some kind of mark on the top of the fork that kind of looks like an “M”
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Old 06-30-20, 11:35 AM
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-----

the M marking on the fork crown might be for Miki

member @T-Mar is likely to be able to identify the bicycle by the serial marking on the bottom bracket

he shall be along shortly to enlighten us all


-----
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Old 06-30-20, 12:08 PM
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Originally Posted by juvela
-----

the M marking on the fork crown might be for Miki

member @T-Mar is likely to be able to identify the bicycle by the serial marking on the bottom bracket

he shall be along shortly to enlighten us all


-----
Oh that would be awesome if T-Mar could look at the photos!!!! I just saw the Sticky post about the Asian Serial numbers and was going to post in that thread to see if T-Mar might be able to help. For me I think it is very interesting just trying to research what brand of frame the bike is. It is in excellent shape whoever originally owned/built it did not ride it much at all.
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Old 06-30-20, 03:13 PM
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-----

some of the characters in the marking appear somewhat faint; perhaps lightly struck

you could try making one or more additional images of the marking in different light

and/or you could put some paint of a contrasting colour on the area and quickly wipe it off

this would make what is there more clearly legible

if I understand correctly from T-Mar's posts Miki is both a manufacturer of frame lugs (joints) and of complete bicycles

he will be able to fill us in

-----
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Old 06-30-20, 03:35 PM
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I believe the "JUN" branded SR stem is older than the rest of the components. Cranks aren't quite as old but you'd think if the stem was original it would date from the cottered cranks days. If Japanese, interesting that there are Weinmann brakes paired with Dia-Compe 144c levers. Lastly the 26 inch wheels don't seem right. Does OP mean 27's and just a typo?

My guess is a repaint with a mixture of original and non original parts. Interesting choice for a repaint
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Old 06-30-20, 04:54 PM
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My guess is Vista, late '70s.
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Old 06-30-20, 05:54 PM
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Originally Posted by thumpism
My guess is Vista, late '70s.
-----

excellent idea, this would explain the crown


-----
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Old 06-30-20, 07:05 PM
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Originally Posted by WGB
I believe the "JUN" branded SR stem is older than the rest of the components. Cranks aren't quite as old but you'd think if the stem was original it would date from the cottered cranks days. If Japanese, interesting that there are Weinmann brakes paired with Dia-Compe 144c levers. Lastly the 26 inch wheels don't seem right. Does OP mean 27's and just a typo?

My guess is a repaint with a mixture of original and non original parts. Interesting choice for a repaint
Tires are definitely 26 I just checked along the sidewall 26 x 1 3/8

and Yay!! Thanks for your suggestions about getting a better view of the serial number. I actually used a flashlight and was able to figure out the parts of the number that seemed smoothed out

The entire Serial number is
T850345281
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Old 06-30-20, 08:07 PM
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Originally Posted by tpadul
Tires are definitely 26 I just checked along the sidewall 26 x 1 3/8

and Yay!! Thanks for your suggestions about getting a better view of the serial number. I actually used a flashlight and was able to figure out the parts of the number that seemed smoothed out

The entire Serial number is
T850345281
-----

thanks so much for this new serial number information.

it should really help T-Mar when he drops in.

he will probably be able to give you a specific date for the bicycle.


-----
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Old 06-30-20, 08:38 PM
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That's really long serial number. Long enough to make lean to a mid-1985 Taiwanese frame. In which case the it's been mostly rebuilt, which explains some of the incongruous parts. Like WGB, I think it's a repaint
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Old 07-01-20, 09:07 AM
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Originally Posted by T-Mar
That's really long serial number. Long enough to make lean to a mid-1985 Taiwanese frame. In which case the it's been mostly rebuilt, which explains some of the incongruous parts. Like WGB, I think it's a repaint
Hello T-Mar!! Thank you very much for chiming in!!!! So can I ask if you have any knowledge of which brands may have a T at the start of their serial number and do you think the "M" marking on the Top of the fork signifies anything about which brand of bike it might be? Is there somewhere I can research the different name brands of bikes made in Taiwan? I really appreciate all your suggestions.
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Old 07-01-20, 09:19 AM
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Originally Posted by T-Mar
That's really long serial number. Long enough to make lean to a mid-1985 Taiwanese frame. In which case the it's been mostly rebuilt, which explains some of the incongruous parts. Like WGB, I think it's a repaint
Oh one more question please so does the 85 at the beginning of the serial number after the T indicate that the bike was made in 1985?
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Old 07-01-20, 09:29 AM
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I can't know the history of this bike, and the Weinmann calipers are an anomaly, but I would find it unusual for such a low-end bike to have been fully repainted with all of the bearing cups carefully removed.

I think it's a 70's bike that never got ridden, with decals removed.

It doesn't look very rattle-can to me.

Could the "T" be Tano? Built for Vista sounds like a possibility.
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Old 07-01-20, 09:56 AM
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Originally Posted by dddd
I can't know the history of this bike, and the Weinmann calipers are an anomaly, but I would find it unusual for such a low-end bike to have been fully repainted with all of the bearing cups carefully removed.

I think it's a 70's bike that never got ridden, with decals removed.

It doesn't look very rattle-can to me.

Could the "T" be Tano? Built for Vista sounds like a possibility.
Thank you for chiming in!! I am happy for all the suggestions. The guy I bought it from off Facebook tinkers around with bikes and had about 10 for sale that he had in his garage, he thought it was a mid 1970's something, he thought Raleigh, but many have said no, but he did comment that he felt the bike was literally like brand new and probably was not ridden very much at all. The crankset and the sprockets don't have any built up grease to even look like it was used, it is so clean except for a few deep scrapes in the paint but even those have no rust at all. The cloth handlebar tape is torn on one side and scuffed up on the other. I ordered some Newbaum (sp?) Cloth tape off Amazon and I'll have the bike shop wrap the handlebars for me, I don't want to mess it up, I'm such a newbie when it comes to doing things with the bike, I'm 52 but when I was much younger in my teens and early 20's I knew how to do a few things to the bike, but so many years have passed since I have really spent time riding.

I do know the frame is very lightweight, its not one of those cheap Huffy type Walmart bikes so that is why I am so intrigued to just try and figure out what brand name the frame is. It's very cool trying to research and ID the frame and the possible year that it came from.
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Old 07-01-20, 02:11 PM
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I still think it's a repaint. The forks and frame are colour matched but the stay end treatment doesn't match the blade end treatment. That suggests a non-original fork and a repaint.
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Old 07-01-20, 02:40 PM
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Those fork crowns were common on Murray bikes (and maybe Columbia, Western Flyer and a few others). I don't know enough about the models and serial numbers for those, so I can't say how that fits with the rest of what we have on this mystery frame.





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Old 07-01-20, 02:55 PM
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Originally Posted by T-Mar
I still think it's a repaint. The forks and frame are colour matched but the stay end treatment doesn't match the blade end treatment. That suggests a non-original fork and a repaint.
Yes you are probably right about it being a repaint, so do you think the fork is from a Murray? And any idea about the serial number starting with a T? Any idea what brand used a "T" in the beginning of the serial number? The entire bike is pretty light in fact it is much lighter weight than my 1987 Raleigh Mountain Tour.
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Old 07-01-20, 02:57 PM
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Originally Posted by MauriceMoss
Those fork crowns were common on Murray bikes (and maybe Columbia, Western Flyer and a few others). I don't know enough about the models and serial numbers for those, so I can't say how that fits with the rest of what we have on this mystery frame.





Thanks!! So it's probably safe to assume the fork is from a Murray ?? And the frame still has to be something else. this bike is certainly a mystery, but it has been fun trying to figure out what brand the frame is. now that you have posted these photos I can definitely see the fork resemblance to the Murray forks!!!
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Old 07-01-20, 03:04 PM
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The Murray fork origin would also explain the 'M' stamped in the crown. You can also see the the circular outline for the 'M' impressions in the 1st picture provided by MauriceMoss.
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Old 07-02-20, 10:00 AM
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Originally Posted by T-Mar
The Murray fork origin would also explain the 'M' stamped in the crown. You can also see the the circular outline for the 'M' impressions in the 1st picture provided by MauriceMoss.
Thank you so much, so do you have any suggestions on the brand of frame? You were thinking built in Taiwan maybe mid 1985 ish? This serial number T850345281 can you give an idea at all what brand of frame or company this frame might be? I really appreciate any suggestions. I read your sticky on the Asian serial numbers but I'm not into all the jargon and a lot of it is very confusing to me. Any insight would be most appreciated. Does the 85 at the beginning of the Serial number maybe indicate the year? And have you seen any 1980's frames with a "T" as the start of a serial number?

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Old 08-13-20, 11:46 AM
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Originally Posted by tpadul
Thank you so much, so do you have any suggestions on the brand of frame? You were thinking built in Taiwan maybe mid 1985 ish? This serial number T850345281 can you give an idea at all what brand of frame or company this frame might be? I really appreciate any suggestions. I read your sticky on the Asian serial numbers but I'm not into all the jargon and a lot of it is very confusing to me. Any insight would be most appreciated. Does the 85 at the beginning of the Serial number maybe indicate the year? And have you seen any 1980's frames with a "T" as the start of a serial number?

Originally Posted by T-Mar
The Murray fork origin would also explain the 'M' stamped in the crown. You can also see the the circular outline for the 'M' impressions in the 1st picture provided by MauriceMoss.
Hi T-Mar so I'm still trying to figure out who the maker is of my frame, Do you have anymore ideas about what brands had a T in the beginning of the Serial number? The entire serial number is T850345281
Thanks so much for any thoughts on this serial number.
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