PDX has a gem of a steel touring frame
03-07-23, 01:52 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 12,891
Bikes: (2) ti TiCycles, 2007 w/ triple and 2011 fixed, 1979 Peter Mooney, ~1983 Trek 420 now fixed and ~1973 Raleigh Carlton Competition gravel grinder
Mentioned: 129 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4790 Post(s)
Liked 3,916 Times
in
2,547 Posts
PDX has a gem of a steel touring frame
And it probably can be bought. Not formally for sale but it is in the back room of Portland's Citybikes, a worker's coop. Maker and story are completely unknown. Bare steel. Has never seen paint or use.
The frame: (All from memory and quick tape measurements.)
58 cm c-c seat tube
57 cm top tube
41 1/4" wheelbase
long (17"?) chainstays
tubing ?? feels stiff and not light. Like a solid touring rig that will carry weight like that was its mission. Nice fork with a square crown.
lugs - beautiful, thin Nervex cutout looking but almost certainly not Nervex and a real step nicer. Clean brazing. (Those lugs and the workmanship are eye-stopping!)
brazed DT shifter bosses, WBs, cable guides inc rear drum brake (?). Under BB groves for shift cables TT brake cable with nice angles entrance and exit on right underside - like best for a left-rear lever setup. Real thought went into this frame.
Frame hasn't seen final filing and polishing but the basic work was done well and that work should be a joy to do. It could be painted as is
I went to Citybikes for help with a hub and needing wheel parts. (Shop has everything for older bikes. The go-to for '70s and early '80s. Boxes of old stuff. Frames pass through. I'd just picked up a pair of nice Mafac Competitions so I asked if they had any older European frames to hang them on. There is still a beautiful pink Bilinkey i'd take in a flash but it is woman's sizing. I think brand new and certainly perfect. (I don't do pink but for that frame, I'd make an exception! - if it fit.) But currently nothing else that would work for me. Now I was talking to their longtime mechanic and no one else was there - Sunday. Then he said but there was one frame they'd had forever. He'd bring it out. The above.
I'm posting this simply because this could be a gem for someone here. I wanted it to work for me and would have put up with the braze-ons I'll never use but the geometry. I cannot make it work for this body. I doubt Citybikes will ever put it up for sale and if someone does talk them into selling it, I am sure it will come with a solid disclaimer that they know absolutely nothing about it. But it does come with no paint hiding anything so a reasonable assessment by someone with good steel frame judgement could be made. (And Portland has a few dozen of those experts!)
I have zero to gain if this bike gets sold. I'd probably never hear if it. Just posting this because it's a frame that could be the base of a sweet rig for someone here. Especially pacific northwest types who could find an excuse to visit Portland.
The frame: (All from memory and quick tape measurements.)
58 cm c-c seat tube
57 cm top tube
41 1/4" wheelbase
long (17"?) chainstays
tubing ?? feels stiff and not light. Like a solid touring rig that will carry weight like that was its mission. Nice fork with a square crown.
lugs - beautiful, thin Nervex cutout looking but almost certainly not Nervex and a real step nicer. Clean brazing. (Those lugs and the workmanship are eye-stopping!)
brazed DT shifter bosses, WBs, cable guides inc rear drum brake (?). Under BB groves for shift cables TT brake cable with nice angles entrance and exit on right underside - like best for a left-rear lever setup. Real thought went into this frame.
Frame hasn't seen final filing and polishing but the basic work was done well and that work should be a joy to do. It could be painted as is
I went to Citybikes for help with a hub and needing wheel parts. (Shop has everything for older bikes. The go-to for '70s and early '80s. Boxes of old stuff. Frames pass through. I'd just picked up a pair of nice Mafac Competitions so I asked if they had any older European frames to hang them on. There is still a beautiful pink Bilinkey i'd take in a flash but it is woman's sizing. I think brand new and certainly perfect. (I don't do pink but for that frame, I'd make an exception! - if it fit.) But currently nothing else that would work for me. Now I was talking to their longtime mechanic and no one else was there - Sunday. Then he said but there was one frame they'd had forever. He'd bring it out. The above.
I'm posting this simply because this could be a gem for someone here. I wanted it to work for me and would have put up with the braze-ons I'll never use but the geometry. I cannot make it work for this body. I doubt Citybikes will ever put it up for sale and if someone does talk them into selling it, I am sure it will come with a solid disclaimer that they know absolutely nothing about it. But it does come with no paint hiding anything so a reasonable assessment by someone with good steel frame judgement could be made. (And Portland has a few dozen of those experts!)
I have zero to gain if this bike gets sold. I'd probably never hear if it. Just posting this because it's a frame that could be the base of a sweet rig for someone here. Especially pacific northwest types who could find an excuse to visit Portland.
03-07-23, 03:47 PM
#2
Sunshine
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Des Moines, IA
Posts: 16,604
Bikes: '18 class built steel roadbike, '19 Fairlight Secan, '88 Schwinn Premis , Black Mountain Cycles Monstercross V4, '89 Novara Trionfo
Mentioned: 123 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10947 Post(s)
Liked 7,473 Times
in
4,181 Posts
