2wheeljonz 

I bought this from a guy who said he got it at an estate sale. The only thing saying it is a Davidson is the decal set. However, it is a nicely made frame with thinned lugs, Campagnolo dropouts and nice brake bridge and wheel stay bridge. No serial number can be found but I read that he did not do serial numbers.
‘Thoughts? Possible year or model?
Thanks
2wheeljonz

JoeBass

You can contact Bill about it. He's still building, and if anyone would know, it would be him! He'd also likely be able to date it for you and give you additional info.

Davidson | Handbuilt Bicycles since 1973 (davidsonbicycles.com)

Lamont Cobb

I don't know anything about Davidsons, but I do know that that is one bee-yoo-tiful frame.

bulgie 

Yep definitely a Davidson, model name Challenge, probably '83-'84. That was a small-batch production road racer. Tange Champion, tube gauges vary by frame size but mostly equivalent to #1. Rear OLD 126mm, 27.2 seat post.

By the next year, the Challenge was mostly replaced by the Impulse, which was pretty much the same frame only with the more racy looking "MER" crown, and made of Prestige instead of Champion. Same steel only heat-teated, and maybe some lighter gauges here and there (I don't remember).

The Challenge remained on offer after the Impulse came out, but not too many were built or sold; most people wanted an Impulse.

Later Challenge frames got cooler seatstay tops that were investment cast with the Davidson name cast in relief, sorta pantographed-looking. That's why I don't think yours is newer than '84, maybe '85 at the latest. Though it might have hung on the ceiling for a couple of years before it sold.

Forks and rear triangles were made by Tange, and even the main triangle tubes came mitered at both ends by Tange, to Bill's specs. They were very quick to build, with the nice Takahashi lugs that needed almost zero prep before brazing, and almost no cleanup after brazing either. The lugs were not "thinned", they were cast that way. We pretty much perfected the art of lug brazing, getting the time to braze a lug down to under 2 minutes on average, with zero blobs or spatter, just nice clean shorelines that needed no filing, pretty much ever.

Champion is great steel, and I actually prefer the "HNR" crown on the Challenge over the MER on the Impulse, so I rate a Challenge as a great production frame.

I guess you could say I'm biased, but I never actually built any, they were built by the rest of the crew, while I made the one-off custom frames, which eventually became known as the Signature model. I did help a lot with making fixtures, developing processes and training the crew, but it was definitely Bill's baby. His design, his vision.

Mark B

repechage

Appears nice, I like this fork crown also.
in the Robvolz anti color

2wheeljonz 

Thank you so much, bulgie for the identification and history. This place is the best!
2wheeljonz

merziac

Great score, well done.

SurferRosa

I would have guessed the same based on the decals/details, but then I saw the portacatena holes. Would y'all have used those dropouts as late as that?

Chombi1 

Yup!, the general details on the bike indicates it is a Davidson. The very glossy paint (Most likely Dupont Imron) is also what Davidson used.
​​​It just does not have the pantographs on the fork crown and seat stay caps that other model Davidsons have.
My 1983 Davidson Signature has a portecatena drive side rear DO.
I think that was the last year they used the portecatena dropouts.

bulgie 

We didn't send dropouts to Tange, they had their own supply. Maybe they bought too many back when the PC holes were still a thing, and they were still burning through old stock?

bulgie 

Oops I said your frame has Takahashi lugs but then I looked at the pictures... D'oh! Those are Henry James (Folson) lugs. That's what the first Challenges were made with, before he got the Taka lugs. So definitely before my time there. I started in '84 and we had the Taka lugs by then, so my guess is '83 for yours.

I regret the mistake!

bikingshearer 

2wheeljonz, that Blue Davidson is drop-dead gorgeous. Chombi1, that red/burgundy Davidson is drop-dead gorgeous.

Now, how do I clen the drool out of my keyboard?

bikingshearer 

That for crown looks like the ones De Rosa used for a goodly number of years. Am I right or am I delusional?

(And yes, I realize I could be both.)

repechage

plays the part, DeRosa had a minor evolution too, some had a slight lift and part fillet before the crown race, others flat straight across.
the “fangs” (interesting term by some) have blunt ends-
Richard Sachs has had his own versions, the latest pushing the blades farther apart.
I prefer the earlier designs fashioned from the Fischer sand cast unit where the fangs end at a point.
took Quite a bit of effort to control the appearance of those.

merziac

With the bib you should have been wearing.

JohnDThompson 

Sure. If you had a pile of them sitting in a box from when you ordered a bulk lot years ago, why not?