Tonight's project and what am I? Steel Road Bike
#1
Voice guy
Thread Starter
Tonight's project and what am I? Steel Road Bike
Hey all, here's my project for the evening. This has had a terrible repaint (I think the original color was some sort of blue) and there are no decals or headbadge to go from. Here's what I know:
57 cm seat tube, 57 cm top tube
rear brake cable eyelets down left side of top tube, about 7 o'clock if viewed from rear.
Serial number is U20206717
Tioga Expert CR headset
SR Modolo Anatomical bend bars
Kalloy KA100 stem
Exage 500ex brakes and levers
Shimano RX100 Cranks 170mm 53/39
Sachs freewheel 12/21 7speed
Shimano derailleurs RX100?
700c wheels
Rear is Mavic MA40 with Sansin hub (I believe this is original)
Front is Araya VX-400 rim with Shimano 600 hub
Bike weighs 22 pounds as it sits now so it must be reasonably high end. What do you think folks? Have some fun with it.
57 cm seat tube, 57 cm top tube
rear brake cable eyelets down left side of top tube, about 7 o'clock if viewed from rear.
Serial number is U20206717
Tioga Expert CR headset
SR Modolo Anatomical bend bars
Kalloy KA100 stem
Exage 500ex brakes and levers
Shimano RX100 Cranks 170mm 53/39
Sachs freewheel 12/21 7speed
Shimano derailleurs RX100?
700c wheels
Rear is Mavic MA40 with Sansin hub (I believe this is original)
Front is Araya VX-400 rim with Shimano 600 hub
Bike weighs 22 pounds as it sits now so it must be reasonably high end. What do you think folks? Have some fun with it.
#3
Voice guy
Thread Starter
Some more pics
I think the Blue was original, then someone went over it with Flourescent orange and then Black. I hope these pics give some more clues. Do the Miyata serial numbers look like mine?
Oh yeah, wheelbase looks to be 39 1/2 inches.
Oh yeah, wheelbase looks to be 39 1/2 inches.
#6
Spin Forest! Spin!
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You need to take photos of the distinct frame characteristics to help ID her....BB shell, seat lug, head tube area, cable guides, brake bridge, fork crown, dropouts, fork blades.
The brake cable guides are unusual due to location. Semi-vertical dropouts, a unicrown fork which usually indicates 89+ model year.
The brake cable guides are unusual due to location. Semi-vertical dropouts, a unicrown fork which usually indicates 89+ model year.
#7
Senior Member
My assessment, based on the serial number is a circa 1992, Taiwanese manufactured frame. Components are a bit of a mix, but the 500EX and RX100 may be original. They're certainly the correct timeframe. It would be interesting to know their date codes. If original, they were typical used on bicycles in the $500-$700 range. A typical tubeset would have been Tange Infinity. In addition to date codes, the OP should check the seat post size and, if possible, pull the fork and check the steerer for a manufacturer's stamp and date code.
#8
my schwinn voyageur has the serial in the same spot on the head tube. it was probably made by panasonic, so i would guess it would be either of those.
edit: i've never seen cable guides like that before.
edit: i've never seen cable guides like that before.
Last edited by illwafer; 12-13-11 at 10:36 AM.
#9
Ride heavy metal.
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I, too, haven't seen many cable guides like that. Looks like there was a lot of torching on that side of the bike. Any chance those guides were brazed-on at a later date, or that they weren't original to the bike's design?
Also, is that a hole drilled in the chainstay in the #2 photo in your second set? I know there are holes to let the flux and heat escape during brazing and whatnot, but that looks big, and right in the center of the chainstay...
#11
Just keep pedalling!
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Doesn't the location of the serial number make it a Panasonic? What size is the seatpost? It has some similar characteristics to my Panasonic, but the semi-vertical dropouts and the rear brake cable guides are completely different.
#12
Senior Member
It's not a Panasonic manufactured frame. The serial number format is incorrect. It's also not Miyata manufacture.
#14
Voice guy
Thread Starter
I'll get some more detailed pics up tonight. I'll also get a seatpost measurement and some more fork photos. My buddy seems to think Peugeot but the only French part I see thus far is the freewheel. I think most of us agree that it is 89-92ish. KHS? Anything is possible. The location if those cable guides has to be the key. Hopefully someone has one of these in their garage. Thanks for the responses so far, I enjoy a good puzzle.
#15
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The dropout looks like Gipiemme. What's the BB shell threading?
#16
Voice guy
Thread Starter
Here are some more pics and a little more info:
Kalloy Seatpost 27.0 mm
Bottom Bracket says 3P-B Cr-mo K-8
BB Shell is 70mm across
Avocet saddle has 1991 date stamp
100mm dropout spacing front
130mm rear
2 bottle cage mounts (one on seat tube, one on down tube)
Frame weighs approximately 2 1/4 pounds completely stripped
Kalloy Seatpost 27.0 mm
Bottom Bracket says 3P-B Cr-mo K-8
BB Shell is 70mm across
Avocet saddle has 1991 date stamp
100mm dropout spacing front
130mm rear
2 bottle cage mounts (one on seat tube, one on down tube)
Frame weighs approximately 2 1/4 pounds completely stripped
#18
#19
#20
Voice guy
Thread Starter
Touche'
Upon further inspection, the frame weighs just under 5 pounds, maybe 2 1/4 kilos.
Chain hanger, great idea, how many bikes had that? I wonder.
Upon further inspection, the frame weighs just under 5 pounds, maybe 2 1/4 kilos.
Chain hanger, great idea, how many bikes had that? I wonder.
#21
feros ferio
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I was thinking Japanese, as well, until the 70mm BB shell came up in discussion. Has anyone seen any non-Italian bikes w/ 70 instead of 68?
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"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
#22
Voice guy
Thread Starter
Actually, the BB Shell is 68mm, there was a ton of paint and crud on it. Here are 2 more pics. The crescent shape ( or C) is on the inside of both rear dropouts.
Am I correct in thinking Italian?
Am I correct in thinking Italian?
#24
Senior Member
A 68cm BB shell, given the era of the components, indicates the most likely candidate for country of orign is Taiwan.
Reverse engineering based on a sample of one is always a risky proposition. 11A/CM could mean several things. The CM probably indicates CrMo. Based on the component mix, 11A could mean November 1991. That would also be a good fit with my original, 1992 suggestion the serial number.
Going back though some period literature, another Taiwanese manufacturer, besides KHS, who used that position for routing the rear brake cable was Giant, though they appear to have used stops, as opposed to tunnels. I'm not sure where they stamped their serial numbers during this period.
Given the era, Im really surprised theere is no embossing on the stay caps, or is it possibly just covered by very heavy paint?
Reverse engineering based on a sample of one is always a risky proposition. 11A/CM could mean several things. The CM probably indicates CrMo. Based on the component mix, 11A could mean November 1991. That would also be a good fit with my original, 1992 suggestion the serial number.
Going back though some period literature, another Taiwanese manufacturer, besides KHS, who used that position for routing the rear brake cable was Giant, though they appear to have used stops, as opposed to tunnels. I'm not sure where they stamped their serial numbers during this period.
Given the era, Im really surprised theere is no embossing on the stay caps, or is it possibly just covered by very heavy paint?
Last edited by T-Mar; 12-14-11 at 08:46 AM.