[CR]Intro; Mystery frame

(Example: Events:Cirque du Cyclisme:2002)

From: "Chuck Clark" <clark1116@mindspring.com>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2001 12:57:24 -0700
Subject: [CR]Intro; Mystery frame

Hi, I just joined this week. I’m a one-bike man. I worked in a bike shop as a teenager and purchased a Gitane there in about 1972 – Reynolds 531 frame and fork, Campagnolo Record derailleurs, Campy Seatpost, Campy Tipo hubs, Ideale saddle, Mafac Competition brakes, Pivo stem. I switched from sew-ups to 700c clinchers in the late 70’s, then did a face plant in about ’89 and quit riding for 10 years. I got back on the bike two years ago and upgraded the seat, pedals, stem, bars, and levers to make the ride more comfortable for my older, heavier body. I love this bike, ride it several times a week, and will never part with it.

I’m planning to buy a Kestrel (I know it is off topic), but can’t afford it out of the family budget (you all know how that goes). So, to raise money for the new bike I frequent local thrift stores and rescue classic treasures (now we’re back on topic) headed for the scrap metal heap, restore them, and sell them. I’m a sucker for old classics, but I don’t want to fill up my basement with them. I’m content to clean them up and then pass them on to others who really appreciate them. For example, recently I salvaged and partially restored an Armstrong Moth that I sold to Nelson Miller. Here’s the link to the Armstrong pics: http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=1391125&a=11231537

(End of intro, beginning of “mystery frame”)

I recently bought an old frame at a thrift store that I can’t identify. It included an amazing menagerie of components – sort of a cyclocross configuration with a wild mix classic European road, Japanese road, Japanese mountain (mtb), and a few other odds and ends. I’ve identified most of the components that were on this frame. In particular, I’ve cleaned up the Zeus 2000 rear derailleur and Zeus seatpost and will seek information about these in separate emails.

The purpose of this email is to solve the mystery of the frame: - Who built it? When? - What type tubes and lugs does it have? - Is it worth restoring?

Here are the clues I’ve gathered so far: - classic European road geometry and light-weight steel – seat tube measures 57cm from center of bottom bracket to top of top tube - seat and head tube lugs appear identical to those on my circa ’72 Reynolds 531 Gitane frame - bottom bracket lug is nicely shaped but different from the Gitane – serial number stamped on the bottom is 1711, or 171, or 17 (hard to distinguish the numbers from the scratches) - seat and head tube lugs are unpainted and no longer have much of a chrome finish (if they ever had it) - stays are chrome at dropout ends, dropouts are the same size and shape as the Campy dropouts on my Gitane (i.e., opening forward rather than downward) but appear to have been cut out rather than forged - frame appears to have been repainted – a smooth name plate on the head tube has distinctive shape but has been painted over - the frame has some non-original looking decals – American flags, “tioga” on top tube, and "Cook Brothers Racing” on left sides of seat and down tubes (Jack Witmer at Cook Bros confirmed that this is NOT a Cook Bros frame)

I’ve posted some pics of all these frame details in an on-line album at: http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=1391125&a=12252488

Just in case there are more clues hidden in the components mix, here is a rundown (feel free to comment on which of these are valuable and which are junk, if you like): - Tange chrome fork with “TANGE CR-MO STEEL FORK BLADE” decals on each blade - Tange Seiki Levin headset, stamped “NO. NL500 Japan” - DuraAce crank, stamped “Shimano Japan 170” on inside of each arm, broken tooth on the big ring - Shimano front derailleur with small black deer head icon - Zeus 2000 rear derailleur - Suntour 6 speed cassette - KTT PRO VIC II pedals with toe clips (alloy) - Dia Compe center pull brakes (alloy) - Campagnolo Record hubs and skewers (with black oil port clips) - Super Champion Made in France rims (alloy) - Zeus seatpost - mtb handlebar with Dia Compe mtb brake levers, Suntour shifters, and a - Suntour XC mtb stem (alloy) - old lighting system with a generator

Thanks,

Chuck Clark