Synthiaks
Senior Retro Guru
Unless you're lucky & grab a £12 ebay bargain as recently happened......
Nice bike....great youre getting it back on the road
Bontrager OR, 16in, 1990. intro and advice.
- Thread starter Cemtastic
- Start date
Unless you're lucky & grab a £12 ebay bargain as recently happened......
Nice bike....great youre getting it back on the road
Synthiaks
Senior Retro Guru
pw_pw_la
Senior Retro Guru
Hey @Cemtastic, I'm actually none the wiser regarding frame numbers either!
Mine (bb shell) is buried beneath too thick paint to see without stripping, but the general consensus on here seems to be that the numbers on the dropouts are largely irrelevant, I think. That the guys in the shop would just grab from a big pile, with no thought given to sequence, Etc.
Much like you, I would personally love to be able to date mine, as it's got a couple of unique-ish characteristics (also horizontal dropouts), but it seems unlikely. Especially as the decals have already been replaced at some point, and the original owner trail runs cold too.
Seems likely mine is 91-92ish, but that's about all I/we can seem to figure.
Mine (bb shell) is buried beneath too thick paint to see without stripping, but the general consensus on here seems to be that the numbers on the dropouts are largely irrelevant, I think. That the guys in the shop would just grab from a big pile, with no thought given to sequence, Etc.
Much like you, I would personally love to be able to date mine, as it's got a couple of unique-ish characteristics (also horizontal dropouts), but it seems unlikely. Especially as the decals have already been replaced at some point, and the original owner trail runs cold too.
Seems likely mine is 91-92ish, but that's about all I/we can seem to figure.
And @Cemtastic yours is a bit earlier than that because of the bonded/riveted cable guides on the top tube , so probably 89/90.
But as @pw_pw_la (is it me or does anybody else think of the amorous skunk when I type that?) says its difficult to be accurate - as bontrager didn't really do model years
But as @pw_pw_la (is it me or does anybody else think of the amorous skunk when I type that?) says its difficult to be accurate - as bontrager didn't really do model years
pw_pw_la
Senior Retro Guru
Not a day goes by that I don't regret my rash-decision username, back when signing up for this place just seemed like something I'd care about for five f-ing minutes...
Mods, can we get an edit username function in the next round of Forum updates, please?
I know, I know.
A decade from now.
Mods, can we get an edit username function in the next round of Forum updates, please?
I know, I know.
A decade from now.
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Re the fillet brazed seat cluster, here’s a comment from a former Bontrager employee:
“Mine is half fillet brazed. In the beginning of building production OR frames, we didn't yet have a full frame tacking fixture. We tacked the front triangles on the fixture and then the rear triangles were added in a separate process with a crude drop out locating fixture that clamped off of the seat tube. I don't remember what the reason was (I wasn't yet involved in welding/brazing processes, just a machine operator becoming a machinist), but Keith decided that we needed to braze the rear triangle on instead of TIG welding it. So it had a TIG'd front and brazed rear triangle. When I get back up to my shop, I'll dig it up and take a picture...”
“Mine is half fillet brazed. In the beginning of building production OR frames, we didn't yet have a full frame tacking fixture. We tacked the front triangles on the fixture and then the rear triangles were added in a separate process with a crude drop out locating fixture that clamped off of the seat tube. I don't remember what the reason was (I wasn't yet involved in welding/brazing processes, just a machine operator becoming a machinist), but Keith decided that we needed to braze the rear triangle on instead of TIG welding it. So it had a TIG'd front and brazed rear triangle. When I get back up to my shop, I'll dig it up and take a picture...”
