Highlander bike??? Fillet brazed frame

[Jc24]

Btw, the way the paint is performed gives the appearance of a series of H. Maybe reminders of Highlander. It might also be a coincidence

 

[joglo]

So, this bike is branded Highlander. Nobody mentioned the origins yet. What I find interesting is that I know that a bunch of Highlander branded bikes are flooding the Danish market, or at least were years ago. Dating back to about the 80s, they seemed to do imported far east asian framesets and then eventually went down the alu commuter route that all the rest of the Danish brands did. This is definitely not a Highlander like the ones I know from here. This is far fancier and very, very pretty. I'd be really interested to know where it's made and when.

There had been some Japanese Highlander Bikes, from Takara, Mid to End of the 80ies.

or here are some pics of a 1985 ATB

Road Test/Bike Review (1985) Buyers Guide -- 4 ATB Models - Bike Forums

Classic & Vintage - Road Test/Bike Review (1985) Buyers Guide -- 4 ATB Models - This is the fourth post of Bicycling's 1985 Buyers' Guide. This post contains part of the Guide that featured four ATB models. These models are MONGOOSE ATB, BCA Classic, KHS Montana, and TAKARA Highlander. In case...

www.bikeforums.net

This one is obviously looking much better , alone by the style and paint job but also used ITM bar, i would say this is Italian

@Jc24 Have you checked the Bottom bracket already, is this ITA standard?

Therefore I would say a Brooks is no option at all, but the saddle has to be Italian too.

To me, BTW the "unknown bike of the year", it looks so lovely.

 

[grantoury]

Turbo

 

[RetroDavy]

This is lovely.

If it's a frame from somewhere in Asia and there's a frame number you could compare to those here: "Asian Serial Number Guide - Bike Forums" https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/1042901-asian-serial-number-guide.html

Might provide a clue.

 

[Jc24]

There had been some Japanese Highlander Bikes, from Takara, Mid to End of the 80ies.
View attachment 765931
or here are some pics of a 1985 ATB

Road Test/Bike Review (1985) Buyers Guide -- 4 ATB Models - Bike Forums

Classic & Vintage - Road Test/Bike Review (1985) Buyers Guide -- 4 ATB Models - This is the fourth post of Bicycling's 1985 Buyers' Guide. This post contains part of the Guide that featured four ATB models. These models are MONGOOSE ATB, BCA Classic, KHS Montana, and TAKARA Highlander. In case...

www.bikeforums.net

This one is obviously looking much better , alone by the style and paint job but also used ITM bar, i would say this is Italian

@Jc24 Have you checked the Bottom bracket already, is this ITA standard?

Therefore I would say a Brooks is no option at all, but the saddle has to be Italian too.

To me, BTW the "unknown bike of the year", it looks so lovely.

I haven't checked yet the the bottom bracket. Indeed for the bar and the seatpost is Campagnolo.

I live in the south of France, so Italia is very close. It could be a good option

 

[Jc24]

This is lovely.

If it's a frame from somewhere in Asia and there's a frame number you could compare to those here: "Asian Serial Number Guide - Bike Forums" https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/1042901-asian-serial-number-guide.html

Might provide a clue.

No serial number found

 

[raidan73]

Maybe it's unique

 

[joglo]

not sure if someone said it already, the derailleur, which is a Deore MT-60 was only sold in 1987 and 88. If original, this helps already to date the bike.
The a bit hidden Date code of Cranks or Brakes may allow to date this even more precise.
Please find below a good source of date code information

Date of Manufacture of Bicycle Components can be used to date a bike: component dating

The manufacturer's date on a bicycle's components can often be used to determine the date of manufacture of the bike itself. Many bike parts have a date code cast or stamped into the piece. Bicycle component dating

www.vintage-trek.com

 

[Jc24]

I also thought it was 87 and 88. On the Shimano website, they confirm the first Deore groupset was released in 1986.

 

[Jc24]

Btw easy way to differentiate Deore and Deore 2 is the thumb shifters. They had a large black circle on the former version. And the black circle is almost not visible on the later version.