Identify a bike. Looks like salsa ala carte. HELP

[norton]

Hello,

I've purchased a bike 2 weeks ago and during the last week I've tried to identify. It comes with '99 xtr and 99 (2000?) manitou sx carbon forks. It has salsa/merlin handlebar (titanium I guess) and salsa seat tube QR.

The frame has re-painted without any stickers so it is a bit difficult to identify it. It has Ritchey drops. I have the '95 and '99 salsa catalogues but I think mine is an early/mid '90.

I measured the frame:
seat tube: 18.5
head tube: 95-100 mm
top tube: 570 mm (real), 585 mm (effective)
seat tube: 460-465 mm
chain stay: 425 mm

Can it be a Salsa Ala Carte? What year? The serial number is H6K02686.

Pix: http://picasaweb.google.hu/norbert.petr ... aAlaCarte#

Many Thanks,
Norbert

 

[suburbanreuben]

I'm certainly no expert on Salsas, but from my memory, the seatstay/seat tube joint doesn't look right for an A la Carte. A'la Cartes , if I'm right, used semi wrap around seat stays and the head tube had a machined collar.
I might very well be wrong though.
Cheers, Nick

 

[andrewl]

Serial number isn't A la Carte and from early 90s onwards the seat post clamp is a seperate colar variety.

 

[pete_mcc]

Hi Nobert,

The drop outs and chainstay/seatstay ends aren't right for an early salsa, should look like this:

note the open ends rather than the closed ones on yours. Yours looks to be using a 1 1/8" headtube, when all early ones had 1"

The seat collar is also wrong in my eyes, it would most likely be a full collar:

if not it should at least have a stepped seat-tube like this one:

Finally there doesn't appear to be any headtube gussets, and the frame number is wrong.

Hope this helps

 

[norton]

Thanks for the help all of you!

Then what can it be?

I've excluded: cannondale, gt, jamis, kona, marin, rocky mountain, salsa, scott, specialized, trek

 

[theboy]

if not it should at least have a stepped seat-tube like this one:

Finally there doesn't appear to be any headtube gussets, and the frame number is wrong.

Hope this helps

Now that is a bloody nice bike!

 

[mvd1974]

I'm not familiar with Salsa, but looking at the pic's I also would say it isn't a Salsa. I can't tell you what it might be...

There are some notable things on the frame though: The kind-of typical chainstay and seatstay ends with the bullit rounding and the bulged out seat tube at the bottom bracket.

Maybe you can have a look around on this page and find out what it might be:
http://www.mtb-kataloge.de/

...keeps me busy now :? the bullit like chainstay ends look familiar.. I let you know when something pops to mind.

 

[norton]

Yes, it can be identify by these specific signs. I went through all these catalogues but I could not find. I try it again. It came from Austria, probably it helps. It looks like a salsa ala carte, or ht scout, or spec s-works steel but I've excluded all of these...

 

[Anthony]

I've no idea what it is, but I would say that the serial number indicates that it was built at the Giant works in Hodaka in 1996. Many manufacturers have their frames built in Hodaka. I have a 1996 Kona Explosif whose serial number is H6A3 2264, which is very much the same format as yours. I don't know what the digits after H6 mean, I understand they were only for control purposes within the factory.

Other things about the frame suggest a date around 96. For example, there is no canti bridge, but there is a cable stop. Also the frame looks comfortable with the Manitou - the bottom bracket height appears to be not much more than 30cm, even unsagged, which suggests that the frame was designed for a fork of somewhere near the length of that one (c44cm?) If it was an early 90s frame, the bb height would be much greater.

I guess the weight of the frame would give you some guide as to the quality of what you have there. It looks as though the top tube is fatter than the seat tube though, so maybe it isn't designed as an ultra lightweight.

 

[norton]

Thanks for your post. Hodaka 1996 story can be true; I got the same info from other source. Manitou is 430 mm (I guess, I’ve sold it in the meantime). It seems it fits a short travel 50-63 mm forks. I couldn’t measure bb height as it will be repainted to white.

Weight is 4.4 lbs (2030g), main tubes are double butted and the wall thickness in the middle is really low. Seat and chain stays are straight, no s-bend.