Mystery Titanium Frame ? end of Nineties- Expert Help needed

[bduc61]

I just bought a titanium frame apparently from 98/99.

It was with some sunn stickers but after expert advice, it is not a sunn morati frame.
Should also not be

Merlin
Litespeed
Morati
Voodoo

The quality of the welding is high but then who did manufacture that frame ?

Below the bottom bracket, one can read R plus 4 digits (or RI +3 digits)

Any clue from the titanium experts ?

 

[Dhphat]

tst or Sandvik would be my guess.

 

[Mr. Zero]

tst or Sandvik would be my guess.

I would agree that it's most likely a TST built frame. Looks like it may well be a Mongoose or TST direct.

 

[johnkiteman]

Sunn made a titanium version of the exact around that time and those are sunn forks - also cable routing looks right to me

But what would I know

 

[bduc61]

I know but the french Sunn buffs claim it cannot be a Morati, because of the rear. :cry: I wish it were !

And they are pretty knowledgable !

Unless its a proto but I doubt it

 

[Carlos the Slackal]

Those don't look like Sunn graphics that would have fitted with the date of that frame to me.

(Remembers, wistfully, a trip to the factory at Saint Gaudens, lazy afternoons riding on the track out the back with Max and the team.....)

 

[sylvain]

Someone asked me a similar question about a ti frame was it you I can't remember?

the dropouts do look like Sunn/Morati (edit : no they don't!)

do you have a pic of the rear brake boss area? from the first pic it looks like the typical Sunn/Morati build where two different tubes are welded together.

 

[sylvain]

like this:

 

[bduc61]

no more picture for the time being as frame is in the post
But apparently Sunn Morati frames bear a different series of digits on bottom bracket so most probably not a Sunn Morati.

French specialist hinted at Ritchey ?
The R or RI on the bottom bracket would make it "fit"
Do the Ritchey frames generally bear such markings ?
And was Ritchey producing Titanium frames at that period (with which tubing - subcontracted )? :?: