No love for Paul Donohue road bikes

[bikeworkshop]

It's a tig- welded 853 steel frame.
Try a magnet if you're not sure.
Flicking with a fingernail also tells you the difference between steel ally and plastic (or "carbon" as it's now known) but you need to recognise the sounds.

I would say this was a factory product from abroad, available from several brands. Italy and maybe hungary(?) were doing this sort of thing - far East production tended not to use 853 so much.

 

[fiveSixteenths]

Look at the welds

I’m looking
What happens now?
; )

 

[fiveSixteenths]

It's a tig- welded 853 steel frame.
Try a magnet if you're not sure.
Flicking with a fingernail also tells you the difference between steel ally and plastic (or "carbon" as it's now known) but you need to recognise the sounds.

I would say this was a factory product from abroad, available from several brands. Italy and maybe hungary(?) were doing this sort of thing - far East production tended not to use 853 so much.

So pretty much impossible to get dates in as there’s no stamps or numbers I can see?

 

[pigman]

So pretty much impossible to get dates in as there’s no stamps or numbers I can see?

If it's a 1 1/8 steerer, I'd err towards early 21st century. Up until then it was pretty much 1" steerers even for threadless

 

[fiveSixteenths]

If it's a 1 1/8 steerer, I'd err towards early 21st century. Up until then it was pretty much 1" steerers even for threadless

Hmm, going to set the verniers on that tonight

 

[bikeworkshop]

If it's a 1 1/8 steerer, I'd err towards early 21st century. Up until then it was pretty much 1" steerers even for threadless

If it's 1&1/8, and with those headtube braze-ons for STIs, pigman's trotter is on the pulse.
If you browse a few early 2000s catalogues looking for 853 race bikes you might find something identical. I think the penultimate Dawes Galaxies were tigged 853 from Czech Republic c2005, similar tube profile, so although the geometry and braze-ons differ, it could be that factory's product.

If it has no frame number, it's probably not uk-built.

 

[fiveSixteenths]

It's 1&1/8, and with those headtube braze-ons for STIs, pigman's trotter is on the pulse.
If you browse a few early 2000s catalogues looking for 853 race bikes you might find something identical. I think the penultimate Dawes Galaxies were tigged 853 from Czech Republic c2005, similar tube profile, so although the geometry and braze-ons differ, it could be that factory's product.

If it has no frame number, it's probably not uk-built.

Now, the outside diameter of the steerer tube is 1” with a Chorus headset that looks like the attached (only mine is shot lol) so maybe pre-ish-2000’s now sounds about right?

 

[bikeworkshop]

Ahead became fairly standard on road bikes around 96, and I'd say 1&1/8 was standard from around 2002... so that's your window.

Frame materials and production jigs affected choice for specific models, some went early, some stayed unchanged for a few years.