pioneer no.3 or is it?

pwebb

Retro Guru
starting a build thread for this curiosity:
I bought this frame from a forum member before xmas in Somerset - who in turn bought it from another forum member , I decided to build this one up as a restomod and went for a loud colour atypical of Overbury's bikes - its now back from being dipped and powder coated and is looking pretty neat.
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I am puzzled by this one - it has v-brake style cable routing, no canti bridge and routing for top pull front mech - all of which are not your typical Pioneer build - I have 2 others and have compared closely... ...The fillet brazed parts look exactly like my other pioneers as does the BB shell and the dropouts - very puzzling, its possible this was a one off experiment but I have not seen a Pioneer later than 1992 and V brakes came on the scene in 1996.

IMG_20250116_222851047_HDR_cr.jpg IMG_20250116_222901674_HDR_cr.jpg
(fwiw the fork is from another source - I just had the 2 powder coated at the same time and it looks simialr to the unicrown forks of early 90s)

back to the frame - I guess the triple cable stops could have been added later but that doesnt explain the lack of a canti bridge. Or it could be something else altogether - but the closeness to the Pioneer in so many ways is baffling - right down to the shaping of the top of the seat tube and the lugs on the BB shell, plus derailleur hanger are all standard Pioneer.

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From the weight and the gauge of the tubes it appears to be a mix of reynolds and columbus - which is not unusual for a Pioneer, it also has all the other trademark Overbury's traits like 1" Head tube and seat tube is similarly thin , not at all like a mid 90s bike that would almost certainly be 1 1/8 head tube and thicker seat tube too.

I am not overly bothered it will build into something nice - I have some NOS XT hubs and rims and will add a 1x9 drivetrain - once I assemble the requisite parts. More anon
 
Hiding an interesting past maybe? Is there a serial number under the bottom bracket?
 
no serial on the BB, but I have had 4 Overburys bikes without serial numbers and 1 of them I picked up new from the shop , so I know that Mr Powell was so under the cosh from Enid, he never had the time for such frivolities ;-) I do agree this could have had an interesting past, e.g. part built frame, discarded and then retrospectively had 'modern' cable routing applied.
 
Candy red
Is it candy over silver?
"Candy red"yes it's a two coat process iirc, I know it doesn't need a clear layer on top. Some of the candy colours can look a bit 'fairground' in the wrong setting, I have tried candy purple, candy green as well, they aren't too OTT on quality frames, but I wouldn't do my car wheels or a wheelchair with any of those !
 
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