What did I buy / is this anything?

[K_50]

I just bought this mid 90's looking, rather chunky aluminium bike to use as a bad weather commuter. I mainly got it because it was cheap, and came with some decent parts - LX drivetrain, Onza brakes with Avid SD2 levers, Shimano Parallax hubs/Bontrager Maverick rims. But I thought it would be fun to know what brand the frame/fork is, if it is anything.
Anyone got an idea?




Square stays

 

[jaypee]

Re:

Those forks are really unusual. I'd be a bit wary of them tbh (assuming they're aluminium which they appear to be). Most early 90s ali frames had steel forks because ali can fail which is obviously catastrophic on a fork. And after 25-30 years of metal fatigue...

The bike itself looks nice but I've no idea what it is

 

[M-Power]

Re:

Intriguing...looks like 7000 series Alu and very nicely Taiwan ? welded. Classic geometry which looks 93ish era. Good point about the Alu forks and risks of sudden failure. The forks look sturdy though.

 

[Jakob]

Does it say “Cykelkubben” on the seattube?

 

[K_50]

Those forks are really unusual. I'd be a bit wary of them tbh (assuming they're aluminium which they appear to be). Most early 90s ali frames had steel forks because ali can fail which is obviously catastrophic on a fork. And after 25-30 years of metal fatigue...

The bike itself looks nice but I've no idea what it is

I'm not too worried about the fork, as I will only be using the bike for commuting in the city - no rough terrain here. But I will still give it a more through look over, when I get around to cleaning the bike up, adjusting the gears etc.

Intriguing...looks like 7000 series Alu and very nicely Taiwan ? welded. Classic geometry which looks 93ish era. Good point about the Alu forks and risks of sudden failure. The forks look sturdy though.

The welds do look very nice (at least to my untrained eyes), which is what put me on to the thought that it might be something. But even if it isn't, it's still a nice bike at a nice price. And with a bit of maintenance, and maybe a new set of tyres, I think it's going to ride very well.

Does it say “Cykelkubben” on the seattube?

It says Rask Cykler. When I saw the add, it did remind me of some of the bikes I used to see in Cykelklubbens windows as a kid (they had those full length fenders on everything, even the nice Marins), or maybe a Jensen.
Perhaps Rask did the same thing with importing off-brand framesets, and building "custom" bikes...

 

[ishaw]

Re:

Kind of reminds me of this a bit:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=395291

I know it's not the same, but I had one and some of the features, welding and I think the fork (is it 1 1/4) are ringing bells.

Ok, so not like my old frame. Darned memory: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=362286&hilit=Rudy

 

[K_50]

That Verlicchi frame was actually for sale very close to me, and for a reasonable price, being that it was nos. If it hadn't been for the 1 1/4" head tube I would have bought it as soon as I saw it, just because polished aluminium + purple = secksy.

 

[wesmamyke]

I have a Research Dynamics frame that is very similar in some ways. Especially the rear stays and the smooth transition to the drop outs.

 

[K_50]

I have a Research Dynamics frame that is very similar in some ways. Especially the rear stays and the smooth transition to the drop outs.

I think you're on to something there. I just googled Research Dynamics, and found a frame that looks identical to mine, right down to the placement of the holes for mounting fenders.
Thanks