What is it ? Stainless steel frame !

[hamster]

It's puzzling - look at the rear dropouts...I guess that they are silver brazed as there is no trace of brass. What surprises me is that there isn't even a hint of rusting on the dropouts, which you would expect if the wheel had been in and out a few times.

Mind, it looks like it's been barely ridden!

 

[mikee]

some stainless is magnetic ,but you wouldn't want a bike made out of it
it looks a nice bike what you gonna do with it m8?

 

[mechagouki]

I should have mentioned previously that stainless steel, whilst corrosion resistant can still rust. Depending on the alloy in question if enough moisture is present, not to mention corrosives like salt, rust will occur.More common is a black discoloration caused by the chromium in the alloy oxidizing.

 

[Andy R]

Thanks for the replies so far, it is magnetic, but then I thought only certain types of stainless weren't.

Martensitic (400 series) and Ferritic stainless steels are magnetic to some extent, Austenitic stainless (304, 316 etc) are not magnetic and are also the most corrosion resistant.

 

[mechagouki]

I just noticed the dropouts are Ritcheys - don't think they ever made stainless steel dropouts - no demand for them. S-steel bikes I've seen seem to mainly have CNC dropouts. It's not a Marin though - cable routing is all wrong. Parkpre? (wild guess not based in any real knowledge - seem to remember they madel nickel-plate bikes)

 

[kanerdog1x1]

some stainless isnt naturally magnetic, but some cheap stainless steels are a bit magnetic, and it is fairly corrosion resistant, unless you put it in close proximity to other ferrous metals for example, if you put a stainless screw into a steel frame the threads may start to rust, or if you fit a stainless screw with a normal allen key the head may rust. also stainless inst a very good material to make bike frames out of, it fatigues too quickly through work hardening.

tbh, that frame looks nickel coated and then brushed, remember pace rc30 forks? very corrosion resistant as long as they are kept fairly clean.

 

[Piotr]

This is not stainles steel, this is only frame cr-mo

 

[sinnett177]

Marin is what i suspect but could be a mid nineties alpinestars also. They used conventional designs and Ritchey dropouts from 1993.

 

[Neil]

Marin - about 1995 maybe?

I know they could have been replaced with older ones, but the quick release skewers look older than 95 - my 91 bike has skewers like that, my 95 bike has more modern ones.

I think the 94 Axis had this kind of colouring to the frame, but the UK spec bike had a True Temper TT-Lite frameset (cromo). I think there was a US model around that time that might have had Ritchey tubing?

 

[pete_mcc]

It's a nickel plated Fuji frame from either Merlin, Heffs cycles or any number of other shops that bought frames from the far east and stckered them themselves in the late 90s. We sold hundreds of them as they cashed in on the Ti fad without costing the earth. They cost about £150-200. Chief giveaways that it's not 953 or stainless are the ritchey dropouts and the rack/mudguard mounts, also the fact that it has canti hanger.

It's not a Marin as it has the wrong dropouts for a marin (they are not afterburner types)