FRAME & FORK SET VINTAGE CLUES

For the most part, studying a bicycle frame set's characteristics, can help in determining a bicycle's vintage. However, using those characteristics can be horribly misleading. In other words, this article will act as a guide, rather than a map, revealing land marks, rather than sign posts. You might not find the correct house, but you will at least end up in the right neighbourhood.

Let's assume, for the moment, that cutting edge Velo technology is reserved for top of the line, or close to it, models. And, let's also assume that, sooner or later, the top end technology will trickle down to lesser steeds. Assuming that to be true, one must understand that the trickle down system, spans both years and, often times, decades.

With decades in mind, consider vintage road bicycles from the fifties, sixties, seventies and eighties. Though the bikes all look much the same, as they blend through the years, there are distinct frame characteristic differences that suggest age. Remember, the clues offered by the frame set, with respect to its vintage, are only clues and not perfect indicators of exactly how old any bicycle might be.

What frame and fork set characteristics fall under the microscope? Tube set? Lug type? Drop-out type? Geometry? Cosmetics? Serial number? Frame material? Drop-out spacing (front and back)? Color combinations? Art work? Fork crown style? Fasten technology? There are many things to consider, when seeking to understand the detail, inherent in every vintage road bicycle frame and fork set.

SERIAL NUMBERS

As the interest in vintage road bicycles grows, serial number data bases grow too. In other words, though not all bicycles are represented with an on line serial number data base, some are. Raleigh, is the first that comes to mind but others are available. Execute an online search for Raleigh serial numbers and see what happens! Or Nishiki, or Holdsworth, or what ever. What one seeks might already be offered.

Do not get too excited about serial numbers. Some serial number information can be misleading. Peugeots from France, for example, cannot demonstrate what is and what is not, this year or that. Similar situations will continue to prevail, for some time, as the open community adds information to the vintage bicycle interest, such as this article is attempting to do right now.

None the less, if you do stumble across a data base of serial numbers and corresponding information, then chances are you will know when the bike was built, in what month and, perhaps even where made. For example, some Raleighs were built in the Carlton factory in Worksop England. That would be an important clue to have on hand, assuming one knows a bit about the Carlton factory, and its interaction with Raleigh.

TUBING TYPE?

Virtually every vintage road bicycle frame set is made out of pipe or tubing, be the material of choice either steel or aluminum. In all fairness, some might argue that early carbon fibre frame sets might qualify as vintage. Regardless, the older a bicycle is, the more likely it will be made from some form of steel, be it straight gauge steel, high tensile steel or some alloy offering great strength and light weight.

So, most bicycles, from the beginning of time, right through to the early eighties, will be made of some form of steel pipe or tubing. If there is still a decal or sticker, indicating tubing make and/or type, simply do a search, on the net, for that tubing. For example searching for some information on Reynolds tubing, one of the two grails of vintage road bicycle tube sets, produces a very useful vintage determination page - Classic Rendezvous offers a Reynolds decal page. You can do the same for Columbus, Ishiwata, or what ever. In most instances, some information will present itself, if you search diligently.

It is entirely possible that the actual decal will be hard to find, and/or identify. Often times, the tubing decal would have been installed right where the rider would carry his/her tire pump. In so doing, of course, the decal would often be scuffed up, sometimes to the point of being gone all together.

Or, how about the period tubing decal in another language? That's right, not everyone speaks Canadian - eh. The point is, observe what you can, if you can, then do a search and compare. You just might get pretty close to the target.

Of course, if you search for information on other tubing types, it is quite possible that no results will present themselves, hence a dead end. But fear not..

FRAME/FORK SET DETAILS

Frame set details, things that cannot be changed without great difficulty, will help to narrow down vintage, much of the time. For simplicity's sake, understand that the rules offered are general, apply to most situations but can prove to be misleading. So, do not think the following examples are cast in stone.

Braze-ons are frame features that assist in attaching various components (front derailleur, shifters, transmission cable guides, water bottle mounts) to the bicycle frame set. Older machines, generally, will have fewer braze-ons.

Braze-on style, and even location, tended to change over the years. For example, derailleur cable guides, first clamp-ons and then braze-ons, were located on top of the bottom bracket. Later bikes saw, and continued to see, them attached underneath but an inherent problem prevailed with either design - wear. The cable, rubbing on the braze-on would result in wear, and wear eventually right through the braze-on. The final cable guide location was underneath, in braze-on like form, but protected with nylon lining.

Shifters were traditionally clamp-on units. Old School technology, at its best. However, technology changed, and so did the securing of the shift levers. Down tube braze-ons began appearing in the very late seventies and took over in the eighties. These features would work with down tube shifters, stem shifters and even the modern Brifter system.

Rear brake cable guides changed in style and location in much the same fashion. Each style or location change focusing on improved performance, or durability or both. With the coming of the eighties, the most common location and style of rear brake cable guide was on the top of the top tube and full casing style.

And so it goes with many frame set features. Clues that help to ball park a frame set's age. Sometimes pretty close and sometimes not. Though not GPS perfect, they will help one get a feel for probable era of manufacture. Following is a list, if you will, of common frame set features that can all be considered when attempting to define vintage of a bicycle.

COMMON FRAME SET CHARACTERISTICS

Though there are many features to consider on a vintage frame set, few will point directly to specific year of manufacture. With the exception of bicycle serial numbers, there are few opportunities to otherwise pin-point exact vintage. That said, once the general clues are learned, it does become easier to quickly recognize an old bicycle from a newer one, and with a fair degree of accuracy. And, with practice, the skill will become refined, allowing for increasingly accurate guesses. And that is still all the end conclusions will be - the results of guesses.

But there is a way to supplement, and perhaps refine, what the frame set's characteristics suggest.