The case of Mystery polished aluminium bicycle frame

Mikey08 · Jul 31, 2020

Hi all.

Ive had this frame for a while and so far I have failed to identify it. I had posted this a few months ago in the old "how much is my xyz" thread which got shut down.

I've ruled out Orange, Marin, and Merlin (the British Merlin). Found images of a early Scott that looks similar. As does Parkpre....

Its from early to mid 90's. Came with a selection of STX parts - Mechs, Headset, and Exage hubs.

velomaniac · Jul 31, 2020

Re:

Maybe a Muddyfox or a Scott, both have similar dropouts. I had a Muddyfox Alu Pro that had been stripped of paint and polished that was similar to that.

Mikey08 · Jul 31, 2020

I had seen one of these and it looks identical

Scott Superamerican https://fotos.mtb-news.de/p/1358583?in=set

And it came with some purple parts on it..

captaincowelly · Jul 31, 2020

Re:

Headtube is different,also the rear dropout rack mounts.Tricky one.

Tootyred · Aug 1, 2020

Merlin malt?

FluffyChicken · Aug 1, 2020

Re:

what's the frame number as a starting point.

marc two tone · Aug 1, 2020

Re:

Mikey, see my other post on sizing thread.

Seeing this, I dont think it's an alu dot max either. Mech dropout wrong, for that year anyway. I'm no parkpre conoiseur.

Just to boil your head further....

My very first post on here was seeking I.d on an alu frame, naive to believe it was a marin team issue...many wrongs were found, including frame material..not a marin.

Anyhow. Many years on I went to a jumble and saw a bike with same decals on top tube.
Ta daaaaa! Claude butler (aluminium series) a mystery solved 7 years later.

Many alu frames were decal'd up by whoever wanted them whole sale. Mass production.
Some alu frames can be pigeon holed to a brand with certain features. However some slip that net meaning it can be whatever you want it to be.

Keep me updated.
Cheers.

Mikey08 · Aug 1, 2020

Re: Re:

captaincowelly":2qmte75f said:
Headtube is different,also the rear dropout rack mounts.Tricky one.

Good shout missed that :facepalm:

Mikey08 · Aug 1, 2020

Tootyred":17jc8igx said:
Merlin malt?

I'd thought that before. It looks very similar so I emailed the frame number to Merlin uk and they go back to me saying it wasn't one of theirs.

Mikey08 · Aug 1, 2020

Re: Re:

marc two tone":2705t3do said:
Mikey, see my other post on sizing thread.

Seeing this, I dont think it's an alu dot max either. Mech dropout wrong, for that year anyway. I'm no parkpre conoiseur.

Just to boil your head further....

My very first post on here was seeking I.d on an alu frame, naive to believe it was a marin team issue...many wrongs were found, including frame material..not a marin.

Anyhow. Many years on I went to a jumble and saw a bike with same decals on top tube.
Ta daaaaa! Claude butler (aluminium series) a mystery solved 7 years later.

Many alu frames were decal'd up by whoever wanted them whole sale. Mass production.
Some alu frames can be pigeon holed to a brand with certain features. However some slip that net meaning it can be whatever you want it to be.

Keep me updated.
Cheers.

Cheers mate.

It looks to me like a lot of these very similar frames were made by the same frame builder out in Taiwan. The builders name is stamped on the steerer tube!

The case of Mystery polished aluminium bicycle frame

Mikey08

Attachments

velomaniac

Mikey08

captaincowelly

Senior Retro Guru

Tootyred

Old School Grand Master

FluffyChicken

marc two tone

Mikey08

Mikey08

Mikey08

Similar threads

Latest posts