Early Bontrager OR - full first edition XTR

For many, many years, a 1991 Bontrager Race OR has been sleeping in the workshop. Regan has been helping me wake it up and get it to someone who will actually have it out of hibernation. Adrian wants the seatpost and that’s fine, but I want to check out a sale of the complete bike first. It is serial 0020, number on dropout not bb. The useful discussion on here suggests it is a 1991, one of the first few out of the joint KB-Hans workshop after KB stopped building them in his garage. It’s a small, which means around 15 inch and will suit someone 5 foot to 5 foot 7. Since build in 1991 it has only done about 50 miles. Really. Why? I’ve never wanted to use it off-road. Whenever I have reached for it I just say ‘no’ and get out one of the workaday bikes. So time has forgotten it. But my son’s downhill habit has caught up with us, and even though he really doesn’t want me to sell the Bonty, it does need to go.

Deep purple metallic.
Full Xtr inc chain bb etc.
175 cranks.
Onza short bar ends.
Rare Reflex Easton bars.
Rare Interloc Racing Design 400m seatpost
Avocet ti O2 saddle
Control tech stem with ti bolt
Mavic 231 front x517 rear
WTB Velociraptor front - Ritchey Z Max
Xtr cable outerwear throughout
Onza chillpills
Xtr skewers
pace Rc 30 forks instead of Mag 21s.

I’ve taken advice on the price, and although I could get more if I broke it up, I’d rather it was kept together. 2000 gbp excluding pp. PM with any questions.

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Nice bike, do you have any more photos available please? Interested to know whether the head tube is milled and the mono stay is open or not? Just for info, if you ask Keith, he will tell you that the four digit serial numbers have no meaning whatsoever, so don’t pay too much attention to that.

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So is this 50 miles from new? Or 50 miles from when you purchased it?
Do you have more detailed pictures available please?

Re: Very early Bontrager Racelite OR - full first edition XTR

50 miles from new. Then into store.

Re: Very early Bontrager Racelite OR - full first edition XTR

More detailed pictures above now......

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1978 have PM’d you

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Very hard to tell from the pics as they're pretty low resolution...

but that looks more like a 1993 frame than a 1991...

Re: Very early Bontrager Racelite OR - full first edition XTR

Sorry photos are low res - that’s the problem of the file loading system here compared to Pinkbike....can try to get better photos tonight if anyone wants them. When I got the bike in late ‘94 from a woman in the trade it was unused (had been in the basement of the shop since import), and she said it was a ‘91 frame (according to my book of notes). But all info from Bontrager specialists welcome.

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OK work has been a bit mad but in the meantime I have been doing some digging re Bontrager serial numbers and details.

The first runs of frames had much longer serial numbers eg a '90 frame had 320590 and riveted dropouts

There's another one popped up in the 'States this week - 0026 and the owner says he thinks its 1993.

BUT

Thanks to the wonder of the internetI have found another record of a stolen 1993 with the four digit serial pattern at 5020. And that one is a certain date since the owner has the original receipt.

Bearing in mind the volume of sales of OR models this makes mine either 1991 or 1992, depending on exactly when the production shifted from Keith's garage into the workshop with Hans Heim. I think my 0020 and the other one 0026 are part of the first run from the workshop. Mine does not have the 1990 riveted brake guides or the open section of the rear wishbone.

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Very nice looking Bonty there!

For what it's worth I would agree that it's a 1991 frame, the horizontal dropouts are probably the main indicator, as I have seen versions of the same age with both riveted and welded on top tube cable stops. Saying that I have owned two OR frames of the same year and both have had the brazed on top tube stops. Serial numbers have often tended to be a bit all over the shop with older Bontragers, if there are any there at all!

Which leads me onto the next thing... I'm thinking that you have a OR (Race) frame there, rather than a Race Lite. Do you have any close up images of the head tube in particular, minus the headcase?