Help dating a Harry Quinn

hazeyblue · Jul 27, 2012

Thanks to a chance conversation, I've just picked up a lovely Harry Quinn (it was destined to a car-boot sale this weekend).

Nervex lugs.531ST frame. 531 Forks. MA40 wheels. Edco hubs. Stronglight crank, Suntour mechanism.

I'm suspecting mid 80's. There's a serial number on he bottom relating to the Nervex, yet I can't find anything relating to Quinn.

Hoping someone can assist.

Midlife · Jul 27, 2012

Neat looking frame, lugs and style of braze on's would put it in the 70's at the latest. In particular the cable guides for the mechs seem to go over the botom bracket, in the vary late 70's and 80's they went under the bottom bracket. Are the brakes held with nuts or allen bolts?

Might not be a Harry Quinn, the decals are easy to get hold of.

Just noticed the head badge touches the lug, BITD frame builders used to file the lugs to keep them away from the badge, even Carlton filed the Capella lugs to do this.

What's the number on the BB? is it a post code?

Cheers

Shaun

hazeyblue · Jul 27, 2012

Quinn

Thanks Shaun, appreciated.

I guess that's why I asked the question, having read of Quinn's usually having obvious markings...

Pics of BB if it helps.

EDIT: The head and seat tube badges are on the paintwork and the Harry Quinn typeface on the down tube is under the lacquer.

Midlife · Jul 27, 2012

Just added to my post above.

IIRC some BB's came marked for the design and angles. Very neat brazing.

Not sure why, but it looks like a Mercian to me..........

Shaun

hazeyblue · Jul 28, 2012

Thanks again Shaun.

Could it be a Mercian made frame, ordered by Harry?

Whatever it is, it's a beautiful bike, a keeper... it will be cleaned up and left with it's current patina.

TREK · Mar 10, 2014

The photo's look like an HQ, but my guess is that it was most likely built by someone under Harry's guidance.

I have three Quinn's. Two track and one road, Harry definitely built them all.
His signatures were the serial number on the BB. They always began with a QXXXXX

hope this helps,

torqueless · Mar 10, 2014

From what I can see, I reckon that could be '60s-early '70s. Lack of bottle cage braze-ons, fork bend, rear brake-cable routing, Nervex lugs. Alternative locations you might find a serial number- fork steerer, rear dropouts. That number on the bracket is Nervex-related- not a framebuilder's serial number unique to this bike. Are they Campagnolo dropouts? Band-on or braze-on gear levers?

Possibly resprayed by Quinn? Can't see the 531 decals clearly, but they don't look like '60s/early70s ones. Probably came with the respray.

Interesting mix of '70s/80s components, none of them as old as the frame, (if I guessed it's age correctly), except possibly the bottom bracket?

Old Ned · Mar 10, 2014

The 'England' headbadge is a lot younger than the frame as a whole. Doesn't this date to the Frank Clements era in the 80's? The frame definitely looks 60' ish with the over bracket cable guides etc. so it's more than likely a respray. Very unusual for it not to have a Qxxx number on the BB if it is an genuine HQ. I'm also surprised to still see the Nervex codings still on the BB, I would have thought they might well have been filed off.

Robbied196 · Mar 10, 2014

I've seen genuine Quinn's with just 4 digit frame numbers on his early bikes, followed by Q plus 4 digits and then Q plus 5 digits. Then Clements bought Quinn's and sold a mixture of frames badged with Harry Quinn graphics, some good, some not so good.

As torqueless said it would be interesting to know what drop outs are on it. Oddly I have a similar unidentified frame:

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=287759

With Nervex Professional lugs it could well be late 50s through to 70s but unfortunately that makes it very difficult to ID as there were hundreds of builders.

Illaveago · Oct 11, 2023

I posted earlier on a different thread about my Viking Severn Valley Harry Quinn. I have just checked the photo of my frame number and it begins with VQ 5007 QV inverted. I believe it to be a very early version of the Northern Ireland era Vikings from 1977. It has a short frame , I catch my toes in the front wheel if I'm not careful . It has Campagnolo chainset , seat post , hubs pedals and brakes , Mavic handlebars.

Help dating a Harry Quinn

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