identify this clockwork model year and should i repaint?

basically i have a dilemma, it started when i got this frame . . . i found it on a pile of junk at the dump about 3 years ago. recognised it straight away as a clockwork coz it was purple and orange and still had the decals on it.

so i nabbed it and thought i'll restore it . . . ish. the idea at the time was just to realign it and get it repainted. then just rebuild it, with whatever was about just for hacking to work in the winter.

of course me being me i couldn't help myself,so i paid argos to repaint it, and i had a thing for green at the time so asked for a bright green with glitter (yes glitter! i'm not gay or owt!) unfortunately the green is a little bit "pea green" and i was expecting kawazaki green if you know what i mean.

cut to a year later when i'm at SSMM '07 and what do i see? retrobike.co.uk!!!

seeing all the older bikes in mint condition made me think why didn't i get it painted original? what a knob! and i have been fighting the urge to get it done for a while!

but if i'm gonna go original i want it right! so! i have been told it originally it was a '91, then i saw a purple/orange clockwork on here a while back (think it was posted by bikeshopowner) saying it was a '93!

so! what year was it?!! '91, '92, or '93

i'm gonna post a bunch of pictures as it is now, in green and show the more obvious bits of the frame for identification.

also i now have most of a dx groupset for it:-

dx hubs NOS
dx thumbies NOS
dx rear mech NOS
dx brake levers NOS
dx cranks NOS
dx brakes used but ok
xt headset NOS

also i have the choice of mag 20's but 1" ahead or threaded rigid forks with the girvin flexstem, the rest of the bits i will get over time, correct year seatpost and handle bar etc.

so, i need year id and should i get rid of the green, if it makes any difference i would use bob jackson should i decide to respray because his job would be better suited to the style of bike that this is, argos are good but they told me before they wouldn't beable to do it original as i want.

also if anyone has a good pic of a clockwork in purple/orange i'd love to see it!

i could go orange/white but as beautiful as they are i feel they are the for want of a better word common, sorry no offence meant, i think they look great but it's the one that everyone does, and i have the '07 clockwork in orange/white aswel!

hope you guys can help!

here are some pics

more pics!

Hi, the frame colour looked good, to be honest I wouldnt have it done in another colour as you will be better off saving the cash by sticking that colour.

If you hate the colour that much, then go for either black or white.

Good luck

see, it's not that i can't live with the green but it isn't really what i had in mind when it was done, should i leave it or paint it original? that's the question.

i wouldn't do it black or white, white has been done to death this year, not that i don't like it, my st4 is all white but i had a black faze a while ago and don't want to go back.

sorry, I think you should leave it, at the end of the day, it's your choice as you are the owner of the bike....it's looked fine to me.

looks good to me too, I have one of the common as muck orange/white ones and it is nice to see something different (you could fo a white fade if you want to tinker?).

Try looking at the frame number under the bottom bracket, mine is a 91 and this was confirmed by the frame number- yours looks very like mine it has to be said. Love the flexistem BTW

I would'nt say that's a 91, going by the lack of a chainstay bridge and the length of the headtube (i'm assuming it's a 17"), probably a 92 ?

I'm far from an expert though

Notice you have a bit of cable outer at the front mech cable guide on the bottom bracket, is that necessary on these ?, i did'nt fit that to mine when i put it together

thanks for the comments guys,

it's a 19" and the little tube on the cable at the b/b isn't needed but i put it on so it wouldn't wear the paint as much, it's the plastic tube from the inside of a v brake noodle, it had grease in it aswel so runs really smooth.

you guys are saying you like the green,wish you could see it, the glitter makes it look good and sparkly and the flou lights above with the flash aswell make it look brighter than it is in the pics but in the flash in natural light it looks like mushy pea green.

purple.

I would avoid the orange/purple fade... I personally think it was the worst colour scheme ever dreamed up by Orange.. if you want something different, how about the silver/turquoise fade like this?