Fillet brazed off road adventure bike of unknown origin.

[Tsundere]

Spent the morning examining pictures of Pioneers. There's a split between things that point towards this being one, and things that point away.

For
-General geometry
-Fillet brazed
-BB cluster
-Seat cluster
-Fork shape
-Rear canti cable stop
Some of these are pretty weak indicators that are in no way conclusive.

Against
- Square brake bosses (Almost all the ones I've seen are the round variety. There are exceptions on early Powell bikes, including my 1989 700c conversion, but those were added later)
- Seat stays level with the top tube (Every other Pioneer I've seen has the seat stays join the seat tube well above the top tube, it's a signature feature of that model)
These seem like quite strong indicators.

It's hard to be certain either way, but my initial feeling is that while it could be an Overbury's bike, it isn't a 'Pioneer'. More likely it's a custom bike with many Pioneer inspired touches.

 

[doctor-bond]

I like that - braze-ons galore. My money is on Lee Cooper/Orbit: sleeved seat tube cluster and forward facing clamp. It does looks a bit Robertsy but maybe the fillet filing doesn’t quite fit?

 

[retrobate]

I like that - braze-ons galore. My money is on Lee Cooper/Orbit: sleeved seat tube cluster and forward facing clamp. It does looks a bit Robertsy but maybe the fillet filing doesn’t quite fit?

Lee Cooper for me too. People tell stories about frames from the midlands being delivered to Overburys, no one has said so but I have always been under the impression that Lee Cooper was the mystery builder.

 

[raidan73]

Seems like an odd choice of Hite Rite braze on. Most I've seen are quite a narrow tab, so the Hite Rite can site pretty much central on the back of the post. Could it be for something else?

 

[retrobikeguy]

It does share some similarities with the Lee cooper frames, top mounted double bottle mounts and crud catcher mounts. It could be a custom made frameset by him for another bike shop like the Webster tarantula for example.

 

[Tsundere]

I wonder if Mr Cooper is still contactable?

Edit - Found an old email address and sent some pics with a polite message, you never know.

 

[Rod_Saetan]

Seems like an odd choice of Hite Rite braze on. Most I've seen are quite a narrow tab, so the Hite Rite can site pretty much central on the back of the post. Could it be for something else?

Its not quite right, is it, the other option would be for a rack, but the frame isn’t that small, and it already has eyelets at the top of the seatstays!

 

[retrobikeguy]

If it's old school, maybe it's just for a dynamo lighting system, an attachment area for a rear lamp so visibility is not restricted by panniers?

 

[Tsundere]

Seems like an odd choice of Hite Rite braze on. Most I've seen are quite a narrow tab, so the Hite Rite can site pretty much central on the back of the post. Could it be for something else?

Its not quite right, is it, the other option would be for a rack, but the frame isn’t that small, and it already has eyelets at the top of the seatstays!

Surely Hite Rites are designed to affix to any rear facing seat tube clamp fitting, and this braze on seems to match the dimensions of the original seat tube fitting.



Perhaps the more elegant slim fitting was something that came later, and recreating the seat clamp fitting was the more obvious solution at that time.

 

[raidan73]

Surely Hite Rites are designed to affix to any standard rear facing seat tube clamp fitting, and this braze on seems to match the dimensions of the original seat tube fitting.

Oh it will absolutely work; it's just a bit of overkill for a dedicated Hite Rite braze on. I wonder if RBG is on to something with his suggestion