Date of a Salsa A La Carte frame?

[Tallpaul]

Sorry, no pic so best guess based on this description please:

- 853 Tubing
- Handbuilt in US
- Downtube gusset
- Canti studs, no disc mounts
- It might be a 1" headtube

Cheers.

 

[pete_mcc]

853 was introduced in 1995 so any time after that and before the take over in 1997

 

[Tallpaul]

853 was introduced in 1995 so any time after that and before the take over in 1997

Really, that early with a downtube gusset?

I thought steel frame builders introduced these to cope with longer travel forks, so i'd have put it later than 1997. But does this mean it was far east built?

Does 853 define a specific period for the ala Carte? They certainly aren't made from it anymore, and as stated it wasn't around before 95/96.

 

[pete_mcc]

Gussets were a very old thing, Keith Bontrager was putting them on all his bikes for years (and certainly before 1995), Doug Bradbury was using them in the 80s and Cunningham before him.

Looks like I was wrong though, while the company was bought in 1997 the factory closed in 1999 and production moved, so it could be between 1995 and 99. Need to know what that headset size is though, wold have thought 1 1/8" if it's modern 853?

 

[Ransetsu]

salsa

the frame number usually gives it away ...... or it did ...... bit like Fat Chance if i remember correctly .....

 

[Tallpaul]

I think it's somewhere in the region of 1999 - 2001. Thanks chaps.

 

[Anthony]

Funnily enough Paul, this one (which I take it is too small for you anyway) is made of 853, is claimed to be US-built, does have disc mounts, but doesn't appear to have gussets.

Which seems to imply that they used gussets before they fitted disc mounts, then they stopped the gussets and started fitting disc mounts, then they went back to gussets again.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Salsa-Ala-Carte-A ... .m14.l1318

The big question - are gussets retro?

 

[Tallpaul]

That one might have a gusset (but isn't the frame to which i was referring), the gusseting on the frame to which i refer is a very thin additional layer of steel beneath the downtube rather than anything substantial.

I don't think that whether gusseting is retro is a big question, i hardly think it's a question at all.