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If anyone knows what this frame is and could help me identify it, I would be most grateful.

Distinctive (or not) details of the frame:

  1. Seat tube top: is concave, curved in.
  2. Rear brake cable routing: brazed-on noodle on the seat tube.
  3. Seat post binder bolt: is behind the seat tube.
  4. Top mounted cable routing: the shifter cables and the rear brake cable are routed along the top of the top tube.
  5. Head tube: the reinforcement rings.
  6. Rear derailleur cable braze guides: are under the seat stay.
  7. Ritchey rear dropouts: incl. flat (vs round) seat stay and chain stay ends & eyelets.

Measurements:

  • Weight (approx.): 1.886 kg
  • Steerer: 1 1/8 inch
  • Seatpost (approx.): 26.6 mm
  • BB (British): 68 mm
  • Dropout spacing: 135 mm
  • Top Tube (approx.): 590 mm (c-c); 615 mm (effective); 28.6 mm (diameter out)
  • Seat Tube (approx.): 435 mm (c-t); 390 mm (c-c); 28.6 mm (diameter out)
  • Head Tube (approx.): 110 mm; 36.5 mm (diameter out)
  • Down Tube (approx.): 32 mm (diameter out)
  • Chainstay (approx.): 420 mm
  • Reach (approx.): 460 mm

Serial Number: B99XXXX (B plus 6 digits)

Other (Ir)Relevancies:

Close matches so far:

  • Many Scott mid-90s models.
  • Biria MX 700, but round seat stay and chain stay ends and 27.2 mm seatpost.

All input appreciated, any ideas or suggestions are most welcome.

Thanks

Frame Identification_SeattubeTop_Noodle_TopMountedCableRouting_Back

Frame_RightSide RearTriangleRearDropout_SeatstayChainstayFlatEnds_Eyelet

RearDropout_SeatstayChainstayFlatEnds_Eyelet_LeftSide

HeadtubeReinforcementRings_TopMountedCableRouting BottomBracketFrameShell

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8
  • There's nothing distinctive about it, other than the dropouts, and perhaps the way the cable guide routes around the seat tube. It does appear to be a decent quality frame -- too bad someone removed all the identifying marks.
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Dec 31, 2017 at 19:52
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    Upvoting for the sheer amount of information presented - that's a well built question. google.co.nz/search?q=ritchey+logo&tbm=isch confirms the rear dropout logo is Ritchey. However they seem to be particularly common. forums.mtbr.com/ritchey-design/… shows dozens of frame builders used Ritchey dropouts in the 90s. Can you go back to whereever you got the frame and get more information that way ?
    – Criggie ♦
    Dec 31, 2017 at 21:15
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    Do you know why there is no paint or finish on it? Did you obtain it in this state?
    – Argenti Apparatus
    Dec 31, 2017 at 22:22
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    @Criggie - Dunno about this frame's vintage, but for earlier frames a "replaceable" hanger (usually stamped steel) was a sign of "cheap". And definitely the frame was designed for fenders: bridges between both sets of stays and fender eyelets on the dropouts. But only one set of eyelets tells us this is probably not a touring bike.
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Dec 31, 2017 at 22:42
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    The seller told me that the previous owner had brought the frame from Germany - that transaction happened years ago and the owner from the past cannot be traced anymore I'm afraid. The only sure thing is that the seller didn't know what he was selling - even the fork (TB P2) the frame came equipped with is worth many times more than I paid for the whole frameset. The frame was repainted when the seller and I got it - pls find the Retrobike link above. I have removed the paint, first from the top and bottom tube, expecting it reveal something from the past, and the rest is sodablasted.
    – P_451
    Dec 31, 2017 at 23:20

3 Answers 3

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2

I owned a Ritchey steel frame from ~1999 and this doesn't look like a Ritchey of that era to me.

  1. The cable stops are welded to the top of the frame. Mine were welded underneath.
  2. There are no lugs on the frame. All the Ritcheys I have seen from that time had lugged frames.

My guess is that the frame was built by someone else using Ritchey dropouts. I would think those unusual looking cable stop clusters might be a clue, but maybe they're more common than I am guessing.

There's more info here that seems to indicate (though not definitively) that the serial number doesn't match the pattern of that time for Ritchey, and that the company was in fact selling parts to other manufacturers.

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1
  • I see that style if cable stop cluster fairly often, and can't (without looking at some bikes) associate it with the quality of the bike.
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Dec 31, 2017 at 22:45
1

I had that kind of frame for a mountain bike back in 1997. Almost the same design with Ritchey stamp name at the drop outs and hub mounts. Except the cable mounts are located at the side of the top tube.

I bought mine with only a thin primer paint and had it custom painted in white.

The bike store where I bought it told me that it was a Ritchey frame and I thought it was.. I think there were two of us who have the same frame configuration but differs in the cable mount. His was on top of the top tube.

Now presently I send a picture to a Ritchey page in instagram and the admin responded that the frame was not a Ritchey design. Instead some of its parts like the Ritchey drop outs and hub mounts with Ritchey stamp were actually sold to other bike manufacturers and frame builders during the 90's that is why there are frames that were not made by Ritchey but has a Ritchey stamped drop outs.

This might explain your mystery frame..this probably is an original generic bicycle frame of that era. BTW the "diamond back" decals was just put there to have at least a brand name as much as i wanted it to be branded as a Ritchey bike but there was no available decals for a Ritchey frame that time, and diamond back bikes were popular then.

enter image description here

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-1

There appears to be a "Ritchey" name tag and emblem on the rear drop outs. While Ritchey currently sells components to a variety of manufactures I can't find any information on when they started doing this. I would assume that a frame this old with Ritchey components was sold as a Ritchey complete bicycle. Identifying the actual model may be impossible as many time the frames were used in different models with the drive train components being the main difference.

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1
  • Ritchey has sold dropouts to other manufacturers for a long time.
    – Noah Sutherland
    Jul 30, 2020 at 22:53

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