Can't find any sort of serial number stamped anywhere. I am going to strip it down and rebuild it. the downtube shifter cable clamps have 333 on them.
-
3333 is very old Shimano brand name– NoiseAug 16, 2021 at 17:39
-
Can you find any sort of manufacturer name or logo anywhere? The front of the head tube is a common spot for a logo.– Weiwen NgAug 16, 2021 at 19:34
-
There are two small holes on the front that look like a badge was attached but nothing now. I did find a partial serial under the BB- looks like DFxxx81. The middle three digits are all either 0s, 2s, or 8's- i can only see the top curve though.– Skellie HyruleAug 16, 2021 at 21:52
-
Did you look on the underside of the bottom bracket?– Daniel R HicksAug 17, 2021 at 0:14
-
Last picture here: the engraving on the shifter housing clamp looks like Japanese writing, but could just scratches.– CarelAug 17, 2021 at 10:11
|
Show 2 more comments
1 Answer
You may be able to judge the era of the bike by the components and the lugs and either the frame maker or the lug manufacturer will be identifiable to an expert by the lug shape.
I think it's pretty old (50s at latest) but not top end. Looks nice though.
-
It's hard for me to tell which components are original. The front sprockets have sunrace stamped on the chainring bolts. stem says "anai" which i have never heard of. derailleur is a somewhat modern shimano slx i think. Aug 16, 2021 at 18:02
-
@SkellieHyrule "Anai" sounds vaguely Japanese to me (but I'm not familiar with Japanese names or the language). This raises an additional difficulty: if it's a less prominent, non-European or -US manufacturer, nobody may recognize the name, or even what country it's from. And if it's from Japan, you might need a Japanese reader to dig through information if you could find any, say, catalog scans (if someone scanned the catalogs). Also, the auxiliary components are often not made by the frame manufacturer anyway. (And as Joe said, sometimes the lugs aren't made by the builder) Aug 16, 2021 at 19:30
-
1I think it could be quite a bit newer—as new as the 1970s. And I suspect that bottom bracket is newer than the rest of the bike. Perhaps the stem reads "Arai," which made bike parts back in the day (and is a common Japanese name). velobase.com/… Aug 16, 2021 at 19:50
-
aria is definitely the stem. the bb is pretty new- shimano BB-UN55 Aug 16, 2021 at 21:53