bigwoo

I'm pretty stumped on this one...My good friend Zach was told that it was an English bike from the 1950's when he picked it up, but the serial # is not like any Raleigh that I've ever heard of. It is stamped on the BB and is simply : "M1994"

Unfortunately, the frame is about the only original thing left which makes it very hard for me to get a feel for this bike as the components span several era's....

I told him that if anybody could nail the identity, it would be you guys....Sorry, these are all I have for photos right now.

Any thoughts folks?

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SingeDebile

those pictures are a start but they really dont tell you us much information, we need sharp close-ups of the dropouts, bottom bracket etc...

bigwoo

Ya', I hear what you are saying. I'm hoping that Zach can get some more photos to me, which I can then post.

On the other hand, I know we have some real track bike afficianado's and Raleigh serial # experts, so I'm wondering if somebody will be able to look at that wrap-around seatstay treatment and the (unusual ?) rear bridge and say "Definitely is/is not a Raleigh/Carlton/etc..." "Looks English/French/Other...." "That serial # is....."

Personally, I think that it's tough w/o the orig fork, wheels and components, but I'm a big dumb dufus....

cudak888 

Closeups of the dropouts, rear brake bridge, head lugs, and seat lug would help.

P.S.: That is bare steel, correct?

-Kurt

unworthy1

I'd say: the longish wheelbase/rear triangle combined with what looks like wrap-over seatstays and the arched rear bridge (drilled?) point toward a British frame, maybe a Path/Road sort of bike. But the fork crown (seems like track-specific: no brake, tight clearance) might indicate a newer replacement fork.
Need better pics for better guesses.

bigwoo

Thanks Unworthy, Kurt, and SD,

Yep, bare steel frame and literally the only orig thing left is the frame, unfortunate......That fork is a replacement for sure....I emailed my buddy to ask him for more photos.

Keep the good observations and thoughts coming though

Charles Wahl

Does the head tube have holes for a headbadge? If so, that's a decent clue.

bigwoo

Charles,
I believe that he told me there are 2 vertical holes. That means that it cannot be a Raleigh Heron badge because those used 3 rivets right?? (Why do people steal head badges...Jerks!)

unterhausen

Guilty as charged. I buy them when I see them at flea markets. There is a market for them. I'm thinking they are stripped by dealers, not stolen. This bike had its paint stripped, badge was probably lost then.

Charles Wahl

More likely someone got lazy when they resprayed it. Vertical holes could be a Falcon if spacing is about 57.5 mm. But two vertical holes is quite common, too.

treebound 

I tried an edit/crop/zoom on the side pic and it appears to have track dropouts on the back.
Can't tell if the rear bridge is drilled or not.
There was some recent discussion about wrapover seatstays, I don't recall which thread it was in though.

Here's my feeble attempt at a pic edit which will probably just muddy the waters. With the wheelbase it looks like it would/could be a "comfortable" ride on a bumpy track, maybe not old board track comfortable though.

Charles Wahl

Falcon did make track bikes, but so did a lot of people who used wrapover seat stays.