I have a bike. What is it? What do i need to fix it?

[bitsandpieces]

I had to post more pics in a reply farther down the replies due to the ten pic limit. I believe the schwinn is dead on. Would the serial number have been on the bottom bracket? I do notice some scrapes or something on the non drive side that you can somewhat make out in the pictures.
If so, i hope theres enough there to make it out. I tried finding a number before i bought it but didnt want to linger all day and someone else grab it to. Here is pictures of how they butchered the crank that was on it when i bought it. The shimano hyperdrive was on it also. They ground into the crank arm to make the hyperdrive clear in the tallest gear. Im sure on of them are not original. The shifters are shimao sti as mentioned below. you guys are awesome! Thank you for the information!





I bought this bike at the flea market. It appears to be a well made aluminum frame. It looks like a cannondale, but also schwinn, raleigh, and a general i found. The cable holders are all riveted in. There is no typical seat clamp or a slot cut into the frame. The clamp is built into the seatpost. The bridge in the bottom of the frame stays right in front of the rear wheel is flat. Ill let pictures explain. Im pretty sure it has a very well done rustoleum paint job on the frame. The fork is original black paint with gold splatter. Ive been searching th net for a month going through pictures and cant find a single bike without the seatclamp like mine.

Problem is, someone had put a shimano hyperdrive front deraileur on it. It doesnt fit. They ground into the crank to make it clear and the cable guide dont seem to be long enough. The cable is rubbing the frame and cutting in. I really like this bike and i refuse to rig stuff up to make it work like they did. There apears to be no serial numbers at all. Im going to strip the paint to see if its under there. I just need to find out how to fix the cable problem before i rebuild it. Sorry for my picture quality . At least they arent cell phone pictures! Thank you for any and all help!
this first pic is the problem area

[jimc101]

The seatpost is most likely a quill type, there have been several posts recently on BF about them.

For the crank / FD, and saying it doesn't fit, is this in relation to the crank, or the seat tube diameter? if the crank, the crank will need changing to a compact (hard to tell what is on there at the moment, is it a road double?); if it is the FD, just replace with the correct size (from the picture it looks to be the correct diameter).

What are you intending to do with this? it looks like quite a nice old (retro) bike, but it is very big (hope your tall) and the angles on it are very steep compared to what is ridden today, so won't handle as well as a modern bike.

[Daspydyr]

That is a good ole classic bike. I'm thinking could be anywhere from 1988 to 1993. Its a 21 speed, so probably more into the 90's unless someone upgraded the gears along the way. The welding is beautiful, someone around here will know something.

[dminor]

The welding is beautiful, someone around here will know something.

That has more the look of fillet-brazing.

[IthaDan]

The seatpost is most likely a quill type, there have been several posts recently on BF about them.

For the crank / FD, and saying it doesn't fit, is this in relation to the crank, or the seat tube diameter? if the crank, the crank will need changing to a compact (hard to tell what is on there at the moment, is it a road double?); if it is the FD, just replace with the correct size (from the picture it looks to be the correct diameter).

What are you intending to do with this? it looks like quite a nice old (retro) bike, but it is very big (hope your tall) and the angles on it are very steep compared to what is ridden today, so won't handle as well as a modern bike.

Crank's a 110bcd triple, you can see the threaded holes for the granny gear in the first pic.

As far as the BB shell being dug into by the cable, a litt piece of either housing or cocktail straw will save the paint.

Very cool bike. Are those old shimano sti? If they are it's from right around 1990.

[roccobike]

Early 90's aluminum usually means a higher end bike. The change to Aluminum was just beginning in the late 80's early 90's. It did become the metal of choice, but not for a few years yet. Bikes like the TREK 7000 and 8000 series and the Nishiki Alien were aluminum and pricey. I'm not sure what Cannondale had back then, but they got into aluminum in a big way before the others did. You might be right, it might be a C'dale. The fork looks like it might be a replacement.
Edit: I think you can scratch Cannondale, at least from 1989 to 1991. C'dale did not use quill seatposts from that era. I think that seatpost is the key to figure out who the manufacturer is. You might want to cross post this over in C&V. Those dudes are amazing at nailing down the manufacturer of some really obscure names.

[IthaDan]

Look at the components, they're 400gs at best. A surprisingly downmarket move given the cost of aluminum back then.

[Daspydyr]

That has more the look of fillet-brazing.

Stinking knowitall! If there are sparks and heat involved, I think its welding.

[Svr]

It's a Schwinn. Don't lose or damage the seatpost, you may never find another.

Also, the s/n looks like it's been removed from the bottom bracket.

I see you've skillfully obscured the view of the front derailleur with the crank arm/pedal, but it appears to be a top pull model. This is a shame, as your frame requires a bottom pull model.

[Svr]

Looks like it's a 1990 MP21:

[dminor]

Stinking knowitall! If there are sparks and heat involved, I think its welding.

Nah, my bad - - maybe it is aluminum. Could have sworn I was seeing rust on the dropouts and a seat tube too thin-walled to be aluminum.

For the record, if a weld is all ground and smoothed, you have no idea any more if it's any good or not. Grinding/sanding covers a multitude of sins. If you look at beautiful TIG welds by a master of the torch, you see there's no need to grind or mask them - - the beads are art in and of themselves.

Edit: I take that back; I looked at Svr's post and the dropouts on the MP21 look like forged affairs so the alum. welds can catch more material. Those dropouts on the mystery bike still look like stamped steel to me. But I don't know the old stuff that well to be sure.

[bitsandpieces]

[bitsandpieces]

Magnets do not stick to it. The frame is thicker than my steel treks and gt. The bars are fat like my aluminum trek also.



The badge was held on by three small screws. All 3 holes in the headtube are threaded and run in a straight line across it.

[Sixty Fiver]

Looks like it's a 1990 MP21:

Think you called it here... it is an early enough model that it does not have a replaceable dropout hangar which is something that took manufacturers a few weeks to figure out and right after the first bike came back with a broken hangar that could be replaced.

It is like... what if Schwinn made an electroforged mountain bike as the smoothed welds are reminiscent of the old Schwinns, but it is of course Aluminium with the welds filled and smoothed out and in this era it would have been of Asian manufacture.