Originally Posted by
T-Mar
I've seen a couple of these in the past. The samples I've seen were outfitted with the Rapidfire version of Shimano Deore XT, which placed them no earlier than 1990. It's interesting to note how the rear derailleur cable is routed along the top tube and down the seat stay, yet the front derailleur cable still routes on the down tube. Shimano brought out their top pull front derailleurs for the 1992 model year, so it should be pre-1992. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to collect any serial numbers, so I don't know who may have manufactured them.
It's also worth noting that the fork decal on all the samples I've seen, including yours, use the standard Tange CrMo fork decal, indicating that at least the fork is not Prestige. Given that, there's a good chance that the stays are also a standard CrMo and that only the main tubes are Prestige.
Thanks for the info. I did see that the fork was standard, however I do think the stays are Prestige. There was some uneven sag or bend to the seatstays. I addressed the issue the best I could with three point pressuring. The amount of torque to slightly align was incredible. One side about 3/8" the other about 1/4". I was able to get them even but i couldn't get the taper of the stays in symmetry of them selves. So in looking down the seatstays they still have like a millimeter sag.
I've done the same process on some a Tange 2 and 531 frames, and on the Kashmir it was a lot more pressure than it took on the others.