Originally Posted by
prairiepedaler
Right! The google search was for an Ascent and even though the paint is the same I didn't notice the Apex decal. The frame is home now and I'll see about some snaps when it cools down outside. Whew - hot out there. Brought the frame home strapped to the Kuwahara. It would have been nice if this frame had double eyelets front and rear on the dropouts. Should be almost a standard feature IMO. What I mean by under down tube braze-ons was for a water bottle and not cable routing.
A 3rd set of bottle bosses on under side of the down tube was very rare on ATBs, as the bottle just got encased in mud from font wheel spray. Top mounting afforded more protection, especially around the nozzle. Some of the 1st generation ATB frames placed two sets of bosses on the top of the down tube, on the larger frame sizes. Bottle mounts under the down tube were primarily the realm of grand touring bicycles.
I can't read the serial number from the photo. It looks like the photo may even be upside down. Still, I'm pretty sure that this is a 1990 model, as the 1989 models used straight fork blades and most of the 1988 models used chainstay mounted U-Brakes. the 1991 models went to splatter paint jobs. I think that I have some specs for 1990 in a buyer's guide. I'll see if I can find them .