So, I'm looking at a 1997 Mongoose Sycamore mtb.

Up until 1996 these bikes had Cr-mo frames.

Bikepedia describes the 1997 model as having "Mongoose CFA" tubing.

http://www.bikepedia.com/QuickBike/B...more&Type=bike

I have since worked out that CFA stands for "Complex Ferrous Array". One (unreliable) source described this as "4138 Cr-mo"

Can anybody tell me what this all means? Is it actually cro-mo tubing or is it really just a hi-ten boat anchor?

I know that the Sycamores were a low end bike to start with, so I'm not expecting the tubing to be anything special. I'm just looking at this thing as an upgrade from my existing hi-ten/cr-mo combo backup bike.