Is this frame worth restoring? - or not?
- Prior owner said he thought it might have come from a red Shogun before he sprayed it green. It came with a rusty Shimano BB and it has Tange forged dropouts (at least in front).
The entire frame, stays and fork appear to have dull chrome plating under the original paint, so I thought the tubes might be butted Tange also.

yeah looks decent enough, I'd do it.
strip all the paint and give it an oxalic bath for that rust.

Hi Unworth1 - Use the chemical stripper first though - right?

Looks good enough to me! Strip the paint with chemical stripper, treat any rust and respray - and it will look like new! Intresting that you posted it right now, it looks identical to an unidentified frame I have been given - only the fork crown is different, mine's got a unicrown. Is there any serial number on it? I haven't stripped the many layers of paint off mine yet to see if I can find one.

that's the order I'd do it in...BTW, any stamping on the fork steerer?

Hi Oldpeddaller - Mine is serial number "SOP12", stamped on the bottom of the BB shell. (If that is a serial number).

No, Unworthy1, I could not see any markings on the fork steerer - but there's a bit of rust there too . Maybe after an OA bath tho....

Seems like it has potential and I agree on the Tange theory. Look at that lug work, seems to be a good one.

Thanks - It's a go then for a winter project for me. Only decision remaining is the color . . . How about green?

That frame is full of



WIN

Pretty marginal frame for a project IMHO. I would start with something better. For the price of a high quality repaint, I usually can find a complete bike. Now if you can get a quality powder coat at a low cost, I might consider it.

Hell, I've got a UO-8 frame in worse shape than that (another dump pick) that I'm planning on going the sandblasting and powder coating route. I fell in love with the Pashley Guv'nor, and decided I want to do my own version.

I've got a UO8 frame similar to the OP. It hangs in the workshop, waiting for someone that wants to put some money into it, or as trade bait. No way could I get the money out of a repaint of a UO8 frame around here, at least yet.....

I am shopping powder coat prices but don't have anything to report yet -
I'm sure it would not really be a money making proposition - but if I can find a suitable parts bike it won't cost me all that much either, and I'll have a nice road bike from it to ride, - or to flip and recover much/most of the cost anyway.

+1 that looks like a good quality frame. I found some auto garages that would paint a single color frame and fork for 100.00, that is about the same price I have been quoted by powder coaters. I'm sure it's not an exceptional paint job, but it would be miles from where your frame is now. The previous owner really abused that poor thing.

The lug work on both the BB and the fork crown are really interesting. I suspect that it might be a point of identification for someone who is an expert of japanese/Univega frames. There are a lot of things that point towards a high-end late 70s early 80s bike, including the cable guides. An interesting experiment is to try to see a. how much it weighs, b. what size post it takes, and c. whether a 700c wheel would fit ok with brakes, ...

as far as OA bath etc, it might make sense to either powercoat it or (preferably) take it to a car painter. They will sandblast it before painting anyways, so that would take care of the rust.

+1 on the frame being a shogun.
+1 on the frame being nice and worth restoring.
+1 on the frame being made with tange tubes and forks.

the frame looks like a sport-touring frame. rear dropouts might be shimano. my 1985 shogun frame is a full touring frame but looks very similar to yours: same lugs, same fork crown, same tange dropouts. it has the same seat cluster, cable guides, and shifter bosses. the rear triangle is chrome plated underneath the factory paint. my frame is tange 2 seamless, and the fork has "tange 5c" stamped on the steerer tube. my fork is not chrome plated. right now my frame and fork are at the powdercoater's.

+1 mkeller234,
on the previous owner really abusing that thing.


Hi EjustE -
The frame weighs between 4 and 5 lbs on my bathroom scale, and the seat post appears to be a 26.8, as near as I can measure with my verniers.
Without building it up I would not even venture a guess on the 700c wheels. It is a fairly old bike, based on the frt top mount DR cable guides, so it may well be a 27x1-1/8. ( It does not look like a 1-1/4 to me)
I did price the Auto-body paint for another bike once, and found it very expensive, so Powder would indeed be the best option.
The OA may do the INSIDE some good -if I follow up with some frame saver. (Not sure where to buy frame saver tho)


Hey southpawboston! -
You really know your stuff! And the fact that yours is at the Powder coater makes a convincing case .

I think that your scale lies (bathroom scales are not that great in small ranges - their margin of error is large). Tange #2 could be it based on the seat post size and the weight should be closer to 3.5-4 lbs. You probably got at least a mid/high end frame there, esp if it is a 70s and not an 80s bike.

I'd pass on that one. Give it its 8th coat of paint and be done with it.

I'd pass too. Looks to be a low end frame with heavy rust under all that paint. When you consider all the time and money that's going to be required to bring that thing back, there are better starting points.

I wonder if it's a Miyata?

I'm wondering what about that frame looks low end to you? I don't have a particular opinion about this frame (tho, the fork crown makes it kinda looks like the fuji special road racer I just got for cheap), just looking to add to my frame vocabulary.

It appears to have an rd hanger, forged dropouts, cable guides, etc... all things that I've been told are mostly indications of a "better" quality frame.

To me, that's some serious internal rust if the steering tube is any indication. Not just the light "flash" rust you sometimes see on bikes. A quality powder coat plus decals is going to cost close to what the finished bike is worth. And it is not complete of course. Financially, its a non-starter.

Hi wrk101 --
I took another good look with a light inside the frame and there isn't much rust at all, (though there is a lot of rust inside the steerer as noted); It is fully chromed under the paint, except where there are hard abrasions/chips from mishandling; There is no sign of anything being bent.

In any event - I know you are correct: There can be no financial offset when I start out by spending $100 just to paint the bike. (Consider: my Super Course, PX10, and Univega tourer TOGETHER cost less than $100 )
- so this is not a good deal, but it is good to know there is a pretty good quality frame under there. I'll start by just stripping it - and then as long as I can locate a parts bike (e.g., some garage sale step-thru with half-way decent alloy components) I would likely pursue this build.
( I don't always break even, but it always gives me a little thrill to salvage some P.O.C.)