I got this bike as part of a deal. The PO was sure it is a Reynolds 531 Raleigh, but it doesn't look like any Raleigh I've seen before. A US model perhaps? I'd appreciate any help that can lead to the identification of this frame. TIA.

It looks to have been repainted at some point, and it came with an incomplete set of various parts:





I don't remember ever having seen that rectangular cutout in top of the BB shell. There's one on the bottom as well. It is English-threaded.





The holes that would have held the headbadge are approximately 4.6 cm's apart:



The serial number is mostly illegible, but starts (or ends?) with an 8.



The dropouts look to be forged, but there is no brand name, and no adjuster screws either.

It looks nice. Would a 531 frame have a housing stop for the FD? What is the thing on the fork?

The clamp on the fork would have held a small plastic wheel that ran against the front tire and fed a speedometer by means of a cable.

If it helps at all here is a shot of the dropouts on my 76 Empire Professional, a slightly above entry-level Japanese bike marketed in Canada.

I don't know what it is but I'm diggin' the purple fade tape!

Thanks, I have a feeling it might be Japanese.

OH OK I had several of those but they never seemed to work weel for very long.

Amen!

Well, it looks Raleigh-ish, for sure. Lugs look to be Bocama Professional. Odd, though, that it would have a downtube cable stop for the FD. And no cable stops on the top tube... Hmm. I think that a Raleigh would have a S/N that started with a letter, though, not a numeral.

Is there a brazed-on pad for a downtube shifter stop? If so, is it on the top or the bottom of the DT?

There is, on the top. You can just see it on the right (never mind the hose clamp below it).

looks like high-end gaspipe ! a keeper !

A Raleigh would have 3 headbadge holes, and usually a bridge for the brake cable housing stop.

So, I found a clue to the reason behind the slots in the bottom bracket on the Classic Lightweights site, in the "Block Chain" essay:



So they are there to let the bolts of a 50.4 crank be backed out without having to take the drive-side assembly off the spindle.

I don't buy that in this case. The slots are too shallow to make much difference, nor does it explain the slot on top.

The drop outs are reminiscent of the ones on my 74 Nishiki International, but the eyelets are in a different placement and these look slightly nicer.

I beg to differ; the bolts on my 50.4 cranks aren't terribly long, and the two slots might be a manufacturing thing, where the manufacturer just ran a series of BBs all lined up through a machine that cut the slots.

In any event, it's an explanation, and I'm gonna believe that's why they're there until a better hypothesis is put forward.

Thanks Captain. I never knew that. Although I tend to agree with acoffin that in this particular case the slots are a bit smallish to actually make a difference. I do believe, however, that they serve some sort of similar mechanical purpose.

I don't believe that it is a Raleigh, be it British or imported. The long point lugs do not look like those that Raleigh used. Plus the fork appears to me to be a very basic low end fork. I think that it might be a Japanese make frameset. Nothing on the bike indicates to me that it is a Raleigh. That is my opinion.

My best guess was (and still is) it is a late 70's mid-range Japanese frame, possibly with a non-original fork. It seems to be well-made and if it weren't too small for me I'd build it up as a rider. I might still do that; I've got some Shimano 500 stuff that needs a home.

hello non-fixie,

hath time allowed you to learn any more regarding this machine?

she looketh asian and 1975-ish to these tired auld ocular receptors. much later and her braze-on mix would differ.

wrt the discussion on the notch in the bb shell. have encountered this previously on some japanese department store type cycles. it is there to accept a toothed washer used as a retainer for the fixed cup. one often sees it without the washer it is intended for, giving rise to the speculation. its purpose differs from that of the harris/plattner feature.

the bicycle's fork appears so much lower quality than the frame it is easy to see the suspicion that it represents a replacement. was a bit surprised that it does not show the rectangular slot in the fork tip to accept a safety wheel retention washer. when withdrawn, its steerer will likely display a manufacturer mark from someone such as lung or akisu, makers of off-the-shelf o.e.m. forks. have never seen a tange fork of this pattern, but there is of course "always a first time." do the fork tips match the dropouts or are they stamped sheet?

wrt raleigh-ness - back when raleigh was raleigh in the u.s., pre-huffman, they distributed a line of asian machines under the rampar badge. this cycle does not resemble one of those. if it did once wear raleigh livery it may be something made expressly for the european market.

headplate holes a clue to identity. have a number asian plates in me collection. will see if there are any two-fastner vertically arranged 46mm ones amongst them. am away from where they live this week so can check on them the following week. my guess is that bicycle might possibly be a house brand done for a chain store.

Thanks for digging up this thread and answering the BB shell indent question, [MENTION=333224]juvela[/MENTION]. Another mystery solved! Much appreciated. Time, BTW, has allowed me plenty since posting this thread , but nothing with regard to the identity of this bike, alas.

Below is the best picture I currently have of the fork ends. I've seen cheaper-looking examples. They seem to go together nicely with the rear drop-outs, quality-wise.

Should we start a reference thread on head tube hole patterns?

thank you for the response non-fixie!

so much for the fork ends; odd combination of nice forged ends with threaded eyelets paired with a junkmeister crown.

spent a few minutes at google images attempting to locate a photo of one of the notched bb's with the toothed washer in place without success.

will post again once i have had the opportunity to check me headplate files.

btw - did you find a marking on the steerer? if you have opened the bb did you check to see if there are any seamless tubes therein dwelling?

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Here is an image from another forum thread with the toothed washer anchored in place on the adjustable side of the bottom bracket shell. As odd as it is on the fixed side it seems even stranger to have it on the adjustable side.

Cycle is a 1972 C. Itoh fitted with a Sugino Mighty chainset, all fittings ex-works.



Let us know if you have ever learned anything additional regarding your frame of mystery...

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yep, those 2 slots in the BB shell are to allow a certain corresponding part of a certain type or BB/cup, but what brand it is/was eludes me. Not usually something found on the "highest level" frames ...

Thanks for helping me get to the bottom of this, guys! My stands are currently occupied by a couple of other projects, but I will dig out this frame in the near future and have another look at it.