Hey guys!

I've assembled a whole bunch of Dura Ace 740x that needs a frame. I'm hunting for something light in a race geometry with Columbus SL or equivalent! So far, I've found the Schwinn Circuit, Univega Super Strada, Centurion Ironman, and Lotus Elan/Supreme/Prestige to be especially appealing.

Why 1987? It's a meaningful year for me.

Any suggestions?

Edit: Vitus 979, full Dura-Ace. Thanks for the help, guys!

Well you should also consider some of great American built frames like Trek , Canondale and a couple dozen others that where making great semi custom frames. Also it seems your limiting yourself to mostly Japanese built frames with Sl or equivelant, what about looking at some Italian, French, Candian, British, German frames. 87 was a peak year for just tones of countless great frames being made all around the world.

It's nice to dream: Team 7-11 Serotta Huffy.

Well during the 80's full team Huffy bikes both Road and BMX where no joke riders won numerouse championships on there stuff.

Stephan Roche - battagalin

last man to win the TDF with toe clips. (1987)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BrvsSOs920

You just have to love this if your year 87 pretty much the last year it was won on a stock road bike.

Ah, I lusted after that bike when I was 15. What a golden era.

Of course, the best frame manufactured in 1987 is my Ron Cooper (Columbus SL) but that's definitely not for sale.

Lots of good suggestions here, but I might go with something offbeat, like a Vitus or Look.

Top

When I saw the title, I was equating best with most historically significant. That one would have been easy, the Kestrel 4000, the first commerically successful, monocoque, carbon fiber frameset and the shape of things to come (pun intended with apologies to H.G. Wells).

However, on a traditional, steel front, a Team Miyata would be my choice from a mass volume manufacturer, while a Marinoni would be my preference from a limited volume manufacturer.

(94)

On the Schwinn front, you missed the Prologue and of course the Paramount. Prologue was Tange Prestige which I would consider above Columbus SL, made by Panasonic, great bike! The Paramount that year was SLX in smaller sizes as I recall (I've got a 1985 or 1986 that is SLX with DA 7400 group).

Ironman was Tange 1, nice, but a step down from the Prestige.

And check out the Panasonic catalogs on line, they had several outstanding models that year. Team series was SP and SL, DX6000 was Tange Prestige, DX5000 was Tange 1 (like the Ironman).

I'd take a 1987 Peugeot Triathlon fairly quickly... if one were looking at mass producers.

+1 Battaglin.

Serotta Nova Special X

Less fancy, but you forgot the Tenax schwinns which are also SL....

^ I thought the Tenax was more comparable to Chromor? I think Scooper posted something about Tenax recently... Still good frames from what I've read.

I did kind of the reverse, myself. I acquired a 1987 frame, then added the Dura-Ace to it later! Mine is a 1987 Fuji Sagres, built just three years and a month after I was born. It's a really smoothly riding steel steed, that one.

That was one sited source, I dunno if I want to throw out all the research the people here did over one vendors comment.. could be true though about chromor.

Great question!

In 1987, Trek's steel lineup topped out with their 560, which just doesn't excite me.

Why Japanese? They're plentiful, cheap and well made. If I were to get an Italian, I'd also feel obligated to get full Campy for it.

A Raleigh Team/Professional/Competition could work. Could you suggest any great German or Canadian bikes? I know nothing about their makers.

Great post and food for thought. Were there other Tange Prestige frames from that year?

Merckx

Not sure how offbeat a Vitus would be (they were pretty ubiquitous) but it's a good option nonetheless. I wish I still had my Vitus. And Looks aren't too bad either. In '87, the La Vie Claire team rode Look-branded carbon TVT frames sporting DA7400. That must have driven the folks at Campagnolo into fits.

I love my 87 Team Miyata.

'87 is a sweet spot for Japanese built frames. Circuit, Prologue, Tempo, Super Sport & Paramount are all good candidates as are the Miyata and Panasonic offerings. The 560 is actually a very nice 531 bike if you can find one in Ecru. They came with 600 SIS, so 7400 would be a reasonable upgrade.

Not that you'd notice a ride difference, but the Merckx frames of that period tend to be somewhat fancier with chrome forks and stays & many of them originally came with DA 7400. Could be hard to pin year of manufacture down to '87, however, as their serial numbers are more of a general guideline than sequential.

A $200 Nashbar alu/carbon frame will outperform an 80's vintage steel frame in every performance category including weight, stiffness, fatigue and corrosion resistance.

So if you're compelled to go with vintage steel, it has to be something that has unusually high subjective or personal value including historical significance, workmanship, prestige, personal nostalgia, bling factor, whatever.

Sorry but frames you've indicated do not pass this test, they are at best utilitarian brands. Schwinn? Seriously?

Frames that pass this test: Colnago Master, Pinarello Montello, Zunow, some Bianchi team bikes, etc.

Wait - Nashbar offered quality alu/carbon frames in 1987 for $200? How did I miss those?