Cycling UK Forum

Here is my Shimano branded road bike, with a 531 tubing labels.
I seek more information about it prior to pricing, describing and selling.

Thanks

shimano make components, not complete bicycles like that. I think that frame has had a respray and has had various stickers applied to it. The frame could potentially be 531 tubing but I think it is less rather than more likely. A good clue is to check the size of the seat pin; if it is 25.4mm dia then the frame almost certainly isn't 531 tubing; the fact that the seat pin appears to be a steel one without an integral saddle clamp suggests that it is 25.4mm, because this is the most common diameter for this type of seat pin. Another clue that the frame probably isn't 531 is the gear hanger; it is part of the RD not the frame.

Looking at the components the wheels look OK, the brakeset is a shimano one of reasonable quality, the crankset looks like a stronglight double/triple (but configured as a double with two very small chainrings or the largest chainring missing from a triple) , the derailleurs are shimano but the most basic version.

If I had to guess I'd say that the frame is either a Dawes or a Raleigh, from a fairly basic model of 'racing bike' from the 1980s or early 1990s. The frame number may give a better clue as to the maker.

cheers

As Brucey said, Shimano make bikes in the same sense as Bosch Automotive make cars. Apart from the frame number suggested by Brucey, does it say anything on the flats at the top of the seat stays (see picture)? There's quite often engraving there.

Frame numbers are usually under the bottom bracket (between the two cranks to which the pedals are attached). You'd have to turn the bike upside down to see it. Or occasionally at the top of the seat tube (near the bit in the photo).

By the way, the rear quick release isn't secured properly. That's not as dangerous as on the front, where getting it wrong can be lethal. It's a cam and you flip it to close it, whereas the rear has been screwed closed. You can tell because closed QRs of that design curve towards the bike, like your front, whereas the rear curves away.

531 was/is the classic tubing from which quality bikes were made before aluminium and then carbon took much of the market. It came/comes in various types, with lighter frames being double butted (thinner in the middle than at the ends). As Brucey says, various features of the frame suggest it's not good enough to be genuine 531. At one time, the makers, Reynolds, controlled the stickers quite strictly, preventing their being applied falsely to resprays etc. In these days of a reduced market and easy reproduction, you can't trust the stickers any more.

This bike is not going to have a great value. Less than £200, probably quite a lot less.

About £30 tops!

Looking at the first picture I suspect the frame has received some crash damage which may make it unsafe to ride. The tube between the gear levers looks bent and the steerer tube is more upright than the seat tube. Both suggest the front wheel has been pushed back.

peetee wrote:Looking at the first picture I suspect the frame has received some crash damage which may make it unsafe to ride. The tube between the gear levers looks bent and the steerer tube is more upright than the seat tube. Both suggest the front wheel has been pushed back.

Hmm - well spotted. Now £20 for the parts only!

peetee wrote:Looking at the first picture I suspect the frame has received some crash damage which may make it unsafe to ride. The tube between the gear levers looks bent and the steerer tube is more upright than the seat tube. Both suggest the front wheel has been pushed back.

I thought the head angle looked a bit steep in the pictures but I was prepared to give that the benefit of the doubt, lens distortion for example. But having looked again I would say your comments are spot on. For example it looks like the front wheel has been pushed back far enough that there is liable to be toe overlap, which there wouldn't normally be on a mass-produced bike of this type.

cheers

You’re selling this, right? I think people are under the impression you’re considering buying it. If you’ve owned it for any length of time, you’ll know some of the background.

I think the “bent” down tube is an optical illusion brought about by the position of the gear lever and possibly the kerb behind it. The “flipped” rear QR is something the hardass kids at school used to do.

It’s got commonly available after-market decals, possibly after a re-spray - but re-sprays don’t come cheap to most people - it would be uneconomic to do it on a plain steel frame. The size of front chain wheels looks tiny - you have to go out of your way to get them that small.

The positioning of the Reynolds fork decals is unusual. The surest way to tell if it’s Reynolds tubing is to strip and weigh the frame and forks - it shouldn’t come in at much more than 3kg if it’s Reynolds. £200 sounds a bit on the high side, even if it is genuine 531.

That was "less than £200"

As I said, possibly a lot less...

The photos are too low Res to see what's really going on with it, especially to see if it had the crash damage that it looks as if it could do. The only thing strange about that is I would have expected the fork blades to be bent back out of line with the head tube of it was crash damaged. As has been said it's not Shimano brand and it's not a high quality frame. The parts are a mish-mash of ok (wheels, brakes) unusual (chainset/chainrings) and cheapo (gear levers, derailleur) Post more photos of the dropouts and joints in the frame. I'd sell it for maybe £30 to £40 at a push.

The photos are too low-res to see what's really going on with it, especially to see if it had the crash damage that it looks as if it could do. The only thing strange about that is I would have expected the fork blades to be bent back out of line with the head tube if it was crash damaged in addition to the down tube damage. As has been said it's not Shimano brand and it's not a high quality frame. The parts are a mish-mash of ok (wheels, brakes) unusual (chainset/chainrings) and cheapo (gear levers, derailleur) Post more photos of the dropouts and joints in the frame. I'd sell it for maybe £30 to £40 at a push - that's undamaged. If it's crashed it would be irresponsible to sell it without stating it as such, and that it's unsafe to ride. In my opinion you'd be better off splitting it to sell.

I would be very surprised indeed if that frame is 531. Who would go to the effort and expense of making a 531 frame, and then fit that cheap and nasty seat tube collar with that horrible pinch bolt arrangement?

That's a repaint and decal jobs, £30-£50 absolute tops. It might be worth more for the components.

PS, the more I look at it the more I think those might not be the original forks for the frame.

There were some very basic frames made in the 80s by big names such as Viking that used 531 main tubes only, without quality dropouts, lugs etc..

I had one (Viking Vision) that had the 531 decal but no gear hanger, shifter braze-ons, cable braze-ons and only one set of bottle bosses (on the down tube). Obviously, it didn't have a 531 fork decal. Here's the catalogue entry of an earlier version to my old one - it still has the 531 main tubes but doesn't appear to have the decal in the picture but mine definitely had the decal:

Yes, I've still got a Marlboro frame from those days. Resprayed twice since, and the forks went when a car pulled out in front of me, but the rest is going strong. Actually mine was only 501, thinking about it.

The paintwork is excellent, wheels, cranks components, contact points are all tidy enough, it looks well looked after/lightly used. Clearly no one here realises that some bikes did indeed have Shimano stickers on them from the off.
If the frame is undamaged, even IF it's not R531 i'd say £85-£100, if indeed r531 frame/forks then maybe £20-£30 more, the components alone have a value worth much more than the £20-30 people are saying.