M ystery lugs
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M ystery lugs
Postby silverlight » Mon Dec 03, 2012 2:36 pm
In my bid to do a clean up i came across these lugs,
Does anyone know what make they may be?
Im sure they are M and not W which i thought they were at first glance (Whippet), they are very made very well that the M cannot be bent.
If i cant find a maker they will become "Mario" lugs.
Mario
(aka Silverlight)
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Re: M ystery lugs
Postby bicyclepassion » Mon Dec 03, 2012 3:41 pm
I think they are in fact the M ythical M ystery head lugs. M ystery is one of the most prevelant brands of the internet age, outstripping even the likes of C olnago and De Rosa for market penetration. Google 'Mystery bicycle', and you will get approximately 16 million results! Proof of an amazing marketing effort by this brand, which was unkown except to the most avid collectors and enthusiasts until a couple of years ago.
I have had a M ystery bike here in my collection for many years, only missing the head lugs. PM me if you want to buy this bike from me, or let me know if you will sell me the missing 'M' lugs. It would be great if at least one of us can end up with a complete M ystery bike, perhaps the only complete one in existance. It would be worth a M int.
W arren
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Re: M ystery lugs
Postby Zynster » Mon Dec 03, 2012 3:44 pm
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Re: M ystery lugs
Postby bicyclepassion » Wed Dec 05, 2012 8:47 am
One messanger took quite a malevolent tone, suggesting that I didnt have a Mystery bike at all, and that I was just trying to get Mario's Mystery lugs out of him for my magnificent lug collection.
So I went to my back shed, to get the headless Mystery frame, to post some pics here. I went to the hook where it had been hanging for years, but it had gone!
Now I have all the local detectives on the case, but maybe forum members can help me out with their masterfull bike finding skills.
Please keep an eye open on Ebay, Gumtree, Hard Rubbish, Grandpa's shed and any other source that you look for old bikes on.
The frame number is missing, as, wouldnt you know it, it was usually stamped on the bottom head lug of Mystery bikes, and the headlugs, of course, are what I was looking for to complete this bike all those years.
This particular bike is one of the incredibly rare Mystery variations, an 'International Mystery' model. It has French ends, Italian bottom bracket, English 531 tubing, Swiss George Fisher crown and Belgian seat stay tops. So it should be pretty easy to identify as being my one, not a fake.
If anyone has any information at all about my International Mystery, please post it here, or PM me if the information is too sensitive for this forum.
A reward is offered for its return. The reward is a pair of ultra rare BSA Assymetric Bottom Bracket cups, that take 11 balls on one side, and 10 on the other.
Warren
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Re: M ystery lugs
Postby scratchman » Wed Dec 05, 2012 12:55 pm
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Re: M ystery lugs
Postby bicyclepassion » Thu Dec 06, 2012 10:36 pm
A very clever local detective has located the International Mystery bike. Using his incredible powers of deduction, it was found languishing, headless, on the front veranda of the inner city residence of Austin Powers, that International Man of Mystery himself.
Austin denied any knowledge of the bike, saying he always uses the back door, and never goes around the front.
Anyway, the main thing is that the headless Mystery has been located, none the worse for its ordeal.
Now it only remains to be seen whether it can somehow be re-united with its missing 'M' head lugs.
The detective refused the reward. He did not want the BSA Assymetrical Bottom Bracket cups, saying he preferred an even number of balls on either side of his bicycle when he rode it.
Warren
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Re: M ystery lugs
Postby morini » Fri Dec 07, 2012 1:09 pm
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Re: M ystery lugs
Postby bicyclepassion » Fri Dec 07, 2012 5:15 pm
Maybe you have had one of the ultra rare BSA Assymetrical Bottom Brackets for ages and have not known? I have seen these bottom brackets turn up in all sorts of bikes over the last 40 years, the makers seem to have fitted them on a totally random basis.
There are several permutations of theses units. The most usual is 10 balls on one side, 11 on the other. But lots of other variations crop up. I have seen as few as 7 on one side and 8 on the other. The tell tale is a tick tick ticking sound coming from the bottom bracket area, often heard at velodromes in the early days, when the bearings were run in light oil, rather than grease.
Warren
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Re: M ystery lugs
Postby morini » Fri Dec 07, 2012 8:37 pm
he he he he he he it's Friday, it's vino o'clock, it's the school holidays and I'm off to the beach for two weeks. Good to see someone here with a sense of humour. I'll have my wife check my bottom bracket when I get a chance. Merry Christmasscratchman wrote:thanks Warren, now I'm totally confused
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Re: M ystery lugs
Postby BRLVR.v2 » Fri Dec 07, 2012 9:10 pm
You do realise that will require a finger to be inserted to ensure your threads are clean and free from grit?morini wrote:I'll have my wife check my bottom bracket when I get a chance. Merry Christmasscratchman wrote:thanks Warren, now I'm totally confused
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Re: M ystery lugs
Postby bicyclepassion » Sat Dec 08, 2012 11:11 am
If you must get your wife (or significant other) to check if you have a BSA assymetrical bottom bracket, she will need to count the balls properly. This is easier said than done. Best to mark the starting point with a red or black texta, and then count around the cup. Then they have to try and remember whether they included the first ball in the count, or not. If they cant remember, they will have to start again. Repeat until accurate figure is to hand.
It is very easy for the balls to fall out all over the floor whilst doing this. If this happens, do not use a vacuum cleaner to retrieve them. They will be lost amongst the fluff in the bag forever.
Carefully attract them with a strong magnet, then use tweezers to insert them back in place.
Add a good waterproof grease, or light oil if you are an old timer track racer, and you will be ready for your next big event.
Warren
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Re: M ystery lugs
Postby Paul Watson » Wed Mar 06, 2013 12:39 am
Inexperienced mechanics like Warren often run into difficulty with these invisi-balls as they have a tendency to escape and float off as soon as the bottom bracket is disassembled, and can be very hard to find. Fortunately, I have the exclusive Australian agency and can supply replacement invisi-balls either individually or in sets of nineteen. They are of course significantly more expensive than outmoded steel balls due to the ultra high tech materials used in their production.
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Re: M ystery lugs
Postby Paul Watson » Wed Mar 06, 2013 3:40 pm
The "M" is for Meade of course, but you can understand why Warren might not like to admit to his frame building efforts. He obviously had a few problems with the geometry, and has inadvertently fitted the forks the wrong way around.
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Re: M ystery lugs
Postby Paul Watson » Wed Mar 06, 2013 3:45 pm
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Re: M ystery lugs
Postby bicyclepassion » Wed Mar 06, 2013 7:01 pm
You have to be sure to post them out in cartons made by Visy, that way, at least the purchaser knows they have received them.
They couldnt be any worse than a badly installed ceramic bearing.
I have bought a couple of bikes over the years with Invisiballs.
As to the upside down M branding on the headlugs, I am one of those fortunate few people whose initials, when placed one above the other, are identical whether viewed upside down or right way up.
W M
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Re: M ystery lugs
Postby ldrcycles » Wed Mar 06, 2013 8:40 pm
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Re: M ystery lugs
Postby morini » Wed Mar 06, 2013 9:02 pm
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