M ystery lugs

silverlight
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M ystery lugs

Postby silverlight » Mon Dec 03, 2012 2:36 pm

Hi All
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)

Image

Image

bicyclepassion
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Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2010 1:38 pm

Re: M ystery lugs

Postby bicyclepassion » Mon Dec 03, 2012 3:41 pm

Bad news M ario, they are not the elusive M ario lugs.
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
Last edited by bicyclepassion on Mon Dec 03, 2012 3:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Zynster
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Re: M ystery lugs

Postby Zynster » Mon Dec 03, 2012 3:44 pm

In ye olden days frame makers would buy blank lugs and carve their own designs into them. These could be a one of a kind.
Fausto Coppi Reparto Corse | Giant Farrago Cross

bicyclepassion
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Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2010 1:38 pm

Re: M ystery lugs

Postby bicyclepassion » Wed Dec 05, 2012 8:47 am

I have had several PM's about the Mystery bike with the missing 'M' lugs.
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

scratchman
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Location: Carapooee, central victoria

Re: M ystery lugs

Postby scratchman » Wed Dec 05, 2012 12:55 pm

thanks Warren, now I'm totally confused :?
Phil

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ldrcycles
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Location: Kin Kin, Queensland

Re: M ystery lugs

Postby ldrcycles » Wed Dec 05, 2012 3:37 pm

:lol:
"I must be rather keen on cycling"- Sir Hubert Opperman.

Road Record Association of Australia

bicyclepassion
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Joined: Mon Jan 11, 2010 1:38 pm

Re: M ystery lugs

Postby bicyclepassion » Thu Dec 06, 2012 10:36 pm

News Flash.
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

morini
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Location: Southern Downs Qld

Re: M ystery lugs

Postby morini » Fri Dec 07, 2012 1:09 pm

I wish my balls would feel even on each side and stop feeling asymmetrical when I rode. :D

bicyclepassion
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Re: M ystery lugs

Postby bicyclepassion » Fri Dec 07, 2012 5:15 pm

Have you checked your Bottom Bracket?
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

morini
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Re: M ystery lugs

Postby morini » Fri Dec 07, 2012 8:37 pm

scratchman wrote:thanks Warren, now I'm totally confused :?
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 Christmas

BRLVR.v2
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Re: M ystery lugs

Postby BRLVR.v2 » Fri Dec 07, 2012 9:10 pm

morini wrote:
scratchman wrote:thanks Warren, now I'm totally confused :?
I'll have my wife check my bottom bracket when I get a chance. Merry Christmas
You do realise that will require a finger to be inserted to ensure your threads are clean and free from grit?

bicyclepassion
Posts: 720
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Re: M ystery lugs

Postby bicyclepassion » Sat Dec 08, 2012 11:11 am

[quote]I'll have my wife check my bottom bracket when I get a chance. Merry Christmas

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

Paul Watson
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Joined: Sat May 15, 2010 7:34 pm

Re: M ystery lugs

Postby Paul Watson » Wed Mar 06, 2013 12:39 am

Modern up to date bicycle mechanics often replace missing or damaged balls with the new ultra high tech invisi-balls. As the name suggests they are virtually invisible, are very low friction and have no mass. The complete lack of mass makes them ideal for use in modern lightweight composite bikes. And because of their extremely low coefficient of friction, they effectively last forever.

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.

Paul Watson
Posts: 32
Joined: Sat May 15, 2010 7:34 pm

Re: M ystery lugs

Postby Paul Watson » Wed Mar 06, 2013 3:40 pm

After exhaustive research,I have finally figured out exactly what the "M" headlugs are, and I now understand why Warren was trying so hard to muddy the waters.
Image
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.

Paul Watson
Posts: 32
Joined: Sat May 15, 2010 7:34 pm

Re: M ystery lugs

Postby Paul Watson » Wed Mar 06, 2013 3:45 pm

Here is another example where Warren filed the "M" the wrong way up, and then in desperation, tried to shamelessly pass it off as a Waddell.
Image

bicyclepassion
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Re: M ystery lugs

Postby bicyclepassion » Wed Mar 06, 2013 7:01 pm

I was very tempted not to reply, or post an invisible reply, to the bit about the invisiballs, but I have to point out an important feature of these special bearings.
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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ldrcycles
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Re: M ystery lugs

Postby ldrcycles » Wed Mar 06, 2013 8:40 pm

This is the thread that keeps on giving :lol: .
"I must be rather keen on cycling"- Sir Hubert Opperman.

Road Record Association of Australia

morini
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Location: Southern Downs Qld

Re: M ystery lugs

Postby morini » Wed Mar 06, 2013 9:02 pm

Boy I must have had a few too many last time I read this thread. I forgot all about it and I think we forgot all about Mario's lugs to boot.

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