I learned something about these bikes working on this thing. They use an unconventional fork steerer size/ stem size. The stem steerer diameter is 21.15 mm NOT the normal 22.2mm. It's a bummer if you have one of the bikes and you want a specific stem because the options are severely limited. Harris cyclery has some though. Here.
Risin'
The Specialized X-2, which I guess means 2" rise.
Then I got on to thinking about luggy fork crowns. At first glance this one is the same as the early stumpys, but it is actually different. You can see that the area between the two plates at the fork leg is a cast socket that the fork is brazed into.
On the '84 Stumpy the fork leg is passed through a hole in the lower plate and there is a reinforcing tang on the inside the slots.
there's that tang...not too sure that "tang" is the right word but that's what comes to mind.
The next two are the same crown, the first from an '84 Diamondback and the other is an '84 Bianchi. You can really see how powdercoat makes bikes look marshmellowy. This was a popular crown on early 80's Japanese MTBs, the fake bi-plane. I've always wondered if you could drill the superfluous(?) steel between the plates. Might be a fun Drillium project on a bike, but maybe not as safe/sturdy as the stock one.
Another variation here (below). It's a '84 Trek 830. Not sure if this one is cast as you can see a little weld at the fork leg.
And a funny narrow cast crown from an 84 trek 890.
Just for reference, the '85 stumpy crown.
The last little thing is this neat old cycle touring guide from 1982. It covers the California coast route and was put out by Caltrans. I just liked the design layout and choice of images, pretty rad.
