I have an early and fancy Tesch with a serial number MDR 484, which I would guess, based on my my study of the secret framebuilding masonic code, is a custom frame built for someone with the initials MDR in April of 1984. I say fancy because it is not a standardized 101 model and has many chromed features. It has a lugs consistent with the pictures from John Thompson but the BB matches the lugs and is simple underneath with no cutouts and stout sockets for the seat stays. Dave cut down the lugs further stock I think and they are a perfect example of a bikini lug bike.
Dale has posted pictures at <http://www.classicrendezvous.com/USA/Dave_Tesch/Tesch_JBZ.htm>. Sorry for my photographs and some may shudder at the components but they don't live at the top of the first Watchung Mountain like I do.
Joe Bender-Zanoni Great Notch (the gap in the First Watchung), NJ
> Mark Bulgier wrote:
>
>
>> I don't think the lugs in John's picture are Takahashi however (maybe
>> John wasn't saying they were?) - I'm 98% sure those are Eisho, which are
>> actually nicer than any lugs Takahashi sold. I used to work for the
>> main US importer of Takahashi framebuilding parts (late 80s - early
>> 90s), and I always wished we could get the Eisho lugs instead...
>> Takahashi stuff was very good quality, just not as cool as the Eisho
>> IMHO (mostly based on aesthetic appeal)
>>
>
> Interesting. Those are actually some vendor samples from when I worked
> at Trek, so they date back to mid-80's at the latest. I always thought
> they were Takahashi lugs -- they were in the same sample box IIRC -- but
> perhaps they are Eisho.
>
>
>> The BB shell in the pic is definitely Takahashi, and is a very nice
>> piece, one of the best BB shells ever.
>>
>
> Yes; very sweet shell.
>
>
>> Fun fact about Tesch forks - they all had the same fork rake regardless
>> of head angle, and he said this was by design, that the important thing
>> for handling was the rake (or offset), not the trail as most other
>> builders believe. He made the forks in relatively large batches, with
>> long unthreaded steerers, then cut them down and threaded them as needed
>> for the bike the fork was destined for. He had a cool steerer threading
>> machine with some sort of split die (from his description - I never saw
>> it) that allowed the die to come right off the fork after it had gone
>> down far enough - never had to back up.
>>
>
> We had a machine like that at Trek. Works a treat when you have a lot of
> forks to thread.