SWALLOW/SPYDER
The Swallow and Spyder lug designs are so similar that a distinction between them may be merely academic. They are based on the same long-point lug blanks as the Keyhole and Mountain King and could just as well be classed with them. Swallows are known from the 1960s; the Spyder was introduced in 1970. The pattern re-emerged in the 1980s as a variation of the Magnum Bonum and again later as the Scorpion Bonum.
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Above left: Spyder; above right: Swallow.
If the difference escaped you, it wasn't for lack of trying. Len Ingram insists the difference is on the head tube.
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Above left: Spyder; right: Swallow.
According to Len, Spyders tend to be slightly more elegant than Swallows; the presence or absence of another split point on the head tube may be what differentiates the Spyders from the Swallows. The catalogs do not list either model, so sales records or original owner documentation are the final arbiter which is which.
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Above: In 1984 the Magnum Bonum made a comeback with spyder lugs on the main tubes and the typical Bonum short tangs on the head tube.
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Below: variations on the Spyder design.
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Spyder full bike
