I'm guessing it's a '94, a that's the year Merckx began chroming the right chain stays to my knowledge.QUOTE]
To my knowledge, Merckx has been chroming the right chain stays of steel bikes way before 1994. I had a 1989 SLX with a right chain stay chrome finish. It was pink, red, and pearl white, not the most masculine color, but at least it had a chrome right chain stay. IMHO and par for the course during steel frame production, the chrome right chain stay was prevalent for most high end steel racing bikes. Not considering the bling-bling or aesthetic factor of chrome, was there a specific purpose why the right chain stay was chromed on the standard steel models? I was under the impression the slippery surface of chrome would minimize rare chain ring shift mishaps...?