Old Ten Speed Gallery

With today’s entry, we maybe coming close to solving one of our many “Unidentified” OTS mysteries.   This is Vic’s “Premium” 10-Speed, and as he points out, it bears a significant resemblance to  Todd’s Unidentified 10-Speed from last year.  Same components, same lugs, and most importantly, same pie plate!  Also, as Vic points out, the headbadge bearing “PREMIUM” and downward crossed arrows is nearly identical to an Azuki headbadge.  Another similarity to Azuki is the lug style of Vic and Todd’s “Premiums” and Gauge’s Azuki.

My name is Vic. Before I say anything else I have to say I love this site! I look forward everyday to seeing new posts. Most days anyway.

You say your site is for all things old crappy 10-speed. Well I think my bike is exactly that. It is old, it is crappy, and it is a 10-speed. What year is it? I have no idea. I’m assuming it’s just a generic department store bike from the 70s. Make and model? Well I don’t know about the model, but for make, the head badge says “PREMIUM.” But what’s a “Premium”? I have never seen another bike with a badge like mine before. The only thing that comes close is one of the Azuki badges which has the same shape and the same arrows but with a different image above the lettering. I also had a “Sports Cycle” atom sticker on the seat tube. At the bottom of the seat tube was a sticker that read “Made in Japan.”
Over at bikeforums.net, this person seems to have same “Sports Cycle” atom sticker just like mine although he says it is an Azuki and has stem shifters. Read post #4. http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=96892

Also check out Trevor’s Mid-70’s Azuki 10-speed. You can see the badge, and just barely make out the sticker on the seat tube. This Azuki also has stem sifters. http://oldtenspeedgallery.com/found-on-flickr/trevors-mid-70s-azuki-10-speed/

Anyway, I was planning on riding a bike to school this upcoming fall because I just moved into a new apartment which is a little farther away from campus than my current place. I immediately thought of this bike at home because no one rides it. It was sitting in the garage at my grandparent’s house for who knows how long. When I was about 5 years old my dad moved it to our house and since then it has been hanging in the garage for close to 20 years. It was originally my uncle’s bike, then he gave it to my dad, and now I have it. I actually kinda liked the original red paint, but I just couldn’t stand all that reflective tape. It was even on the wheels. I think it was used as a theft deterrent, but who knows. I spent a good couple hours removing the tape, but it didn’t look too good afterward because a lot of the paint came off with the tape . So I just decided to turn it into a quick little project. I sanded the paint down and painted it black, got new cables, and replaced the foam grips with red handlebar tape. New brakes and tires are coming soon as well. I’m only a poor college student after all.

Okay about the bike. It has a Shimano 333 front derailleur and Shimano Eagle rear derailleur. It also has Shimano downtube shifters. It has center pull brakes but I don’t know who makes them. I think it says “Hi-Stop Cherry” on the washers around the nuts on the calipers. The wheels are 27″ Arayas. The bike weighs around 33 lbs. I’m guessing everything is made of steel.

All in all it rides and shifts smoothly, so I’m happy.

Before sending you this email, I went through all your old posts just to see if anything like mine has come up before. Going by the parts he listed, could Todd’s Unidentified Old 10-speed potentially be my big brother? The pie plate looks the same and the crank cover or whatever is similar enough except for the slots. The “Eagle” lettering on his rear derailleur is a little different so maybe it is an earlier or later model. The rest of the components are quite similar. But I’ll leave it up to you pros to decide. Also check out Harv’s comment, he had a “Premium” also!!! http://oldtenspeedgallery.com/owner-submitted/todds-unidentified-old-10-speed/
Thank you for your time.

Vic

Thanks Vic

Here’s an obscure (to me) Atala Italian 10-Speed. According to Sheldon the Atala was one of the few bicycles of any quality imported to the US before the Bike Boom. Atala is still around and they still make bicycles. Interestingly, they’re also responsible for the Vuelta wheels that are always on clearance at everyone’s favorite Secret Website.

Here’s my OTS I just picked up this summer before school started. It’s my daily ride. When it was first purchased, it had aero bars, a single cage for the pedals, strapped on water bottle cage. It’s since had the tape replaced, aero bars, water bottle cage, and the pedal cage removed. Not sure what model this is, but it rides great. According to the original owner, he bought for his wife in ‘67, was well used, and then put away in the garage. Not too long ago, a neighbor of borrowed the bike for triathlon events (hence aero bars). This also explains the replacement parts currently on the bike such as the updated saddle, handlebars, brake levers, and rear derailleur. The bike still has what appears the original Campagnolo front derailleur and lever shifters. The neighbor eventually returned it and bought his own new bike. It sat in the garage until finally the guy sold it to me on craigslist this past summer. Everyday this bike now gets rode and taken up 35 mph (clocked by bike computer and trailing car) through Blacksburg, VA on my way to class. Hope you all enjoy!

Thanks Sprinks

Leading off our two week bonanza is Clancy’s 1982 Concord Hirame.

I got this bike, (like alot of the other bikes on this site) from a vague C-list ad with no picture. Concord road bike with 27″ wheels, $50. So I headed over there after work and the friendly lady at the house wheels this thing out of the garage. She mentioned that her husband used to race years ago, but I got the impression that I shouldn’t pry any further. So I gave her the money, and happily wheeled my find to the car.  I had, coincidentally, read a week or two before about Kuwahara made bikes, but I certainly didn’t even consider  it, but when I was loading it into my blazer, I thought I noticed the unique seat cluster configuration that I had read about.

Once I got it home and gave it a closer look, I eventually found a sticker near the BB,  “Made by Kuwahara in Osaka, Japan”. Unfortunately, that is one of the only markings on the bike. There is a standard Concord headbadge, the Kuwahara sticker, and the word “Hirame” (Japanese for flatfish) on the downtube.

The bike is a mishmash of different parts. The FD is Suntour Superbe, while the rest of the drivetrain is Shimano 600. Brakes are 600, levers are Gran Compe. Nitto Pearl 120mm stem (anyone wanna trade for a 100mm?) Specialized tricross tires are still in good shape, so I left them. The only thing I had to replace was the crumbling, alligator-looking hoods. Rides smooth and completely silent!

So does anyone have a clue as to what model this is? Or anything about it? The only reference to “Hirame” I could find was talking about the actual Kuwahara Brand race team. I dont think it has anything to do with this Concord!

Clancy

Steve S. is living a dream with this Schwinn Le Tour III. I love this color!  Hey all you Schweads^©, what is this orange called again?

Hey, check out my childhood dream! When I was a kid a buddy of mine got a Schwinn Le Tour, in orange, and I thought it was the coolest thing since sliced bread! Recently I started looking for one but it had to be orange. I found several but they were either not in great shape, or had been altered in one way or another. I came across this one and couldn’t believe it!! ALL original, the seat, pedals, handlebars AND tape, I’m not positive but I think even the tires?! And it’s in fantastic shape! I’d like to make it pristine, you know, polish all the little parts, nooks and crannies, but I’m afraid to completely strip it and not be able to find the correct cables and housing, and handlebar tape. Any suggestions on where I might find the correct parts? Nothing else needs replaced, just cleaned and polished, a labor of love . . .

Thanks!
Steve S.
“javaride”

P.S. The dust cover on the non-drive side crank arm is the only piece missing, any suggestions…?

Thanks Steve

As I mentioned in some Tweets last week, I spent this past weekend bike touring south central Wisconsin.   I had planned to post this OTS from my phone while on the road, but alas! technology failed me and I had to put it off until today.  This is a 1980 Schwinn Traveler sent in by Dave O.

Greetings OTSG,

I am the newest owner of a well preserved Schwinn Traveler 12-speed, circa 1980. I do not know the exact year, but the previous owner said he bought it around that time. The frame was well cared for and only has a few scratches. The previous owner had not ridden it in years and gave it away for free. All I had to do to get it back on the road was replace the rear wheel (original was unrepairable), tune the gears, pump the tires, and add lights and fenders. It now lives on as a foul weather town bike.

Features of note: Steel pie plate, fail-safe clip mechanism on front wheel quick release, original foam grips, original tool kit. The badge reads “Schwinn – Chicago”.

Regards,

Dave

Thanks Dave