What can you tell me about my Takara?



TheBugGuy

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Jun 28, 2007
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I picked up my first road bike on Craigslist a few weeks ago, and I know next to nothing about it. It's not crucial or anything that I know; I'm just curious. A year or a model would make me happy.

What I do know is that it's made by Takara. All that's been able to tell me is that it's from the '70s or '80s.

Head badge:
IMG_1358.JPG


Found on either side of the handlebars:
IMG_1355.JPG
IMG_1357.JPG


It's a 12-speed with friction shifters mounted on the stem. The serial number on the underside of the bottom bracket reads SI 1 280. The wheels are 27". The frame size was given as 56 cm but I haven't actually measured it.

Someone painted it at some point so I have no idea what the original color was, or if there was some sort of model information that got painted over. There's a crappy pic in my avatar and I can get a decent shot of it (or a specific component) if that would help.

Any info is muchly appreciated.
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Don't know if this offers any more insight, but I worked on the bottom bracket today and the design was more basic than any shown in the diagrams in my book (Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance).

fixed cup -- 11 bearings -- spindle -- 11 bearings -- adjustable cup

No sleeves, no bearing cage (just held in place by the cup and the cone), no lockring.
 
TheBugGuy said:
Don't know if this offers any more insight, but I worked on the bottom bracket today and the design was more basic than any shown in the diagrams in my book (Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance).

fixed cup -- 11 bearings -- spindle -- 11 bearings -- adjustable cup

No sleeves, no bearing cage (just held in place by the cup and the cone), no lockring.
Takara was one of the "Japanese" bikes from the '70s & '80s bike boom. From your discription, it sounds as if your bike predates 1984 because of the old-school BB and friction shifting. However it could be a couple of years newer if it is sporting a SunTour drivetrain as they did not develop indexed shifting until it was already a hit for Shimano. The fact that it is a 12 speed supports the later dating of the bike. 27" wheels were also the norm for most imported road bikes, the switch to 700C had not been made at this time.

Takara was a bike that was actually spec'ed by a company in Oklahoma but the bike was built by the Kawamura Co in Japan. Essentially it was an American brand with a Japanese trade name. During the Bike Boom, it was in vogue to have Japanese equipment, so a name like Takara was chosen primarily for sales impact. The bikes that they made were considered to mostly be mid-quality bikes, mainly because of the components that were used on it.
 
Ok, so the guy replying really sounds like he knows what he's talking about.

So lets give him another challenge.

I have a Takara frame wight he Suntour shifters just like he mentioned.

The crank gears show 2, but no original rear wheel to give me an indication as to the gears back there.

So I'm not sure if it's a 10, 12, 14, 18 speed or otherwise.

Under there crank there are no serial numbers, but on the bar leading up to the seat are. those numbers are 77881.

I'm also going to provide a photo.

By your description of the other guy's bike, it sounds like it's newer then 1984. As you mentioned about the gears, though, I'm not sure. The ones on this bike are Suntour Power Shift Levers.



If you can help me identify this bike, I would surely appreciate it.

Thank You.
 
Takara means special or unique in Japanese. Takara I am pretty sure was made by another company for them. Interesting how some of these companies intertwine with each other. It's a pretty good looking bike. I am sure the newer ones are smoother. It's a nostalgic thing with these older ones. They are just basic and the used one you can get for really cheap.
 

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