Classic & Vintage - Roadace 707 any good?

I'm probably going to go check this one out, does anyone know anything about it? I'm thinkin $100 is too much, but it looks fairly decent. Opinions? This will be for YAFGC (yet another fixed gear conversion).

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=706756&cat=191&lpid=1

If it's a Maruishi with Ishiwata tubing you could easily pay twice that here in Mpls. I love how it's covered in "Roadace" graphics. It would make a great fixie.

Ok, sounds promissing. At first glance I was thinking that bike had "gas pipe" written all over it, but then I noticed the downtube shifters and lack of suicide levers and decided it might be worth checking out after all. Those graphics though, yeesh.

Looks like a Sugino Mighty Competition crankset/rings. I think you've found a nice one.

I bought it. I really like the feel of the bike and it fits pretty well. It's a Maruishi but I don't know about the tubing. The decals are truely craptacular. Each letter is an individual vinyl sticker instead of one decal with the whole word. It also has these silly little kangaroo stickers on the lugs, you can see one of them peeling up in second pic. It seems like kind of a ghetto touch on an otherwise pretty nice bike. It has Shimano 600 all around. I will be replacing the wheels, is there any market for these? They are 700c araya rims laced to shimano hubs with a little oiler hole thing. What about the derailers and shifters? If I can make back a few bucks I can afford to buy a part or two for my Schwinn Fastback project.:D

These were all the pictures I was able to take before my camera died, I'll take a few more once it's cleaned up.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y64/Kemmer/P1010404.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y64/Kemmer/P1010405.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y64/Kemmer/P1010407.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y64/Kemmer/P1010403.jpg

There aren't a whole lot of Maruishi bikes around. There's not much info on them to be found. Mine has a similar tubing sticker. I like my Maru.

There aren't a whole lot of Maruishi bikes around. Thee's not much info on them to be found. Mine has a similar tubing sticker. I like my Maru.

Any idea if that means it is or isn't made of Ishiwata tubing? I'm guessing not, but you never know. Are there any other Maruishi owners on BFs? I would be willing to collect whatever data I can and put up a site or something if I can get enough info to make it worthwhile.

I asked around after I found mine and the speculation was that Maruishi made their own frames. Your Maru has clips holding the rear brake line so it is likely older than my 1985. A little info is here (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=226293&highlight=maruishi) and Bikedued has a Maru as well. (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=248767&highlight=maruishi)

A Maru road bike fan page is overdue. Let me know if you want any pictures of mine.

There should be a 2-letter date code close to the center clip on your hubs. If the components are original, which looks to be the case, you can narrow down the model year of the frame. Check your findings at this link:


http://www.vintage-trek.com/component_dates.htm

I almost forgot, I ended up getting the bike for 80 bucks and he threw in a Zefal HP pump too! Overall, I'd say it was a pretty good deal. ;)

Thanks for the links, I'll try and gather all the info on it as I strip it down and clean it. I'm going to try and get it built back up as a fixed gear by Christmas (I have a bad habit of buying my own Christmas presents.) I'm thinking I'll keep all the parts so I can convert it back someday if I want to, since there are so few of these bikes around I guess it's a good idea to keep everything together.

I'm going to do a Maruishi site, so if you have one send me a PM. I'm going to start gathering info in a month or two, I've got a little too much on my plate right now for another project but I do want to do it. I'll start another post once things get going on the site.

I just bought a Roadace 707 off of Craig's.. for $125. It was a good deal as it is in very nice original condition - except it has a replacement rear wheel. Rides nice. Has Maruishi and all the cool Kangaroo decals on it.

here's a photo http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0tE4xX5H0co/SfiArupSo0I/AAAAAAAACJo/OukHimsiQVo/s1600-h/Bike+2.png

I've got a couple fixies in the garage, but I have to say I'm a fan of the Shimano 600 arabesque group. It was probably Shimano's first real attempt to put a whole group together. It worked rather well, and it does have a funky kind of flair.

If you want to find out the tubing, remove the fork. There should be a Tange or Ishiwata stamping on the steerer tube.

I just purchased a Maurishi Roadace RX5, claret-red without a scratch on it and in like-new condition, except for having high rise handle bars installed (which I promptly replaced with a pair of more respectable drop bars). It is a very nice bike - 1.125" tires, Araya rims, Shimano brakes, shifters, and derailleurs....And it only set me back 30 bucks! Though I think it is a step down from the Roadace 707, and possibly older - but it's hard to tell, because there is almost no information on Maruishi's. In fact, this u-tube link is about the only really useful information I found: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MGwqD_RuXY