Classic & Vintage - Araya wheel timeline....

...I've done some checking and can't seem to find anything....

Would any of you share anything you know about the Araya wheel timeline for me here? I'm looking in particularly for the Aero 1 World Champion tubular wheelsets....would they have been available on 70s Paramount builds?

Thanks,
Chris

Barndoor, I know someone here must know something about the Araya timeline...

Anyone?

East Hill

I don't have anything definitive, but I'm almost certain that Araya aero rims were introduced circa 1981, at the same time as Shimano introduced their aerodynamic AX components. The first time I saw them was in the AX catalog. Shortly thereafter, they started appearing on several of the Japanese bicycles featuring AX componnets.

:)

I just restored a Royce Union imported from Japan with
Araya rims. They are the first Araya rims made, and were made of steel.

Sheldon Brown loves them and dates them from 1970 - 1973 I believe.

My Royce Union is a 1971 with Dura Ace centerpulls, and beautiful
steel Araya rims. Very well made and light as well.




Cheers,
JohnnyBee.

I don't have anything definitive, but I'm almost certain that Araya aero rims were introduced circa 1981, at the same time as Shimano introduced their aerodynamic AX components. The first time I saw them was in the AX catalog. Shortly thereafter, they started appearing on several of the Japanese bicycles featuring AX componnets.

This goes in line with what I've heard previously...I just would like some hard evidence....

Mine are laced to the original Campy hubs.

I just restored a Royce Union imported from Japan with
Araya rims. They are the first Araya rims made, and were made of steel.

Sheldon Brown loves them and dates them from 1970 - 1973 I believe.

My Royce Union is a 1971 with Dura Ace centerpulls, and beautiful
steel Araya rims. Very well made and light as well.

Araya rims go back much further than 1970. The rim division was created in the 1950s and Araya itself goes back almost another 50 years. I myself have a catalog showing their 1966 product.

There is a discrepancy on a 1971 Royce-Union with Dura-Ace center-pull brakes, as Dura-Ace only goes back to 1973. Either the bicycle is modern than you thought or the brakes are not original.


This goes in line with what I've heard previously...I just would like some hard evidence....

That is going to be very hard to do, unless somebody has two successive catalogs, for the year prior to introduction and the year of introduction. Exactly which year is your Paramount?

That is going to be very hard to do, unless somebody has two successive catalogs, for the year prior to introduction and the year of introduction. Exactly which year is your Paramount?

Mine's a '72

If it contributes anything, the first-year schwinn peleton that I bought came with just these rims laced to suntour superbe pro hubs. Bike's long gone, still have the wheels. That would have been in 1985 (or built in 1984). Like T-Mar, I do not remember any triangular rims before the early 80's.

Mine's a '72

I can state with almost complete certainty that they weren't available in 1972. I have all sorts of catalogs from the boom era and they don't appear in any of them, but in the early 1980s there are numerous references to them. The correct Araya tubular rim for this period would be the 16B.

Araya rims go back much further than 1970. The rim division was created in the 1950s and Araya itself goes back almost another 50 years. I myself have a catalog showing their 1966 product.

There is a discrepancy on a 1971 Royce-Union with Dura-Ace center-pull brakes, as Dura-Ace only goes back to 1973. Either the bicycle is modern than you thought or the brakes are not original.



That is going to be very hard to do, unless somebody has two successive catalogs, for the year prior to introduction and the year of introduction. Exactly which year is your Paramount?


Thanks for the info. The Dura Ace centerpulls on my Royce may be of 73
vintage. I'm not overly obsessed with it because it's a gaspipe frame
anyway. I'll check the serial # to verify the date. One thing for
sure, the steel Araya rims are better than most other steel rims
I have seen.



Cheers,
JohnnyBee.

I can state with almost complete certainty that they weren't available in 1972. I have all sorts of catalogs from the boom era and they don't appear in any of them, but in the early 1980s there are numerous references to them. The correct Araya tubular rim for this period would be the 16B.

Great info! Thanks!

Looks like this will end up being my first wheel building project! :D
....hope I don't screw it up too bad.....:o