Classic & Vintage - Panasonic Track 2000

Anyone heard of this bike? Are they decent?
Here is the auction. Cheap, but with shipping tacked on($50) it could be costly.
http://files.triton.net/clint/MVC-593F.JPG
http://files.triton.net/clint/MVC-594F.JPG
http://files.triton.net/clint/MVC-595F.JPG

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=7298&item=3678393004&rd=1

no comments huh?

i think once i get some more money i would like to either buy(second hand) or make my own fixed gear. i think this bike looks so awesome....
http://www.cs.pdx.edu/~marius/pics/fix2/3.jpg

Sharp bike. Last time I looked the bid was ~$80. Even with $50 that's a decent deal. I wonder if it's a track specific bike? Wheelbase looks a little long and angles a little slack for a pure trackie. I'm used to the rear tire sitting right on the seat tube with velo racers. And of course it has brakes. A frame/fork can be retrofitted for brakes but that's not often done. on the other hand the bike does have track ends.

None of those things above are bad, imo. In fact they're bonuses that make the bike more usable. Components are all pretty solid though not spectacular. I don't know your budget but ~$200 shipped is probably a pretty fair price.

One thing that is pretty extreme on that bike is the bar placement. If you can/want to ride that laid out more power to you, otherwise add in the price of a new stem.

It's a track bike, notice there are no downtube shifter braze-ons. The Panasonic was a decent bike especially in their upper end models, and their track models used their upper end tubing which if my memory is correct was Ishawata 019 tubing, which was going against the top of the line Columbus stuff during it's day; and personally, I thought the Ishawata was superior! I owned a Trek TX900 that used Columbus SP/SL and that was a nice frame set, but when I got a Trek 412 that had the Ishawata tubing it was noticably stiffer especially in the rear stays and bottom bracket area. If I cranked hard on the TX900 I could get the chain to rub on both sides of the front derailleur, but this would not happen on the 412 and the 412 was a cheaper bike! Bad me I had to sell the TX900 for a down payment on a car that I aways wanted. But later when I bought the 412 I was able to race on it and do quite well with a cheap bike and with sport geometry!

But your bike may have some other tubing because I cannot remember that far back in all the particulars; but I do remember some Panasonics did use the Ishawata, because I ran into people racing on Panasonics...just not the track model.

I wonder if it's a track specific bike? Wheelbase looks a little long and angles a little slack for a pure trackie. I'm used to the rear tire sitting right on the seat tube with velo racers. And of course it has brakes. A frame/fork can be retrofitted for brakes but that's not often done. on the other hand the bike does have track ends.

Good eye, Walter. Panasonic made alot of track bikes that were designed for dual purpose track/road training use, similar to Bianchi's current Pista offering, drilled for front brake and having a longer wheelbase. I don't remember all their model #'s, but this looks like one of those.

Panasonic's are generally high quality products.

I like the bike. I question the owner's intelligence however. I'm hard pressed to believe that anyone wouldn't be able to figure out how to photograph a bike without having two buddies hiding off camera holding the bike up. How does he park it?

this is probably a super newbie question, but with a track bike, i.e. no brakes, is their a "hub" brake or whatever(peddle badkward), or nothing at all? i understand that on a track you might not need to make a sudden stop, but i have heard of people riding on the street with fixed gear track bikes with no brakes and i assume they are either crazy(with a death wish), or there is a "hub" brake...

Nope, there is not a hub brake on a fixed gear bike. Some people do build Singlespeeds with coaster brakes. On a fixed gear the cranks move with the rear wheel ALL THE TIME. No coasting at all, ever. Unless you drop your chain, then braking becomes somewhat of an adventure. You can slow a fixed gear by resisting the forward motion of the cranks. You can stop a fixed bike by locking you legs and causing the back tire to skid. Personally, I run a front brake because I like to have options. When I get a true trackbike I will not run a brake.