Classic & Vintage - Feeling guilty about parting out a Takara

I just finsished canabalizing a later 1970's vintage Takara touring bike.

I feel kind of guilty about doing it now that it is done because it seems to have been a pretty nice machine. ALL (every single component) components were made in Japan. The peak of Japanese bicycles only lasted for about ten years - sandwiched between the junk years of the 1960's and the shift to Taiwan in the 1980's.

I wanted the wheels for my Peugeot PX-10LE which I tacoed. No more room for bikes at my house, so it had to go. Still, I think a neat piece of bicycle history was lost and a nice machine at that.

Here is a pic I mooched off of e-bay of the exact same bike - bar-end shifters and all.

Mike. That's a ringer for the first Takara I pulled from the recycling center. I am assuming that you have a SunTour V-Luxe GT on the rear. It is a nice riding bike. I am experimenting with a seven speed freewheel and Cyclone MkII rear at the moment. Love the Bar - end shifters!

It happens, Mike. Keep in mind folks like us are often pulling bikes out of the trash or thrift stores; we're really the last stop. At least some of the usable parts get recylced; I recently pulled apart an old Ross for the Shimano 600 gruppo, for instance. I've got a Miyata in the basement I bought for the Brooks professional saddle on it; paid ten bucks for the two bikes.

Many of the other parts on these bikes I'll likely use to help keep friends and neighbor's bikes on the road, and some will wind up parted onto other projects. I look at it as a good way to keep bikes going on the cheap. I've lost track of the good parts I've pulled off old bikes where the frame itself was in horrid shape.

Wow, I remember those! It was the distinctive barend shifters. Man if you had those you were the bomb.



I love these old bikes. Just rescued a Trek 460 ('85) from a garage sale. It was sitting for who knows how long in the corner of a barn. It cleaned up nice, no rust and only needs tires/tubes/tape. Going to put another 20mi on it tonite!



Olds

Wow, I remember those! It was the distinctive barend shifters. Man if you had those you were the bomb.

I remember when Nishiki changed from downtube levers to barcons on the Competition. I have a set on my UO-8 commuter/cyclocross machine and recently bought another set on eBay. I'll probably put them on my other Peugeot, since I want ot keep the original Campag. downtube levers on my Bianchi and Capo.

Well, I didn't use the bar-end shifters yet, but I did put the wheels and tires from the Takara onto my Peugeot PX-10. The original wheels with the Campagnolo hubs are long gone from the Peugeot, so originality is not the goal. The Peugeot is my commuter.

Apparently, though the previous owner of the Takara was a biking man who took good care of his machine. The wheels were as true as any I have ever seen - unusual for wheels off of a thrift shop bike.

One of the treasures from this $10.00 purchase was the sweet Continental tires in near new condition. They must be a newer model because they take 120 psi. I will have to check the model and get your feedback.

Anyway, a good purchase to be sure. The parts are getting use.

Anyone have any Takara parts?

So is it sport touring or full touring frame and what size is it? Just wondering.

I had some guilt issues when I recently parted out a pretty nice Competition GS. I hated to do it, but it made sense financially, and therefore it helped advance some other projects I am working on. It was full GS, which, IMO, wasn't that great functionally(it was from 1976). I kept the stock Brooks professional and headset/BB and ebayed the rest. The frame went for $200! Not so much for the rest of the components, but I broke even and got to keep the parts I mentioned. I guess it's just a personal thing, it was mine and I did with it what made sense in my life at the time. I don't miss it as the proceeds of selling all my excess parts that I didn't see myself needing in the future financed a LHT that will give me more enjoyment than the Raleigh did hanging in the garage.

So is it sport touring or full touring frame and what size is it? Just wondering.

This thread is 5 years old, I'm guessing it's long gone.

Yeah, it's probably been converted to a fixed gear and then back into a derailleur equipped bikes a few times over that time period.

Neal

Wow, I feel like the super king of non-observation. I will repeat 100 times, Check the date before posting. :rolleyes:

The last of my Takara is on Ebay right now. It had a lot of nice stuff on it. Now there's a lot of nice stuff on my other bike.
Parting out a bike aint so bad so long as it keeps a few other bikes on the road.

I dunno what a thrift store is, but in Sweden the council sometimes give some charity organization the task to "handle" stolen or abandoned bikes (often found in older apartment houses with collective storage rooms). I´ve been to check out such a bike graveyard. Anyhow, I want to save two bikes from the dump (where they end up when interest expires) and for sure I will have to re-organize them in order to make them spin - but they will spin! And thats when parts is a necessity. In this case I wanne save two frames (1 Puch Mistral and 1 Itoh Mustang). If you cant rescue, you must build...:)

If you saw a list of bikes I've parted out you'd faint.

Wow, I feel like the super king of non-observation. I will repeat 100 times, Check the date before posting. :rolleyes:

Reading the entire thread wouldnt hurt either....:o

I dunno what a thrift store is, but in Sweden the council sometimes give some charity organization the task to "handle" stolen or abandoned bikes (often found in older apartment houses with collective storage rooms). I´ve been to check out such a bike graveyard. Anyhow, I want to save two bikes from the dump (where they end up when interest expires) and for sure I will have to re-organize them in order to make them spin - but they will spin! And thats when parts is a necessity. In this case I wanne save two frames (1 Puch Mistral and 1 Itoh Mustang). If you cant rescue, you must build...:)

"Thrift Stores" are where they sell used items that people bring in, often as donations. I have been to similar stores in Sweden where many old items (including bikes) were sold. I made some good purchases of Rorstrand porcelin at them!

OK, its a second-hand shop! Its more common (nowadays) bikes go to charity-groups where unemployed get to... fix bikes for instance. In this case, they dont do 10-speeds so the surplus are sold as demolished metal junk (per kilo). In this sense, the charity-groups are more hell to bikes than Drews for instance.:mad: As for now, I´m negotiating about the two bikes I want, but there are loads with older 10-speeds where at least the components would be a catch for a C&V rider! The OP shoulnt be so worried in comparison! (I prefer Upsala-Ekeby 50´s - 70´s porcelin...).