RobHalligan

I bought this bike a few weeks ago and am enjoying it but can't find any info on it. (I did google it.) Frame decal says "Young Line". Hub and shifter: Sachs Torpedo. Pedals: Buchel. Headlight and sidewall dynamo: Larux. Brake: Polygon.

Photos:https://s15.photobucket.com/albums/a3.../Young%20Line/

The guy who sold it to me thought it was Japanese. My mechanic thinks it's Swiss. Could anyone please help me ID the country of origin, brand, model, and approx year of production?

wrk101

Sachs components often are open dated: first two digits are the week of the year, last two are the year. So 2482 would mean the 24th week of 1982.

I would look for some date codes there.

I have also found open dating codes on seat posts, stems and handlebars.

RobHalligan

Thanks much. I don't see any open date format numbers. The hub only has a "36" on it. The stem has a "74" on it. The cross bar on the rear stay where the brake attaches has a "DO197355" or "D0157355".

I wanted this bike to be my beater - Bertha the Beater - but I'm enjoying it so much, I'm buffing out. I'm thinking about making some decals and powder coating it. Even if no one has heard of this make/model, I want to reproduce the simple graphics by tracing, photoshopping, and printing them on decal inkjet paper.

RobHalligan

I found "Akisu 84" stamped on the fork when I pulled it out of the frame....seems like Akisu is Japanese and made forks on contract for lots of companies.

RobHalligan

Some more photos before it heads off to the powdercoater: https://flickr.com/gp/robhalligan/Xs0a5e

I still have to get better images of the decals before printing out the replacements on ink jet decal paper. I don't know what bits are original, but I know the seat isn't. (Love the look of the seat but it's not comfortable.)

RobHalligan

I added a few more photos to assist a neighbor friend who has been looking into the origins of this bike. He's thinking it might be a Scandinavian, Swiss, or German department store brand from the late 70s or early 80s. One thought is that it may have been made by the Danish company Kildemoes.

RobHalligan

When my powder coater stripped the paint off frame, we found that it said “Made in W. Germany” on the bracket where the kickstand mounts. Turns out that bracket made by ESGE is used on frames manufactured by many companies. Bummer.

(The powder coating and the decal reproduction came out great. I’ll assemble the components, post new photos, and write up a piece in the DC area Regional Discussions BikeForum on the powder coater, mechanics, and suppliers who have done work on this project.)

RobHalligan

Posted a progress report here: Re-building Bertha - DC rehab project detailed

Bianchigirll 

I don't have any information for you but I think I need one too. those twin toptubes would look nice next to my RIGI

RobHalligan

I had a bike store owner posit that this stamp indicated it is a German frame.

RobHalligan

From this Sachs fan/info/old part sales site, I take this info on figuring the age of Sachs hubs:
<<A Duomatic 102 hub shell, marked "O" for 1971.
( 36 refers to the number of spoke holes )

On hubs made from 1920 to 1957, you will find a number for the year on the hub-shell.
( On Torpedo coaster brake hubs until 1962 )

On hubs made from 1958 to 1974, you will find a letter for the year on the hub-shell.
A = 1958, B = 1959, ( "J" and "Q" are not used )
In 1982, they went back to 'A' again.

On hubs made from 1975 to 1989, you will find 2 letters on the brake lever.
The one above is for the month.
The one below (important) is for the year.>>

I have a W above a D on the hub brake lever. By this method, that makes my hub manufacture date 1985. That seems a bit later than I’d think, but it could just be a very conservative design for its time.

Any help with IDing this bike would be much-appreciated. I love it much more now than I did when I first got it. (Now that I write that, it’ll probably get stolen.)

RobHalligan

A flickr user, sludgeulper, commented on my flickr set of this bike that he photographed an almost identical bike in Berlin. Maybe that will help ID this bike. I've been through quite a few bikes in the 4 years I've had this one, but it still remains my daily driver.