ryansu

Good for you for A) keeping it, especially with the family history and B) going stock although I think you can be forgiven if you updated the bar tape and had a spare 27" wheel-set with clinchers for regular use. You might also check the brake-pads, cables and housing if its been garaged for a number of years- you don't want to leave your life in the hands of old consumables as you bomb down a hill at 25+ mph -just saying

Love the blue frame color and the black components in that era are not commonplace. I have seen a few Zebs but never one this high end. Nice bike, ride it and smile!

berf

The seat post will be 26.8. Branded either hupel rider or cr(pi)ep rider. Tubeset is Ishiwata 019. We sold maybe four of these in three years. It's my grail bike. I expect to never see one but I'm a lucky guy so who knows? I've not heard of Miki. I once saw a brochure from a Japanese builder called Dainihon which showed frames of very similar build to the best Japanese framesets of the era. Don't know if it was a US marketing name or the native name. There's an untold story of the unnamed or anonymous Japanese master craftsmen. Either individual manufacturers had a small sequestered shop of master builders similar to Schwinn and the Paramount or they farmed the high-end out to a few outside shops.

MarkJoldguy

I love the photos. I have the same year and color Olympic Ace. I'm getting mine repainted after I repaired a cracked chain stay and removed some rust from under the top tube. I only have a grainy photo from 1976 and your photos capture the color well. The local importer was a friend and called the color "blue purple mist". My 60cm weighed about 22 pounds stock. I put well over 40,000 miles on it and broke the bars, shifters, rear rim and wore out the crankset before I semi-retired it. It's still fun to ride and I hope you still ride yours.

bikemig 

This thread is a few years old so the posters may be gone. You should start a new thread with your bike and show some before and after pics!

motiheal

I am looking at this thread and wonder if anyone has info on this Zebra--

T-Mar

The subject bicycle is a nice, lower mid-range model circa 1985-1986, known as the Excelsior. MSRP would have bee ~ $325-$350 US.

The main tubes are Ishiwata 022, which was a well respected, lightweight, Japanese, double butted, chrominum-molybdenum tubeset. The forks are are also 022 but the stays are lower grade hi-tensile steel. The derailleurs are the 2nd version of 3rd generation SunTour Cyclone, a nicely performing mid-range set. The rest of the components don't appear to be quite up to the Cyclone level with the possible exception of the crankset and rims. The brakes are Dia-Compe GX400N with aftermarket Shimano levers for the aero cable routing. I can't positively identify the pedal and hubs but they're not Cyclone. Rims appear to be the ubiquitous Araya 20A, in the 700C version.

If you own the bicycle, I may be able to determine the exact year from the serial number.

motiheal

Wow, sir, I am impressed. I bought the bike five days ago, have cleaned it, lubed and adjusted it, and did a LOT of online research before meeting you. The serial number is D6B1626, which according to your serial number post for Japanese bikes makes it a 1986. The pedals are Sugino PD1000 platforms, and the hubs are La Pierre. Saddle is a Selle Italia Mundialita. I agree the brake levers are aftermarket, and I think the freewheel is too (13-21, bike looks like it had been raced). There is another similar one on Ebay right now with lots of components that match, so these are probably stock. 24-25 pounds. Not much left of the "Excelsior"; my wife and I were really trying to figure this out! Thanks so much. John

T-Mar

Hmm, I wondering if those hubs might be LePree, which was SunTour's group one step below Cyclone?

Agreed, 13-21T is pretty tight. That appears to be the mid-cage version of New Cyclone, so I'd expect it to be running closer to the claimed capacity of a 28T large cog. The short cage version could handle up to a 26T and was marginally lighter, so I'd think they would have have spec'd the short cage version if the OEM freewheel had been 13-21T.

motiheal

Yes, for the record, LePree not LaPierre hubs. I am wondering how you know about these? That it was an Excelsior? Any pics of the word on the top tube? Thanks again!

Hummer

@motiheal

The model name of the subject bicycle is Invincia, not Excelsior.

In 1986 the MSRP was $379.95, and was second from the top of the line,

In 1987 the MSRP was $399.95, and was the third from the top of the line.
It was sold as a Racing/Triathlon model.