GoJacob

does anyone know anything about this bike? i have very limited information:
"Chaparral" on downtube [either the model name or the company; i'm assuming the former]
27" x 1.24 wheels and tires
Maxy Sugino Crank Assembly
small aluminum fenders, 2" by 11"
SunTour GT Compe-V 10 speed derailleur
DiaCompe center pull Brakes
serial #2442
Made in Japan

[i don't have it, but it's up for sale]
i'm looking for a bike to build into a fixed gear and/or a winter commuter, but i have not been able to find ANY information on this bike. i'm assuming it's a japanese 80's bike boomer.

Stacey

Could be related?

https://www.r-techsite.com/Snowmobile...torcycles.html

GoJacob

yeah, the only info i could find came up to be motorcycles and a company called banshee... dunno what any of that has to do with it... but i wish there was some more info out there
or maybe someone has had experience with it? anyways, thanks

Stacey

Try Bombardier (sp) they made snowmobiles back then and I think they were parent company to the Chaparell effort.

GoJacob

i tried, and all i could come up with was jim bombardier, the president of bicycle inc.
it's fairly hard to filter search results to get what I want... and probably impossible to find any info on these bikes. any comments are still greatly appreciated! thanks



here's what it looks like if anyone has any comments.

p.s. i'm looking for a winter commuter and i can't tell if the rims are steel or aluminum...
if anyone has any opinions on whether it would be an adequate bike for winter. [ebay bike] thanks!

Stacey

If it fits, ride it.

A magnet will stick to steel but not aluminum.

GoJacob

it's an ebay bike, about 50 miles away from me...
so i emailed the guy and he said he couldn't tell if they were steel or aluminum, *sigh*
and that the front wheel had a wingnut quick release...
anyways, i'll try to snag it if the price stays low [like 20 bucks]
and it seems as if i'm beating a dead horse w/ this thread! hahaha...
thanks

FRANKIEJ

I used to have a bike that sounds exactly like yours. It was made by a company called Kobe. It was a typical bike boom Japanese ten speed. I did a bit of research on it, and I vauguely recall that it was a proprietary brand from some bike shop in California. I can't recall any more details though. It was a decent bike and became my first fixed gear some 6 or so years ago. It's long gone now.

GoJacob

Here are some more pictures that they sent to me:













they said that a magnet stuck to the wheels, but they LOOK aluminum to me [maybe they put the magnet on the spokes]... then again, i'm not good at telling just from some pictures. whatchya think? any comments on the looks of this bike? there are some decent closeups of the components... what's with the rear derailleur and that long arm sticking out of it? thanks!

GoJacob

Sorry, links to photos didn't work...
here they are -- tell me what you guys think:

AAA-Oct-1-033.jpg

AAA-Oct-1-034.jpg

AAA-Oct-1-035.jpg

AAA-Oct-1-036.jpg

AAA-Oct-1-037.jpg

AAA-Oct-1-038.jpg

would this bike be worth working into a winter bike?
what do you guys think about the rims, they look aluminum or steel?
any other comments gladly taken!

top506

Bike-boom special; it's probably worth $20. I've ridden worse, but I've also fished better out of the 'metals' hopper at the dump.
The Sun Tour and Dia-Compe comps are decent enough, but I can't tell about the wheels from the scans. The bit on the DR is a bash guard, not often seen on street bikes but a common ATM item. And do I remember those butterfly nuts on the wheels! You never could get them tight enough on the rear axle.
Top

rick39

"I have a Chaparral bike that I bought in 1971 from a Chaparral snowmobile dealer. The dealer and Chaparral lasted about
2 more years. Bikes serial # is 2161. I has a steel lugged frame and steel wheels with alum bars, and pedal components.
Very strong construction. Been in my basement for 30 years. rick39"

sthslvrcnfsn

A friend of mine gave me her bike to tune up recently. It sounds exactly like this bike. It's a Chaparral with Sugino Maxy cranks, Suntour Compe-V FD, Suntour GT RD, Kobe rims, Suntour Power Shift shifters, an Argi Stem, a vinyl saddle made by "Taihei Unite", Dia Compe brake levers, and no-name brakes that look like Weinmanns (same space for the "Weinmann" sticker).

This bike looks exactly like the blue one shown above, except that it is red - little fenders, lugged steel frame, chrome-ended forks with the same stickers, identical chainring. It also weighs a TON, as indicated above. My 69 Schwinn Varsity, which has a welded-on kickstand, might weigh less than the Chaparral. The Chaparral frame is probably close to two inches shorter, too.

The serial number underneath the BB is M261465. There is a sticker on the downtube that indicates the serial number is #1632. This leads me to believe that somebody bought these Japanese steel frames from a big frame maker (where they got the serial number stamped on the BB), then dressed the bike up with parts and stickers from other suppliers, (perhaps the assembly was conctracted out as well) and slapped a "serial number" sticker on it which corresponded to the finished bike. Sounds like the idea that Chaparral was an "in-house" bike brand from some random local bike shop is plausable.

Also, funny thing about two of the lugs - where the top tube joins the hed tube, and where the top tube joins the seat tube - there is a gob of metal in a line on the inside of both lugs. Either when the lugs were cast, the area where the metal enters the mold wasn't ground off, or the lugs were stamped flat, bent around to make a circle (where the tube fits), and the seam soldered together. Never seen that before.

auntie tika

I have 2 bikes, my Dad sold them in the early 70"s. I believe they were made in japan, also sold snowmobiles of same name. I piece construction. Not used in over 35 years.
Edited by Moderators.

BridgerBill

I'm actually selling a high Chaparral bike, I got it for $70 to ride around while at a short training school. I got what I paid for.