brockd15 

Anyone know anything about them? From what little I've been able to find they were built by Miyata and were the top (or near the top) of the Univega line. Some had the same bottom bracket shell as the Team Miyata, but this one doesn't. The others I've seen came with Campy components, but this one is full 105. I haven't found any Univega catalogs to verify anything, so any information would be helpful. I can get more pictures tonight, but for now I've only got these provided by the seller.

GrayJay

Nice detail work on the seatpost binder and cluster. From the parts, I would date it as from about 1988, give or take a year. The older silver crank, brakes and derailler were likely original and it looks like the grey colored 105 hubs and the shifters were added later, perhaps to upgrade it to 8-speed?? The wheelset is probably a replacement, those look like later campy rims that were not in wide use at the time this bike was made. No doubt it is a fast and solid bike but it was probaby a $500 entry level racer when new, not quite a pro level $1500+ race pedigree bike.

tugrul

The first letter of the serial should tell you the year.

custermustache

Awesome - I looked very hard at that bike and considered buying it.

T-Mar

+1. Components are Shimano New 105 which made their debut in 1987. However, I believe they are retrofit. The tubing label is typical of mid-1980s models and the headset looks as if it has some extra spacers, indicating the orignal headset had a taller stack height.

As stated the serial number will tell us the exact year of the frame. I'll suspect it will turn out to be a mid-1980s frame and, if so, would orignally have been Campagnolo Super record equipped and cost $1000-$1200, depending on the exact year.

brockd15 

Got home and checked the serial number - ND20134, which should equate to a 1985 frame. Where did this bike fall in the Univega line up in 1985? Anyone know what the line up was that year, or know if there are any catalogs online?

Muttleyone

So your the one that bought it. I thought about it a day or two then sent an email but it was gone. A little small anyway. Your pics make it look so much better then pics on craigslist. I think you got a good deal, love the color.

Mutt

brockd15 

Yeah, I didn't see it until a few days after it was listed and I was surprised it was still there when I got in touch with them. They said there were a few people who were going to come get it but the weather kept them from it. Aesthetically it needs a little TLC but I think it will clean up pretty well.

Muttleyone

Oh yeah that's right it snowed that day. It's a 56cm right? If it was a 58 I would have driven in the snow to get it. Good score!!!

Mutt

brockd15 

The ad said 56 but I thought it looked a little bigger...56 is on the small side for me too. It's actually 57 ctc and 58 ctt, with a 56 top tube.

Muttleyone

I thought it looked a little bigger then a 56 in the CL as pics. You did great. Give us a ride report later on.

Mutt

custermustache

I agree. Really nice score. Love the saddle.

GrayJay

I think I would concour with T-mar that the 105 parts may well have been from a later gruppo downgrade. The value of the campy SR grouppo probably eclipsed the value of the intact univega and the SR parts were probably removed to sell or put onto an italian frame. I dont think the super special model continued production much later than your 1985 and most of the later '80's univegas that would have come with 105 seemed to all have unicrown forks and were built in tiawan.
If your super special originally came with campy SR, it was likely at the very top of the Univega hierarchy, probably thier most expensive model at the time. I once had a univega super strada of similar mid-80's vintage, it looked very, very similar to your super special, exact same seatpost binder arrangement. THe one nicety that my super strada had was that it was fully chromed beneath the paint, from the rust spots showing through on your special, it does not look to be chromed.

T-Mar

It's just as I posted earlier. The frame in mid 1980s, specifically 1985, and the New 105 are replacement parts for Camapgnolo Super Record, which was OEM spec in 1985.

brockd15 

T-Mar, was it at the top of Univega's line in 1985? Do you happen to know what bikes were offered that year and their hierarchy?

Bummer that's it's been downgraded to 105, but I prefer modern components anyway so it would more than likely end up modified regardless.

T-Mar

Unfortunately. I don't have a definitive list for 1985. I have info on about 10 -12 known 1985 models, which I've compliled from 1985 magazines. According to old ads there were 33 models only two years earlier, so my 1985 list is probably far from complete. However, based on competing brands, the Super Speciale would have been very near the top of the line, if not the top. A Dura-Ace model would have been priced comparably and a C-Record model would be the only one that would be above that.

GrayJay

Researching a bit, it looks as if the comparable age SuperStrada came with Dura-Ace, I know the one I owed had extensivly chrome beneath the paint and chrome fully exposed on the dropouts. In my mind, this would make it a slightly nicer frame than one without chrome. I would suspect that the tubing, geometry and construction was otherwise identical for all thier $1000+ race bike frames for a given year.
Competizione (Suntour superbee), SuperStrada(Dura ace) and SuperSpeciale(Campy SR) seem to be the models at the top end of univega around this time. While there were undoubtablt some differences in price, I dont see these bikes so much as tiers in a hierarchy but more like three eqivalent top end models to suit the individual preference of the buyer. Functionally, superbee and dura ace at the time were pretty similar and both would have outperformed SR but SR likely still cost more and has a more traditional appeal.
The one other high end univega model was the ultralegerra but I think that it perhaps was not introdued until later in the 1980's, after the competizione and superspecial names were retired.

C-record was an incredibly expensive grouppo and would only ever have been expected to be found on top tier european bikes or custom framebuilder bikes. Anyone buying a bike with C-record would have been after a bike with more mystique and racing heritage that a univega. I doubt that asian built production bikes equipped with C-record were ever offered for sale as a model, just doesnt make make for a logical match when dura-ace outperformed c-rec. I raced hard on a superstrada for a couple of seasons and while it was an overall capable bike, it was somewhat of a heavy frame/fork and had an unusually long wheelbase for a race bike. From my superstrada, I upgraded to an SL tube Concorde and thought it was a nicer bike.

Nick Moffitt

I hope I'm not too late to join the thread (and I hope this is not a duplicate - my original post was rejected).

I purchased a Super Speciale in 1987 from Velo Sport in Berkeley, CA, for $999 (which I think was marked down from $1199). I still have the sales receipt and brochure. The bike is the same Coral Pink as the original poster's, and features the Campy Super Record group. I hope this helps contribute to the understanding of the history of this make/model.

I mistakenly donated the saddle to Goodwill and want to find the appropriate make/model saddle in order to restore the bike to its original condition. It was a shiny black leather over a painfully stiff plastic shell, and had copper rivets at front and rear. The bike is in near-mint condition, and this is the only piece I'm missing. I'd be very grateful if anyone could help me locate a replacement saddle.

brockd15 

Hey Nick,
Do you have any pictures of your bike you could post? I'd love to see one as it was originally set up.

GrayJay

Selle San Marco Regal is probably the most popular copper rivit plastic saddle though it does not have a rivit on the nose. In any case, it would be period correct and not look at all out of place.
https://velobase.com/ViewComponent.as...9-34cb46f9736f

Most likely your marked down Super Special was a leftover from an earlier model year (1985??) when you bought it. Super record ceased producion in 1986 and was really showing its age against competing grouppos by 1987.

brockd15 

Also, any chance you have scans of the brochure?

Nick Moffitt

Thank you both for the replies. Turns out the correct saddle was a Selle Italia Turbo, and I snagged a 1986 original in great condition from eBay the other night. My recollection of the copper rivets was from the ride I sold prior to purchasing the Univega.

GrayJay - that's interesting about the dates; I'm sure it was left over from the previous year (which would make the saddle even more historically accurate). It was probably a 1986 made with '85-'86 components. Do you know how to get the mfg date from the S/N?

Once the saddle arrives, I will reattach the Campy peddles and mount the original tubulars for some photos. The bike looks brand new; I'm a blue sky (more like a blue moon) rider and have not given this bike nearly the useage it deserves. The only damage is minor chain-strike and a few dings from 5 household moves. One brake cover has a slight tear, but the bike has never been down and has no rust.

My interest in acquiring the original saddle was spurred by a recent visit to the shop. The mechanic, who is experienced with older bikes, told me that given the size (56cm), color (Coral) and condition, its value in the collector's market could be multiples of what I paid for it. I got the same opinion from the shop where I bought it in 1987. Is this realistic? Not sure I'd even want to sell it, but I don't want to lose that option.

Brockd15 - the brochure is really a user's manual and is very generic. I will scan it, but it's not very exciting. PDF OK? I might be able to get original marketing brochures.

realestvin7

So you're the guy that bought it! The guy held it for me for a day while I figured out if I wanted it. Really cool dude. I eventually decided against it, as I have too many bikes already. Lol.

GrayJay

post the SN and someone can help you decode it. I am not sure about the super special, but many univegas were made by miyata and their serial numbers can be decoded for date of production.

I think that a fraction of the original price would be more likely than a multiple. While they were decent bikes, Univega had absolutely no sponsorship association with any racing team or racing heritage, their construction was outsourced to an anonymous Japanese supplier, they were only sold in North America and Univega was much better know as a mass-supplier of entry level bikes. Not exactly the makings of a high $$ collector bike. More likely, I would think that if someone acquired a complete super special at a decent price, then the SR grouppo would get removed and hung on a more "interesting" restoration project. I just cant imagine that there is a community of wealthy Univega collectors out there to bid the price sky high.

T-Mar

I wouldn't assume that there wasn't a Univega C-Record model based on your argument. First off, Lawee wasn't restricted to Asian manufacturing. He could have had a Univega with C-Record manufactured in Italy. This was a big trend at that time. US brands that were generally considered Japanese, such as Centurion, Lotus and Nishiki, were all having high end models manufactured in Italy at this time. Lawee was about to embark on this route with the Bertoni brand and having an Italian manufactured Univega could have been an interim step to test the markets, just like he did by having some of the last Italvega manufactured in Japan.

As for Asian equipped bicycles not being marketed with C-Record, there is a precedent that disproves your argument. Lotus offered such a model in 1985. While it was manufactured in Italy and Lotus was a USA brand, the public identified it as an Asian marque due to manufacturing history. Consequently, the situation is the same as it would have been with Univega.

In the end, you may be correct, but I wouldn't make that assumption without having the catalogs.