jeffpepperdine

So I tried to do some research and I know Kuwahara did make some road bikes bearing their own name in the mid 80's (and yes, I know the Canadian Olympic Team rode them in 1988). Other than this there is very little info online.

The bike apparently has a shimano 600 group (minus calipers I assume), campy hubs & mavic rims.

Anyone want to take a stab at what this is? Is it a mountain bike or touring frame turned tri bike?

Photos are horrible. I'm going to look tomorrow, but wanted to give you guys a stab at identifying it....

randyjawa 

I have run across two Kuwahara road bicycles, a Titan and a Newport. The Titan was a pretty darn nice bicycle and the Newport was mostly unimpressive in my opinion...





Other than that, I can add little to the knowledge base. Better pictures, taken from the drive side, would be a great help.

Bianchigirll 

I would not call that a Tri bike just a nice tourer someone put aero bars on

realestvin7

Has potential to be a real nice bike.

jeffpepperdine

Going to look tonight. Will keep you posted..

wrk101

Touring bike with tri bits on it. I've seen several similar bikes around here, as there is a mini triathlon boom.

sauze

a decent excuse to post my Kuwahara touring bike (no I never ride in that gear combo , yes the inner ring is inverted in this photo)

triple butted i****awa EX tubing , far from light though not whippy at all
Suntour XCE bits , Dia Compe brakes , Sealed Suaze hubs

kuso

^nice^ was wondering when you were going post it!

jeffpepperdine

Beauty. I'm really starting to hope this one pans out. Do you know what year yours is?

sauze

I don't recall exactly, but pretty sure it was 83 or 84, something around there . I'd imagine the one you're looking at is older (chrome fork, non aero brakes)

jeffpepperdine

I don't think the fork is actually chrome. I think it's painted 'champagne' to match the head tube. I agree the non-aero brakes are a good tell that it's pre mid 80's. Did Suntour have aero levers that early, or are yours upgraded?

sauze

I don't think they were upgraded, though it's certainly possible . I want to say the levers are 'Blaze' . @Kuso I need to take some newer photos of it but I've been riding it a good amount and it's always embarrassingly dirty. Very little need for the SS Ice Warrior that is the old Raleigh MTB. Today was downright HOT outside !

BluesDaddy

I-SHI-WA-TA. No censoring neccesary.

jeffpepperdine

In 1987, Sun Tour's Accushift index shifting was introduced. There were technical problems. Further market share was lost to Shimano. Accushift groups included Superbe Pro, Sprint 9000, Cyclone 7000, α-5000, and α-3000. Non-indexed versions of the second- and third-best groups' RD and levers were referred to simply as Sprint and Cyclone ...... Aero brake levers were introduced.
https://sheldonbrown.com/suntour.html

Warm enough here to, but far to wet for an enjoyable ride.

sauze

+7c (!!) in January in Winnipeg is just nuts , it certainly was wet but I couldn't help but go for a short spin.

jeffpepperdine

Bike is definitely a touring model with Ishiwata EX tubing. Shimano 600EX touring group w/ 3 ring crank set and long cage rear derailleur. Which I think would date it 84-86. Fork wasn't chrome; painted. Wheels must have been upgraded; record low flange hubs with mavic tubular rims. General condition was 7 or 8 and could look nice with some clean up.

I bailed on it mainly because I was most interested in the wheelset for another project, but didn't anticipate finding tubular tires on it. Let him know I would take it significantly less than his asking if he had trouble selling... so who knows. I wanted to snap some photos but felt to awkward given I was in his basement.

Thanks for the advice.

jeffpepperdine

Balmy! That's warmer than it is here!