Japanese Steel
10-12-05, 07:01 AM
#1
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Japanese Steel
Just picked up a frameset for my most recent project (mostly due to odd-ness more than actual necessity).
Anyway, it's an unmarked Ishwata frameset, double butted steel (according to the tiny Ishwata sticker) but w/ aero seat and down tubes. (given today's alum TT bikes, aero is a bit of an overstatement, but very significantly ovalised anyway). Has anyone come across other aero steel frames, or know anything about Ishwata making profiled steel tubes? If it helps to date the frame, it came with Shim600 cranks with the HUGE pedal spindles/proprietary caged pedals and a single bolt qwill 600 stem.
Someome chopped off the downtube shifter bosses before turning it into the local bike recycler, but if it turns out to be worthy it shall be born fixed again
I'll try and get some pics posted tonight, if I can borrow a digi.
Thanks for your help! (_InsertTypicalSearchFunctions_ turned up no insight...)
Anyway, it's an unmarked Ishwata frameset, double butted steel (according to the tiny Ishwata sticker) but w/ aero seat and down tubes. (given today's alum TT bikes, aero is a bit of an overstatement, but very significantly ovalised anyway). Has anyone come across other aero steel frames, or know anything about Ishwata making profiled steel tubes? If it helps to date the frame, it came with Shim600 cranks with the HUGE pedal spindles/proprietary caged pedals and a single bolt qwill 600 stem.
Someome chopped off the downtube shifter bosses before turning it into the local bike recycler, but if it turns out to be worthy it shall be born fixed again
I'll try and get some pics posted tonight, if I can borrow a digi.
Thanks for your help! (_InsertTypicalSearchFunctions_ turned up no insight...)
10-12-05, 07:24 AM
#2
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well as far as putting a date to the bike, the shimano ax group was in made from around 1981-1983. as far as the steel goes, i don't know.
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10-12-05, 07:50 AM
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Originally Posted by InVeloVeritas
Just picked up a frameset for my most recent project (mostly due to odd-ness more than actual necessity).
Anyway, it's an unmarked Ishwata frameset, double butted steel (according to the tiny Ishwata sticker) but w/ aero seat and down tubes. (given today's alum TT bikes, aero is a bit of an overstatement, but very significantly ovalised anyway). Has anyone come across other aero steel frames, or know anything about Ishwata making profiled steel tubes? If it helps to date the frame, it came with Shim600 cranks with the HUGE pedal spindles/proprietary caged pedals and a single bolt qwill 600 stem.
Someome chopped off the downtube shifter bosses before turning it into the local bike recycler, but if it turns out to be worthy it shall be born fixed again
I'll try and get some pics posted tonight, if I can borrow a digi.
Thanks for your help! (_InsertTypicalSearchFunctions_ turned up no insight...)
Anyway, it's an unmarked Ishwata frameset, double butted steel (according to the tiny Ishwata sticker) but w/ aero seat and down tubes. (given today's alum TT bikes, aero is a bit of an overstatement, but very significantly ovalised anyway). Has anyone come across other aero steel frames, or know anything about Ishwata making profiled steel tubes? If it helps to date the frame, it came with Shim600 cranks with the HUGE pedal spindles/proprietary caged pedals and a single bolt qwill 600 stem.
Someome chopped off the downtube shifter bosses before turning it into the local bike recycler, but if it turns out to be worthy it shall be born fixed again
I'll try and get some pics posted tonight, if I can borrow a digi.
Thanks for your help! (_InsertTypicalSearchFunctions_ turned up no insight...)
S/F,
CEYA!
10-12-05, 02:11 PM
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The great thing about Japanese steel was it was much cheaper than Columbus or Reynolds and competed or surpassed in quality. I know weight tests for similarly positioned tubesets put Tange in lighter and stiffer than their competition to the west.
10-12-05, 04:17 PM
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Heh, nice try
Well, I've found reference to Panasonic using Tange aero tubing, but not ishwata. Agreed, it would be nice to see some quality steel back on the market from that area. I'm going to make another pass for serial numbers, and I believe I've found a camera for the night, so pics should be up soon.
Well, I've found reference to Panasonic using Tange aero tubing, but not ishwata. Agreed, it would be nice to see some quality steel back on the market from that area. I'm going to make another pass for serial numbers, and I believe I've found a camera for the night, so pics should be up soon.
10-14-05, 11:44 AM
#7
Senior Member
a local shop showed me a 1980's aero Lotus a few weeks ago when I was looking for brake hoods for my funny shimano 600 aero levers... REALLY nice, but not really my size. Included a funky water bottle too...
10-14-05, 03:40 PM
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Matthew Grimm / Flunky
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10-14-05, 04:31 PM
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Matthew Grimm / Flunky
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Originally Posted by Walkercycles
Matthew, Thanks for putting that up.
great link!
DW
great link!
DW
Yeah, I'd like to see those tubes. Not bad enough to take a trip to San Jose. And not that I dislike ECO tubes.
Hey, did you ever get a chance to play w/ a box of Tange Prestige tubes? Those we nice. You could roll one across an alignment table and there was zero wobble.
10-14-05, 10:05 PM
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Wow, those are some seriously nice tubes.
Well, finally here are some pics. I appologize for the blurrness/quality of the paint. I don't know how long it was hiding in the back of the lbs....
Well, finally here are some pics. I appologize for the blurrness/quality of the paint. I don't know how long it was hiding in the back of the lbs....
