Yep. Oxjap had a one-man booth at the NY Cycle Show in '80-'81, Karate brand bicycle. Small booth, maybe just one/two bikes? I definitely took a spec sheet or poster because the name seemed so cheesy, not sure I can find it here in the Bat Cave. Never saw one in the wild, don't remember seeing any ads or reviews in Bicycling, etc. Can't have had many dealers, nobody in our area had them, can't imagine they sold many units. Go Karate Bike!!! Go!! Go!!! Go!!!!
Originally Posted by
onespeedbiker
From what i can determine your Karate bicycle was imported in the middle 80's by a Japanese importing company named Oxjap; they didn't get many dealers so the brand is pretty obscure. For a better date, check the back of your derailleur where there is a date code and compare to this chart.
Shimano date codes The derailleur is a Shimano RD-L532, Light Action, which should have a date 1987-1989 or so..