Originally Posted by
gaucho777
LOL. I helped produce some Service Merchandise catalogs about 15 years ago. That's a pretty good guess! I suggested Gitane before seeing the pics, but it looks like a mid-range (posing as higher) dept. store bike. For dating purposes, I had those same brakes on a '84 Peugeot PGN10. But the unicrown fork seems later(?). Anyway, mid-range contract/rebranded bike from the mid-80s with a Reynolds decal added later seems right to me. Pretty soon someone is this forum is bound to come along and know exactly what it is and have owned the very same model, but that person isn't me. The bike is worth getting back on the road, but the rust is troublesome and I wouldn't waste a lot of money or energy on it.
I agree.
To me that Reynolds sticker looks very suspect, and the rear stays coming off the seatpost lug look too clunky to be a more refined brand. I could definitely be wrong, but that is my gut. The other option is this may be a road bike "brand" from a defunct sporting goods store. It's too well made for just a Walmart/Kmart/etc of the era but it, to me, doesn't look bike shop quality. Not saying its a bad frame at all just trying to help identify. It would be a fun one to do the paint yourself on.