Originally Posted by
RIDER987
It's definitely a Yamaguchi and I've attached a photo of the decal.
Both the triathlon decal and Yamaguchi appear to be original as I've also found the same bikes from a Google search.
Any thoughts on this bike as I'm slightly confused?
What is the difference between Sekai, Sakae and Sakai?
That decal says Sakai, seat post has Sakae embedded and what I understand is that Yamaguchi made frames for Sekai?
Would I be right to assume it's a mid-end bike?
It's Yamaguchi built but not necessarily Yamaguchi branded. Triathlon could indicate a brand or model or it could be owner applied.
Sakai, in this case, refers to the Japanese city, though it was also a private label brand for Bloor Cycle of Toronto, Canada. Sakae (Ringyo) is the name of a Japanese component manufacturer, often abbreviated as SR. Sekai is the name of a bicycle brand originally owned and marketed by Velocipede of Seattle and acquired in the in the early 1980s by Norco.
The frame is from 1986.
, not 1985. Tange 900 is a seamed chromium molybdenum alloy, while the Mangaloy 2001 forks (and almost certainly stays) are a lower grade, carbon manganese alloy. During this era, frames with this combination were typically used on upper entry level models but could sometimes be found on lower mid-range models, depending on the components. In this particular case, it is difficult to determine exactly which components are OEM. The wheels and saddle are obvious replacements. Cyclone MK II was still aviailable in 1986 but had been replaced by New Cyclone, which was typically spec'd on new models. I can't identify the 105 and 600 generations form the photo.
Yamaguchi was a contract manufacturer that built for many brands including, but not limited to, Lotus, Maruishi, Norco, Sakai, Sekai, Shogun and Steve Bauer. The large number of possible brands in conjunction with the frankenbike build, makes it difficult to identify the original brand and model.