I'm happy to see people talking about Sekines again. My Japanese-made early 70s Sekine was one of my favorite bikes. For $175 -- this was 1973 --I got a chrome moly frame outfitted with mid-level Shimano alloy components. I was given the choice of clincher or tubular rims, and for $35 my LBS swapped out the 24-tooth freewheel for a 28, the derailleur for a SunTour Vgt, the downtube shifters for barcons, the saddle for a Brooks B17, and threw in a pair of toeclips. I loved that bike, and I'll always regret not buying a better lock for it because two years later someone with bolt cutters stole it off my car's bike rack. Seeing one today is like running into my first girlfriend.

The early Sekines were produced in Japan, but about 1973 or '74 manufacturing was moved to Canada.