I picked up this Soma Competition today at a yard sale. It has full Shimano 600 groupo. The head and dropouts are Kuwahara and the rims are Araya. The saddle is a Brooks B-17. It has received a lot of TLC through the years. I can't figure out if this is a mid level bike or more high end, certainly the components make a statement, but I know nothing about the frame and there are no frame decals. Researching BF indicates Soma frames were made by Kuwahara, which is supported by the dropouts and head.
With the exception of the cranks, I can not find a date code on any of the Shimano components. The crank dates to 1978, but it's the one component that is not original, according to the original owner.
I've searched BF and found very little other than Soma was around for a very short period in the late 70's early 80s.
Does anyone know anything about this bike, or Soma? I did determine this Soma is no relation to the current Soma in the US. The serial number on the frame is "7 7 1562". I'm taking a wild guess, but maybe it's a '78 model built at the end of '77.
If anyone can shed any additional light about this bike or Soma, please post here.
Thanks