New to me Azuki 10 speed
 

I had seen a yellow bike in the corner of a garage at an estate sale this weekend. It was still dressed in dust and cobwebs gained from years of storage. I had never heard of this brand and a license sticker was still in place for 1973 to 1975 . I thought the $40.00 tag price was high so I asked for a last day sale quote. She sold it to me for $10.00 After getting it out in good light, I think I may have been a bit loose with my $10.00 .
The frame appears to be steel, but I have no idea of quality. I don't have any pictures yet but from web search it is the popular yellow color for this bike. The decals seem faded and some partly missing but a Texas company has a full decal set for it . Handlebars seem very narrow .
Have any of you ridden one of these? It would be enjoyable to work on it IF it is worthwhile. If not I will wash it up good, oil the chain , and give it a lift to the Salvation Army store.
I would appreciate your thoughts. Thank you

PIcture would help, but my first 10 speed as a nice blue Azuki, bought new in 1971 or so in Havre, MT $160 if i recall correctly. Mine was mid level quality, straight gauge chrome moly IIRC and the components were typical of the time...sugino crank, suntour gears, shifters, diacompe brakes..... depending on the model you have and condition this could be an ok to good ride....not super but capable.

Azuki is essentially the same as Nishiki. Same manufacturer (Kawamura), same importer (West Coast Cycles), just different branding. Look up Nishiki on Wikipedia for more info. And check T-mar's Asian serial number guide, which should pin down the year of manufacture.

Any hints of a tubing decal? What are the components? With a good drive-side pic, someone here will probably recognize the exact model.

Since you only paid $10 for it, you may actually be able to break even after fixing it up and selling it.

I had one briefly that I got for free and turned into a single speed back in about 2006 as I understood it from my LBS Azuki built entry level bikes during the bike boom, for $10 its tough to go wrong,clean it up and see how it rides.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ed97fcecdf.jpg
my for free find on CL 15 years ago

Azuki's were the predecessor for Nishiki. They were solidly built but used a lot of early Shimano parts like the 333 series of derailleurs and shifters. Definitely old school steel with first generation style of lugs. Worth the $10. build and ride with a lot of smiles for a lot of miles, MH

Thank you for all the comments. No surprise that it is an entry level bike , but it is just different enough that I'm going to at least get it to the point that I can ride it around the neighborhood and get a bit of a feel for the frame .
I'll work on the ability to post pictures.

How anybody could go wrong with a $10 Azuki.. IMO you did fine. At least in my area, having a low end beater is not necessarily a bad thing...it will still be there when you get back from whatever errand.

The predecessor to Nishiki was the American Eagle brand. The Azuki brand evolved out of the American Flyer during 1972. Nishiki actually pre-dated Azuki by about 9 months. Most members consider them to be sister brands, as both were owned (in the USA) by West Coast Cycle Supply.

Like Nishiki, Azuki was a full range brand. Consequently, there are higher end Azuki, though statistically speaking, the entry level models turn up far more often. The brand survived into at least the mid-1980s. I've seen at least three different manufacturers for Azuki, with Kawamuara and Kuwahara being the most dominant.

I worked at a Peugeot/Nishiki dealership (Bikecology) from 1972 to 1974. We sold a few Azukis when Nishikis were in short supply. The Azuki paint looked slightly better, and the Azuki equivalent of the Nishiki Competition (formerly American Eagle Semi-Pro) got an integral derailleur hanger first.

Good deal for ten bucks! Tune it up and have some fun on the road......