zookster 

Local to me is a lot of 8 bicycles for sale. There are a few brands I am not familiar with among them. Can anyone shed some light? One is a made in West Germany Kalkhoff, a made in Japan Miyata and a Speedway which the seller says was made in Japan for a bike shop in Kentucky. Are any of these worth saving? the other brands in the lot are Vista, Schwinn and Western Flyer. Pictures below of the Kalkhoff, Miyata and Speedway.

Kalkhoff









Miyata






Speedway (only one picture available for now)

T-Mar

Miyata is a well known and highly respected brand thatr dates back to just prior to the 20th century.. It was arguably the best of the mass volume Japanese brands and certainly in top 3, along with Fuji and Bridgestone. The head badge indicates mid-1970s. The frame characteristics and components indicate an entry level model. The rear derailleur is a SunTour but it appears to be the low end Honor. Lots of rusts speckles, so the condition is only fair to good. It's probaly the best bicycle of the three but it's also a very small frame.

Kalkoff is a German brand first appeared just after the Great War. They were family owned until the mid-1980s, when they were purchased by Derby. It is an entry level model and appears to be from the early 1970s, bicycle boom. Totally rotted tyres and discoloured looking Simplex derailleur system. Often, they once they start to fade to gray, the Delrin is getting brittle.

Speedway was a Japanese brand owned by C. Itoh, a Japanese trading comapny that partnered with Bridgestone for bicycle manufacture. . In the mid-1970s, the brand was acquired by the Louisville Cycle and Supply Comapny of Kentucky, so the subject bicycle is no earlier than that. This is the least well known of the 3 brands and like the others, is appears to be an entry level model. Based on the head lugs, it may be Kuwahara manufacture.

There's nothing special, that I can see, about any of the three bicycles. They all appear, to be 1970s, entry level models, with a fair amount of work/investment required.

zookster 

Thanks T-Mar . Just the kind of info I was looking for. At $100 for all 8 I may at least go have a look at them.

bikemig 

You may be overpaying at $100 for all 8 of them.

billytwosheds 

Ya as funny as it may sound, the burden of having 8 bikes at this level might not be worth taking on.

Once you get into replacing tires, cables, etc your margin (meat on the bone) will be small. You might even go into the red.

If'n you have a market in mind and want to learn by refreshing them, go for it. Otherwise I'd say pass.

zookster 

Valid points. Thanks!