Takara and other Japanese makers had a variety of models at different quality levels. The lower-end models were mass-produced using less expensive materials, a single factory might mass produce frames for a dozen makers. The better bikes were handmade, with much better stuff. Some bikes, like my old Cherubim, had 531 tubes and Nervex lugs. My old Vivalo road bike was made with Columbus SL tubes with Campy dropouts. When I look at old Japanese bikes, I first check the lugs and seat stays. The lower end bikes have longer, heavier lugs, and the attention to detail around the seat stays and how they are attached. The high-end bikes have smaller lugs, which are better shaped, and which sometimes have cutouts. The best frames come with internal cable routing, the very best have internal routing all the way to the derailleur cable on the chain stay. The chrome, the dropouts, the lugs, and the Gran Compe stem and brakes denote a high end bike, only a step down from the top-of-the line models.

So I tried to get up to Logan (the city where the bike is located) on Friday but I could never get anybody to answer the phone. So I called Utah state University and discovered the agency that is actually selling the bikes is only open Monday thru Thursday, 10-5. This puts a significant damper on my ability to go check it out…

And I’ve been thinking about why I’m drawn to this bike: because it’s cheap, it’s chrome, and it’s my size.

But that doesn’t allow me to reduce the number of bikes living at my house, I still don’t like drop bars, and I’ve already got a sweet blue bike that is a pretty good “sports tourer” that won’t need upgrading to indexed shifting and cassette wheels in the form of my 1997 Trek Multitrack 750.

So I think I’ll pass on this one, as interesting as it may be and as fun as a pointless project can be.

But if I keep looking I might be swayed. Those head lugs sure are pretty….

Dang it, after reading the test review so kindly posted up I’m having second thoughts.

Wouldnt be too much trouble if I just went right after work on Monday….

Sometimes it's just fun to have a bike to tinker with.

If that was closer to me and you passed on it, I would be on it just for the originality of it. Other than the paint...

This might be the kind of bike that you buy, you fix up ... a little, you ride ... a little, and -- unless you fall in love with it -- you plan to either give it away (eg, to the local Co-op, a friend, a relative), or you sell it.

IOW, think of it as a foster bike, knowing there's such a thing as a "foster fail," and go buy the darnned thing :-)

The price of admission just isn't that high.

Yes, this is my thinking as well. As someone posted earlier, it’s close enough, it’s cheap enough, and it looks pretty nice in spite of itself…. I’ll probably run up on Monday and have a look. Just, you know, for fun….

Every bike dork needs a bike / frame to just screw around with. It helps if that frame / bike doesn't suck.

This looks like a bike / frame that doesn't suck.

And it's 50 bucks.

And it fits.

And its 50 bucks.

--Shannon
​

Like I mentioned - buy some bar tape instead. Even if you don't use it, it takes less space.

I had an Opaque Blue Schwinn World Voyager with scratched up paint. Noticing the chrome underneath I got out the paint stripper and Bobs your uncle instant chrome bike. wasn't perfect but it still got a lot of attention and compliments.

I finally got a response from aggiebluebikes, the organization selling this bicycle.

They were willing and able to take some better pics of key components and the head badge. They also informed me that the price was erroneously listed at $30 but the actual price should have been $100.

Having had a 3 day weekend to think about it I had decided this morning that I’m going to pass on this bike. The increased price solidified my decision.

Even at $100 I feel like this would be an okay purchase, but not a great one.

Pondering on my list at the beginning of this thread, I think I don’t really want to take on a project that eventually I know I’ll just pass along in the (probably not too distant) future.

Additionally, I’ve got plenty of project fodder hanging around here:
1) 1991 Fat City Wicked Fat Chance
2) 1989 Mt. Shasta Pachanga
3) 1995 Trek Singletrack 930 (should I decide to project it)
4) A Trek FX 7.3 (again, should I decide to project it)
5) 1992 Fishlips Toxic Tuna mountain bike. This one’s too small for me but it is very rare and was one of my grail bikes for a while.

Still trying to get rid of bikes and buying another one doesn’t reduce the number of bikes hanging around here. Sometimes ya gotta be brutal and disciplined and forsake acquiring more, however interesting a project may be….

FWIW, here are the pics the guy sent me:










And for the record, this surely looks like a Takara Model 8 as referenced in the road test posted earlier….

I think you made the right call. At $100, you’d make your money back by selling the parts, but that requires a lot of work, and then you’d be left with a $30 frame with no parts.

If it were local to me, I'd be tempted except for the paint. That head badge though is something. Nothing like the other two styles I've seen.