Idunno445

Hey all
Like I posted in another thread, on Thursday I found an older Univega Sportour in the basement of my girlfriend's house. I got it home yesterday and I did a little bit of work on it today. I took off the reflectors, the spoke protector (which was huge and had yellowed... it was a very ugly dork disk) and the old, hard, dirty foam on the handlebars. I also replaced the saddle (which was falling apart) with one of my extra saddles... looks a bit out of place, I think I'm gonna try to throw a Brooks on there at some point. So, enough with the talk, here's some pics.

The whole bike
Altus Rear Derailleur
Univega Cranks
Altus Downtube Shifters
Seat tube. Did Univega put the rainbow sticker on?
Head Tube from side. Mmm, lugs
Another head tube shot

The brakes/levers are Diacompe. Looks like the rims are 27" Arayas. Hubs say "Sunshine" on them. Rode the it for a couple of minutes, it seems to ride well, though it could use some tuning. I plan to convert it to a fixie to use for commuting/fun rides. Anyone know anything about this bike. Year? Previous expriences? Pictures of their own to show? Well, thanks for letting me show of my new toy.

Have a good one
Nick

Blue Order

Sweet find! Congratulations!

Yes.

Any tubing stickers on the frame? EDIT: I see the CroMo sticker; Sweet!

Check the components for date codes. Somebody else (i.e., T-Mar) will be better able to tell you what to look for. What's the serial number? Based on that headbadge, I would guess it's a realitively early Univega, made just after the transition from Italvega to Univega.

Fasteryoufool

IDunno,

I have an early-80's Univega Viva Sport that (with the exception of color) looks EXACTLY like that Sportour. I wonder what the difference is? The components even sound like they're the same.

I love mine, it's a rock-solid bike, one of the very first Cr-Mo frames out there. I've fitted mine out for touring, but mostly it just gets ridden around the neighborhood.

Blue Order

That would be news to many manufacturers of earlier CroMo bikes, surely?

muccapazza

here's mine, Univega Sport 10, converted to a Sport "3":



and here's what I did to the drive system, thanks for the inspiration, Sheldon!
(50x19 fixed on the flip, 50x20 or 40x28 free on the flop)



I don't really like this bike much, but I ride it a lot because it's so darn practical since I put a rack and fenders on it. I'm thinking about moving everything over to a Gitane Gran Sport de Luxe I found at a thrift store for $10.

peripatetic

I really like what you've done with that, Muccapazza. I have a Sportour I've been trying to figure to do something with for quite a while.

grolby

That looks identical to the Sportour that my brother owns, down to the blue cable housing. Unfortunately, he's not really a bike person and treats it with horrifying neglect, but it's very nice bike (I am SO buying it off of him once he graduates college and won't need it, if it survives that long...).

It's hard to tell from your pictures if the rear cluster is five or six speeds. My brother's Sportour has a 6-speed Shimano Uniglide freehub. If it is a 5-speed, I'm going to guess that yours is a couple of years older, from somewhere between 1980-82 (my brother's bike is an '81-'83, I think). The drivetrain is also different; my brother's bike probably came with Suntour ARx components, though it's difficult to tell because the front shifters and derailer were upgraded at one point to Shimano 600. I'm told that the Suntour equipment was probably OEM, but it's not really entirely certain.

"Sunshine" is just a brand name that Sansin used for selling their hubs in the USA. This is more evidence that this is a very early 80's bicycle. By the mid 80's, the stigma associated with Japanese bicycle components was long dead, and Sansin sold their hubs under their own name (my 1986 Miyata came with Sansin sealed bearing hubs).

The Sportour is a very nimble, fun bike to ride. Enjoy it!

top506

I suspect that this is a 'Miyata' Univega. T-Mar will know for sure.
top

grolby

Almost certainly, in fact, given its resemblance to my brother's bicycle, which is a Miyata Univega.

the beef

Nice find! Looks like it's still in pretty damn good condition.

paulbonner

I just bought a Sportour myself at a Goodwill store here in Austin. I was driving by and noticed a road bike on the rack out front--turned around and went back and found a downright filthy 12-speed Sportour selling for $19.99. The tires were flat and it was hard to tell what color it was through the grime, but it looked solid otherwise, so I didn't hesitate at buying it. (The fact that it was equipped with a working CatEye computer and Shimano clipless pedals didn't hurt either).

Once I got it home and washed off the grime, it turned out to be a beauty, with Araya rims, Suntour ARx derailleurs, Weinmann brakes, and Suntour Symmetric downtube shifters. (Can't wait to play with those--I've read nothing but good things about them.) The tires are questionable and the tubes were shot, but aside from that, it just needs a little elbow grease. I was originally planning on rehabbing and selling it, but now I think with an upgrade or two it could possibly replace my regular ride (an early-80's Motobecane). I'll post a picture when I can.

Meanwhile, can anyone help with dating the bike? I'm thinking that all the components are original, and if so, I would think that the Symmetric shifters would define a pretty narrow date range. Can anyone shed any light on that, or on any other ways to date old Univegas? (I've seen some of the archived threads on the topic, but they were pretty inconclusive.)

T-Mar

Unfortunately, I can't access the pics. But if Nick posts the serial number, I can verify if it a Miyata frame and narrow down the year.

Idunno445

Hmm... looks like something happened to the pictures. Oh well, the serial number is I998928. Thanks for your help, guys.

Nick

T-Mar

Yes, it's a Miyata built frame, circa 1981/1982.

Idunno445

Thanks, T-Mar!

nick