Vegaman

I recently purchased this bike off of Craigslist. I have determined that Univega has the diamond shaped cutouts in the frame lugs. I am trying to determine the model and I want to get a link to some model brochures if possible.

It has Dura Ace head set, derailers and brakes. Shimano 1055 cranks with Suntour Cyclone pedals, (replaced with Shimano clips for now). Shimano Tiagra hubs with Mavic rims.

I am a neophyte bicyclist with casual riding of my mountain bike over the past ten years. I recently went on a 33 mile organized tour and want to start riding more events. I purchased this bike for my 11 mile commute to and from work and plan to get a more current bike for events.

I am interested in restoring this bike if it did not come from the factory like this. If there is a source for decals I would like to get the correct ones for this bike.

The S/N is P610190 and it is a 58cm as that is stamped on the bottom bracket. I looked closely at the forks and all other lugs but I cannot see any other markings.

Here are some pics, I am new here and will adjust my settings so that I can post more pictures. thanks for any knowledge you can share.
Attachment 23901

Attachment 23903

unworthy1

Could also be a Miyata (they built this model for Univega). T-Mar will have better info, but from what I've seen the diamond piercings are generally in the top models. I guess the HS is stock, or at least correct vintage, and the wheels are probably later replacements. These Uni-yatas are pretty sweet bikes, no?

Vegaman

I have been very please with this bike these past two weeks. One other item is that the front forks are all chrome. They have been painted over and the scratches show chrome beneath. So one of my first restoring activities will be to remove the paint from the fork.

What model do you have Unworthy1?

unworthy1

I don't currenty have either a Univega or a Miyata (road bike) but I worked on friends bikes a couple years back and they were virtually identical, tho one was a Miyata and one a Univega, both had these diamond piercings. I can't remember what model the Miyata was, and the Univega had been repainted so...can't help much. I do remember the Miyata being black with red accents...and both owners really liked their rides.
I'm currently fixing up an old (maybe '83) Miyata Ridge Runner Mtn. bike for a coworker, it's lugged triple butted CroMoly and I'm impressed with the build quality. Should make a very nice and rugged commuter, when done, just a bit heavy is all.

T-Mar

Assuming the headset is original would place the frame in the 1978-1984 era. While it may be a Univega, based on the serial number the frame was NOT manufactured by Miyata in this particular case.

Vegaman

Thanks for chiming in T-Mar. You seem to be a knowledgable source here. Do you have any recommendations for me to determine more about my bike?

T-Mar

The first thing I'd check are the dropouts, particularly the rear. Manufacturer's typically match the dropout to the derailleur manufacturer, so if they don't match, the originality of the Dura-Ace is suspect. Better yet, Shimano and SunTour generally stamped their dropouts with two letter date codes. If you can't find date codes on the dropouts, check the components. Use this resouce for locating and decyphering the codes - https://www.vintage-trek.com/component_dates.htm .

If you're comfortable with removing the fork, there may be stamping on the steering column to indicate the tubeset manufacturer. This and the seat post diameter can sometimes be used to determine the tubeset. If there is no stamping, I may still be able to tell the manufacturer and rough level of tubing based on the seat post diameter.

Vegaman

I haven't had the rear wheel off yet so I will look closely at the drop outs. I will check the components with your link. I will bump this back up after I get more information. thanks for the advice.

Vegaman

What I can make out on the front fork drop outs is TANGE TP. The rears are SHIMANO with axle position adjustment screws. The Dura Ace date codes are as follows:
Crank PB = 91 Feb
Headset NS = 89, it has an S for the month so I am not sure about this date code
Brakes FB = 81 Feb
The derailer is a RD-7400, I haven't been able to locate the date code.

It seems the brakes are the oldest style item on the bike so I think 81 should be close to date of manufacter. It looks like I have a bike with a mis mash of parts. All the parts are good but this certainly is not adding up to a pure vintage bike. I removed the blue paint on the chrome forks and they look great. I tested a spot on the bottom bracket and it appears there is only this one coat of dark blue paint.

T-Mar

The RD-7400 was the first genration of SIS derailleurs that came out in 1985-1986. Indexed shifting was a very common upgrade, so this is almost certainly non-original, as are the cranks. I don't know what the story is on the headset, but 1989 is not correct. Dura-Ace reverted to a standard hexagonal locknut in 1985.

The front dropouts indicate that the frame is probably a Tange tubeset. A 26.8 mm seat post would corroborate this. Unfortuantely, Tange used the same seat tube for all their buuted tubesets, except for a couple of optional seat tubes on Prestige, so it's virtually impossible to tell which tubeset without a label. Given the suspected era, it is most likely Tange Champion #2 or Tange Champion #1.

I'm suprised that there is no date code on the rear dropouts. That would have been the best indicator of the frame year. About all we can say, based on the rear dropouts, is that the orignal derailleurs were almost certainly Shimano and likely mid-range or higher. However, this may be a good thing, as most of the Univega models during the suspect era were SunTour equipped, so if we can find a mid or upper end, Shimano equipped model, it may be what you have.

tomacropod

T-Mar, just as an aside, was that headset design used for the 1978-1980 d-a EX period as well as for the AX groupset? While you're thinking about primitive shimano stuff

- Joel

Vegaman

The date code on the headset was inside a circle. I will look again.

The front derailer is shimmed so that the larger clamp will stay on the tube. I haven't measured the seat post but I presume this would indicate a smaller diameter seat tube.

There are imprinted box areas on the rear drop outs but the wear from the axle bolts has made them unreadable.

So the Tange Champions were Univega models? Are there any archved Univega brochures? Thanks for your help on narrowing this down T Mar, I guess I would like to persue original markings and decals if possible.

unworthy1

No, Tange Champion is the tubing, No.1 was their lightest set and No. 2 next down the line. They are both very high quality Japanese double butted Chrome-Moly tubes, and a bike made from either of these will most likely be a high grade bike. I think you'll find the seat post will not be smaller than "normal" 26.8, but the clamp for that FD is the thing that's oversized. T-Mar is doing his usual excellent work for you, so I'll butt right out.

T-Mar

Yes, the design was used on 600EX and Dura-Ace EX, prior to it's incorporation into the AX series. This is my personal favourite of all the headeset adjustment systems, until the advent of threadless headesets. The wrenches did not slip off and the load was so well distributed that the locknut and adjustable cup could be manufactured from aluminum without being gouged and marred by the wrenches. Many people consider this merely another useless, proprietary design from Shimano, because of the special headset wrenches. But it really did have merit and was designed so that standard 32mm headset wrenches could be used in an emergency. The aluminum constructrion of the wrenches is also interesting. I get so used to steel wrenches that, even though I know the weight of the Shimano wrenches, I am somewhat startled every time I opick them up. But I'm rambling....

BTW, thank-you for clarifying the tubeset issue.

Vegaman

thanks unworthy1 I read an article on Sheldon Harris' (edit-Brown!)website about the Tange Champion 1 and 2 tubing so now I understand it is the tubing. I guess I will just have to appreciate that I have a high quality Univega 1981ish chrome moly frame with high quality components. Perhaps I will convert to indexed shifters at some point. I am trying to unfreeze the stem from the head set to raise the bars a bit and could use those wrenchs for those star nuts! If I have the head set off I will look for additional stampings. thanks again.