bigwoo

Lamplight, that freekin' bike is gorgeous !
Is that a gold bell on your stem?

bigwoo

And thank you for the info Top and redbarnlane This is turning into quite the Univega appreciation thread, and I think that's pretty cool...

Lamplight

Thanks! The bell is just brass, although now the bike has an aluminum bell on it. I've changed a few things since that picture, and I'll post a more recent shot when I get home.

jcrouse

Here is my son's Sportour, I believe it is a 1985. I found it at a local Goodwill. It is in beautiful shape and even had the original tires on it. The quality of it is very impressive.

Lamplight

Here's a more recent picture. However, I hope to mount my front and rear chrome racks soon, and get a handlebar bag. This bag normally goes on my Nishiki.

russdog63

Here is my Ultraleggerra. I have it decked out with Dura Ace 7400 and 7700 with a 9 speed friction downtube setup.



It is the nicest Univega that I have seen. I really lucked out with this find. Shimano dropouts, Tange Prestige oversized tubing, and fillet braized. My guess is that it came from the late 80s or early 90s. I think this frame is as nice as any steel frame from that era. I have searched the internet high and low and I have never seen another. Does anyone know anything about the Ultraleggerra?

SingeDebile

univega was also probably the best non custom super tall person friendly bike company..... I am still looking for one of they're touring bikes though.

Bogester 

..maxima uno!!....awesome...up to 55!

Activa
Activa Action
Activa Country
Activa Sport
Activa Trail
Alpina
Alpina Country
Alpina Pro
Alpina Team
Alpina Uno
ArrowPace
Arrow Speed
Boralyn
competzione
Custom Maxima
Custom Ten
gran premio
gran rally
Gran Record
gran sprint
gran sprint - S
Gran Tech
Gran Touring
Gran Turismo
Ground Force
Ital Sport
Land Rover 12
maxima sport
Maxima Uno
Modo Volare
MODO VIVERE
Nuovo Sport
NuovoTech 450
Nuovo Ten
Pathfinder
R7.2
Range Rover - ES
Rover
rover sport
rover STI
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Speciallisima
Sportour
Superstrada
super special
SupraSport
Tandem Sport
Tri-Star
Ultraleggera
Via Carisma
Via Montega
Viva Activa 300
Viva Sport
Viva Touring
Vivatech

luker

lamplight, that is a beautiful bike - can you give me any info on the bag? That is perfect!

Lamplight

Thanks! It's a Nigel Smythe 'Country' bag from Rivendell. I've got chrome racks for the front and rear that I got from Velo Orange, and I plan to install those when I have the time. Then I want to get a handlebar bag, like a Berthoud. But the Berthoud bags are waaaay too expensive so I'll probably just get the Ostrich bag also from VO. The Nigel Smythe bag is usually on my Nishiki, but I put it on the Univega temporarily because I wanted it to have a nicer bag.

skinny

And their annual calenders with photos of all Ben's luxury cars were nice too. He did quite nicely in the bike boom, thank you very much.

dbikingman

Lamplight - What fenders do you have on that bike?

Gyeswho

Here's my Univega Super Strada. Just got it today. It has full Dura-Ace AX grupo. Is this a lawlee design?



btw where can I find shoes for these pedals?

stringbreaker

Lamplight that is one good looking machine clean simple and the fenders rock. Are they Honjo's

bigwoo

These are some VERY BEAUTIFUL BIKES !!

There seems to be some confusion regarding the whole "Lawee Design" part of the title of this post. I should have just said "What do you think of Univega's?" Or better yet "The Official Univega Appreciation Thread" (Mod's, can we do that?)
Yes, ALL Univega's were basically Lawee designed while they were being made in Japan (I'm pretty sure that Ben had a fair share of input regarding quality control and design on every model anyways.)

Some Univega's actually have a frame decal that says "Ben Lawee Design" near the rear derailleur, but that doesn't mean anything as all of the Univega's made in Japan tend to be of good quality. They did it so people would know that the less expensive models in the lineup recieved just as much consideration as the ones at the top.

I think that T-Mar, Top, or one of the other Japanese experts may know for sure how "hands on" he was... I personally have just always associated the Univega name with Ben Lawee...I don't know much about Ben Olken (Lead engineer/designer ??) and should probably research him...

This is a very nice brief/history of the man and these "Lawee Designed Univega's" : https://www.allbusiness.com/retail-tr...4135027-1.html

Lamplight

Thanks again! And yes, they are 43mm Honjos.

bigwoo

I only know that that bike looks blazin' fast just sitting there! I didn't know they Fillet brazed!! You have the only Ultraleggerra that I've ever seen.

russdog63

Geyswho, that is a very nice looking bike. From the looks of the aero shift levers and the ax gruppo it has to be early 80s. It is in very nice original condition and would have to be the top of the line model. My Ultraleggera is Lawee design and I believe it to be late 80s or early 90s. From what I have seen the Lawee design decals seem to be on bikes from that era. I have seen them on Alpinas (their highly regarded top of the line mountain bike) and other higher end bikes from that era. It might have been a way to market the bikes and add a little prestige to the Univegas.

Aloyzius

My 82 or 83 Gran Turismo is virtually identical to Lamplight's Speciallisimo. Only with the stock stuff, but I hope to make some similar changes. I could probably use a Gigantor stem like that, and a few upgrades. Beautiful bike, Lamplight. What else did you swap out?

The gearing on these is weird. There's very little difference between between the larger two front chainrings. And the granny is quite small. I see this a lot on older bikes and it always makes me scratch my head.

Re-Cycle

I had and sold a mauve/pink 58cm ben designed univega. It was a great bike but just a smidge to small. Sold it to a friend thats converted it to fixed gear.

int19

Hi Bogester,

I'd give you a picture of my wife's Metro Ten mixte with cantilever posts that I scored from the Sultan of Swag a while back, but we're currently giving it a new paint job and its already been stripped and blasted. I think the sultan's wife has another if you want to ask him for a photo. I think it might also be here somewhere on BF.

Lamplight

Thanks! I've swapped out the pedals, both derailleurs, shifters (since that picture), wheels, brake pads, stem, handlebars, seatpost, seat, freewheel, and of course chain and cables. It originally had older Cyclone derailleurs but they were both broken, so I got the Cyclone MKII pieces from a fellow member here. Mine also came with the half-step chainring gearing like you mention, and I just couldn't get used to it. The middle ring was too large to comfortably cruise in, and the small ring was too small. So I moved the middle ring to the outside (it's a 47 tooth), and got a 39 tooth ring for the middle. Now it's perfect for me.

Bogester 

Hi, I'll take your word. Adding Metro Ten to the list...up to 60!

Activa
Activa 200
Activa Action
Activa Country
Activa-ST
Activa Sport
Activa Trail
Alpina
Alpina Country
Alpina Pro
Alpina Team
Alpina Ultima
Alpina Uno
ArrowPace
Arrow Speed
Arrow Star
Boralyn
competzione
Custom Maxima
Custom Ten
gran premio
gran rally
Gran Record
gran sprint
gran sprint - S
Gran Tech
Gran Touring
gran turismo
Ground Force
Ital Sport
Land Rover 12
maxima sport
Maxima Uno
Metro Ten
Modo Volare
MODO VIVERE
Nuovo Sport
NuovoTech 450
Nuovo Ten
Pathfinder
R7.2
Range Rover - ES
Rover
rover sport
rover STI
Safari Ten
Speciallisima
Sportour
Superstrada
super special
SupraSport
Tandem Sport
Tri-Star
Ultraleggera
Via Carisma
Via Montega
Viva Activa 300
Viva Sport
Viva Touring
Vivatech

BikeManDan

Rover ES mixte I have right now

linkrider

I just picked up a Univega Nuovo Sport That looks just like yours. Grabbed it at a Goodwill listed at 49.99 but fell over at the copunter as they just posted 1/2 price on bikes. It seems to have all the same logos, including a lifetime gaurantee on the frame. It is in beautifol condtion well looked after and has the Shimano Light Action deraillers??, Maga Liht forks, Ray sealed system wheels, MKS pedals. So I am not much of a biker, Honda's Suzuki's and the odd mountain bike but would like to knoe more.
linkrider@comcast.net