Time capsule Sekine
 

I bought this old bike while I was searching for early 80's Raleighs for my reunion ride this summer.
It seemed to nice to pass on and it was cheap. We never used it for the ride though.
I bought it from the original owner who bought it new in the spring of 1975. It was ridden only a few times before he became ill (MS), which is a sad story in itself. He then put it in the basement where it sat until I brought it up the stairs for him.
Now that I've dusted it off and had a look, it really is a time machine.
Completely original.
Takes me back to when I was 10 years old and saw bikes like this all over the place.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b4...0/DSC01930.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b4...0/DSC01931.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b4...0/DSC01932.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b4...0/DSC01933.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b4...0/DSC01934.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b4...0/DSC01935.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b4...0/DSC01936.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b4...0/DSC01938.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b4...0/DSC01937.jpg
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b4...0/DSC01939.jpg

Amazing and beautiful. Thanks for the great pics! A propos of the thread on Schwinns & Peugeots, classic bikes don't have to be high end to have elegance and charm.

How does it ride?

Like a 1975 Sekine!
Actually it rides very nice. I took it for a quick 20km ride this afternoon.
I would like to repack the hubs and BB since what's lubing them is original. Tires are very suspect also.
This won't be a high miler. Just for an occasional blast to the past.
I can't imagine what my shins would look like if they slipped off a pedal though.........

OOOOOOHHHHHH man I like. I'm a sucker for a green bike. But I lust for a RED one :)

WOW. I seriously can't believe I'm seeing that. Though an SHA, it's beyond immaculate. It's factory-new. Stunningly beautiful. Treat it with care! :)

[edit: according to T-Mar's discussion on another thread, this may actually be an SHB, not an SHA. I knee-jerked to SHA based on the diamond badge, not the Medialle badge. But he noted unambiguously that any chrome-forked Sekine is not an SHA. So there you have it.]

Love the Sekine dork disc. This bike proves that lower end bikes can still be beautiful!

So is this an SHA or an SHB?
T-Mar?

And although a lower end bike (and produced by the thousands I'm sure) they came and went like a swarm of summer locusts. And then they were gone.
But this one is a survivor. And that is a bit special. So I'm going to take care of it.

cool find. im sorry to hear about the guy with MS. it is a terrible thing, my aunt and cousin have it. there is a charity ride for MS i cant wait to do next year.

The OP's bicycle is an SHB or SHC. They were identical except for the country or origin, or should I say the amount of Canadian content, with the SHC being the more Canadian version.

This was Sekine's most popular model and if memory serves me correctly, it cost about $149 CDN in 1975. This "olive green" was the least popular color (oops, make that "colour" as we are talking Canadian bicycles), but even it was hard to keep on the showroom floor. It also came in another green, a bright emerald colour which was very popular. But the most popular of all was red, so Stingbreaker keep your eyres peeled.

Too bad about the sticker on the top tube. Otherwise it appears to be concours d'elegance quality.

Just gorgeous!! After two years of viewing pics on this forum, this has to be the most mint bike I have seen here.

Sweet ride. I too just picked up a SHB (thanks to T-Mar), I thought mine was in great condition but your bike takes the cake! Great pics, I wanted to know how original my bike was and looking at your pics I notice everything is the same, along with the suspect tires (Silver Star). I notice the Sekine Canada sticker, therefore I assume that your bike was assembled in Manitoba. I plan to resto my Sekine but it will never be a nice as your's.
I participate in the MS Ride each year, next year, if finished, I'll ride the Sekine in honour of the original owner of your bike.

Thanks T-Mar.
The sticker on the top tube is a City of Regina Bicycle Licence 1975.
I could remove it easy enough but I have decided to leave it alone.
I'm very fond of the green colour. But then again 1975 was a flashy tie-died era!

jisaak, that is a great idea.
We also have an annual MS ride here. I should ride this in next years event.

Ricohman - how many pages to the owners manual? Could I be as bold as to ask if you could fax or photocopy the manual? It would be great to have a copy. No sweat if it's a big deal.

Here's my ride.

http://i206.photobucket.com/albums/b...ak/Sekine1.jpg

I can photocopy the manual. But I have no idea how to post it for viewing or printing.
Your bike looks identical, except for being one size smaller.
Tha paint on these bikes seems very deep, thick almost.
I wonder if they are powdercoated?

If you do a search for Sekine you will come across a thread with a lot of good info, papaj worked at the plant in Manitoba and gave some insight on things, plus TMar and few others have good handle on the bikes. The paint job really attracted me to my bike even though it's a low end model. My goal is to find a high end CDN assembled Sekine.
I have access @ work to a copier that scans and converts to PDF files, if I could get a copy I would convert and post for other Sekine owners. Maybe mail me a copy? Could send you my address via PM if you are game.

pm sent

I think it's paint over chrome. At least on the beat-up frame in my basement.

ricohman: A beauty! An absolute beauty! Excellent catch. I gather it isn't too bad in ride quality either ("a minty bike rides better" - eh?)

P.S.: Haven't forgotten about your rim. I'll be taking care of it on Friday, per our PMs.

-Kurt