Vista Bikes??
 

Hey all,

I have a bike that I have had for a while now. I picked it up because it was interesting and cheap but I have been unable to find much on this particular manufacturer.

The bike is a Vista and the reason it is so interesting is that it is nearly an exact replica of an old Raleigh Sport. I have had it next to an old Sport and you really can't tell much difference between the two, that is until you pick them up. The Vista is obviously a gas pipe frame. It has an older Shimano SR-3 internal hub with a thumb shifter that doesn't seem to want to let you use second gear. The bike is nearly mint otherwise.

The bike is too tall for me to ride and so it goes on the block. Any info on this bike is appreciated. Any info on what its worth (not much I am sure) on the market is appreciated too. Thanks to anyone kind enough to respond.

Vista is made by Columbia, they also had muscle bikes etc that are more collectible now. It's heavier than a Sports? Wow, that's pretty sad. Most sports I've lifted are boat anchors. Not saying they're bad bikes, though.,,,,BD

It could be a rebadge? Raleigh did that a lot. I had a Raleigh Sports 3 speed re-badged as a Huffy Sportsman.

My first bike (mid 1960s) was a Vista Flyer. My brother got a Schwinn Varsity (and "English racer"), but I got the Vista. It was a 10 speed.

Neal

You know I was told by a local bike enthusiast that the Taiwanese company that makes Vista bought the tooling equipment from a company in India who in turn bought it from Raleigh. I have considered the re-badge angle but I think this might be a spurious conclusion on my part. >> This Vista has 26" wheels. Didn't the original sport have an odd wheel set? At any rateI don't think the Raleigh sport carried a 26" wheel. Please correct me if I am mistaken.

Vista is Taiwanese? That's a new one on me. The Sportsman took grey 26x1 3/8's wheelchair tires made by Cheng Shin just fine. I think the Raleigh Superbe and Tourist took the larger 28 inch tires. My Sportsman was a late 62 or 63 by the dating on the hub.,,,,BD

Here's a little more info, though not a wealth of it.

http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/in.../t-115431.html

Raleigh Sport did have 26" wheels. Maybe you're thinking of the Record - which does look a bit like a Sport with 27" wheels, drop bars and derailleurs?

I'm not sure if the Superbe took 28" wheels at one time or not. My 1974 has 26" wheels.

Raleigh Sports have a 26x1-3/8" wheel (590 ISO) not to be confused with the 26x decimal MTB type or the Schwinn 26xfractional. Here is listing of 26" rim sizes for reference.

You may be recalling the Raleigh Roadsters with the 28" wheels which are an oddity in the US in particular.

Aaron:)

Wahoonc....you are right, I was confusing the two. My bad. Yes this thing looks exactly like a Sport, right down to the little chrome leader on the front bumper, the resemblance is uncanny.

This particular bike has "Made in Taiwan" written all over it- quite literally. I cannot speak for other Vista bikes. This is the only Vista I have ever seen. Interesting bike - to say the least.

I think you're onto something with the Taiwan/India/Raleigh angle.I think if it was a rebadged one it certainly wouldn't come with a Shimano hub.It would have been equipped with the venerable SturmeyArcher.

It's pretty sad everyone is jumping on the "Shimano 3 speed hubs are junk" bandwagon. 9 out of 10 times, they're repeating what they heard, and have never even owned one. My personal opinion is that you ride SA hubs at your own risk, and don't EVER stand up in second gear. I have had several SA hubs jump out of gear without warning, and not one Shimano. They are 100 times easier to adjust, and usually had accurate shifters with excellent detents.,,,,BD

There's nothing wrong with most Shimano hubs.It was only the early 333 hubs that are known for problems.Something about the metal used in the pawls.They would shatter or splinter.I have a few SR-3 hubbed bikes and they work fine.I think you would ride any old hub at your own risk.
It's just that Raleigh bikes came with Raleigh products on them.Dyno-hubs,lights,and of course the hubs.Kinda strange to see a Japanese hub on British steel.

I found an old Vista from a junk pile once back in '97. It had a SA 3-speed hub with a thumb shifter and touring bars. The bike also had 27" tires that were quite thin (about an inch wide). I fixed it up and did my first long ride on it, which was about 5 miles to my mom's house. Man I loved that old bike. It had classic touring geometry and nice green paint.

Unfortunately that was back when I was in and out of cycling, and the bike laid out in the back yard for months. I still dont know what happened to it, but I wish I had it back. It was a nice bike.

Wino ryder

You know there are about a bizillion wonderful old three speeds of every stripe out there to be had. They are in my humble opinion an ideal bike for the casual rider. They have been reliably getting drunken Englishmen home from the Pubs (and their long suffering wives to market the next day) for nearly a century now. There must be something right about that.

I see three speeds all the time on Craigslist....why not run out and adopt one.

BTW to the comments about Shimano shifters. I wasn't trying to make any negative comments. I was only observing that I can't seem to get this one into second. Not even my LBS can. hmmmm....We can find 2nd on the repair stand but there is an ancient Taiwanese curse on the cable or something. Perhaps I should call a Shaman on this one.

Vistas were primarily manufactured by Columbia up until the early to mid 1970s. Vista was trying to compete with Schwinn, so these Columbia built Vistas usually have solid forged forks, alloy brakes, etc. and are about as "Schwinn" like as a non Schwinn bike can be - minus the Brazed rather than Electro-Forged frame (which actually made the Vista a tad bit lighter).

When Columbia's quality went down the tubes in the 70s, Vista turned to importing their bikes from Japan - which were actually probably better than what Schwinn was making at that time.

Columbia used Sturmey Archer and Shimano hubs - however the Columbia built bikes will have a one piece crank, and no lugs - and probably a forged fork if they're branded for Vista. The Japanese made Vistas will be lugged, and have cottered cranks like the old Raleighs. So you should be able to tell whether it is a Japanese or Columbia built Vista pretty easily.

Also I'll have to second the opinion about Shimano hubs getting a bad rap. They're good hubs. You only want to avoid the early 60s ones - which practically you never see. They were sold on U.S. bikes as early as '62, but I've rarely seen them on any bike older than the late 60s early 70s - by which time they were basically perfected (if you happen to find one of the original Shimano units, which used an indicator chain instead of the better bell crank - you ought to sell it a museum, just don't ride it). The shimano hubs are lighter and quieter than the SA hubs - and easier to adjust (and stay adjusted), so as mentioned less likely to jump out of gear.
Not to knock on SA's hubs, I have one on my '64 Wester Flyer and so long as you keep it, and cable oiled and adjusted it works great. But the Shimano is a very good hub too.

I find that attitude interesting. When I first started at AR Adams (1970) Merle, the boss, was very much of the opinion that the Shimano hubs were superior to the Sturmey Archer. Despite (maybe because of) having been a Raleigh dealer since WWII ended, he was somewhat disparaging of the marques roadster line, feeling that the Brits had been getting away with recycling old designs for way too long, and that the Japanese were just about ready to shut them down completely.

I do remember that the Shimano was easier to strip down and repair, and that bell crank setup was certainly more robust than the adjuster chain when the child/owner invariably dropped the bike on the right side.

Now, almost 40 years later, I'm hearing that the Shimano was inferior. Go figure.

Sounds like a certain company that begins with the letter S, hehe.,,,,BD

Shimano did not build much of a reputation with the 333 hubs, they were prone to breaking the sundrive. The later hubs are much better...but repair/replacement parts are hard to find in comparison to the SA parts.

Aaron:)

Given the year, I was thinking more along the lines of the British motorcycle industry - especially as the final crash started in 1971. No doubt, Merle was, too. He followed the motorcycle industry at the time, and watched British Leyland, too. I never mentioned that in the 50's he was a designer for Ford, and left Dearborn to come back home and take over the family business.

You can imagine my delight the day he brought his portfolio to work - all those designs he worked on back then. His big claim to fame with having designed all the logos and small details on the 57 Mercury line.

Ahh, gotcha. I was thinking late seventies, where schwinn was still selling the same frames in different colors/decals, from the time EF started to the bitter end. I remember walking by a Schwinn shop around
76 or 77 while on a shopping trip with my mom. The oval headbadges and candy paint beckoned, hehe.
Even then I knew there was something about a Schwinn, and also knew that not a single kid in my neighborhood had one. most of them had those 80 pound Huffy "BMX" bikes with Shock absorber seat and blistermaker rubber flap grips. Oops, way off the subject. Sorry. Back to Vistas.,,,,BD