Looks very similar to the 1970 (+/-) Raleigh Sprite. Probably made by Raleigh? Generator light set, rack, and those great fenders sure make it look like a nice "keeper" if it's your size frame. The 5-speed Sprites rode very nicely. Top tube mounted gear shifter?

Yeah the shifter is a top tube, also by the looks of peddles it's a early 70's. I actualy just finished overhauling it and derusting, It is indeed a keeper, it's a tad to big but I can deal with it. these are Raleigh made, I see the Raleigh m arks stamped into several pieces. it rides very nice. it was a good gift to myself. lol

Edit: I finished the overhaul!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...u/100_2302.jpg

Very, very nice -- Happy Birthday!

Not sure if its a classic or vintage but picked up a 19?? kuwahara Panther from the local bike co-op for 12 bucks, gonna swap it out with my current frame for my commuter, if anybody knows what year it is or a good place to find a serial cheat sheet let me know.
http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...y/DSC00470.jpg

Nice find and some nice work... Gliders were made for Eatons by Raleigh (and tend to be very nice) and the bike looks to be early seventies by virtue of the later Allvit rear d which needs that rather sturdy lever to make it shift.

I think the glider will become my project bike. I have a bunch of parts. I think i'll put 27" alloy rims on it, because if I do I can use my fancy brakes. reason for wanting to molest it? I wanna durable hybrid that dosn't feel crappy when I ride it, plus the front rim has a bad spot on it from something that was left on it

Many Kuwaharas have the serial number on the seat tube where it meets the bottom bracket on the non drive side... will offer a guess that it is from the late eighties.

The first two digits in the serial number denote the year of manufacture.

Thank fiver i knew someone would know the decifer of the serial

http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/a...rossmtrush.jpg

Ross Mount Rushmore. Girlfriend's dog jumped the fence yesterday, and in my search for the dog I found this in the trash. Yes, it's all chrome frame. Kinda cool.

Weirdly, I'd just found this Ross Mount Hood frame in the scrap pile of a local dealer and begun repairing it:

http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/a...smthood011.jpg

The Mount Rushmore is on CL for free right now, searching for someone who will fix it up and ride it.

This probably isn't a classic or vintage, but, went to the local scrap yard to unload this

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4149/...5c2749c81f.jpg

And then brought this home.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4111/...452791bb4f.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4133/...53dde455b5.jpg

Got from them for $10, it isn't in great condition, the frame says Maruishi RX-4, I don't really know what I'm doing here, or even what I'm supose to do to get this going or even if it is worth getting it going, I've always wanted to get a road bike, so I just got it on a whim. My impulse is to take all the parts out of the thing, sand every inch of it, have it painted (know someone who paints cars) and then get all new parts, yeah I figure it will cost a lot of money in the long run, but doing it slowly piece by piece, not only will I learn from it but who knows, I may just end up with a nice road bike.

Bought on Craigslist... $25 did not know what i had bought at first .. turns out to be a 1977-78 Trek TX900 all Columbus tubing .. true classic design..

here is a link from vintage trek

http://www.vintage-trek.com/Trek_galleryCP.htm

i walked away with the frame, fork, BB, crank, stem and headset

the person did not know what they had .. it was spray painted thick black paint.. i stripped it and lightly primered it white..
i have the someday plans to Powder coat it and restore..

right now i just want to ride again .. i sold out everything i had 10-15 yrs ago temporary going to be a SS until i can collect the vintage parts to honor this bike.. no modifications will be made to the frame .. just slapping on some cheap parts so i can ride .. i live in the flat lands.. LOL so a SS will do for a bit.. just cannot afford all the good stuff to build this bike up.. first i have to save up for the SS parts .. kind of broke.. it may never happen but i can dream of days gone by..


15 yrs ago i used to ride for a team and primarily do Time Trials ..now I'm just old and out of shape.. LOL oh well..

Got this today. Its gonna get a rebuild, Wald and use it to run the store and coffee shop.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c9...d/DSCI1312.jpg

My first thrift store find in a long, long time. Also my oldest Trek find. Its a 1979 Trek 710 series frame, not many of the components are original. It has a long cage Crane RD, Suntour barcons, Mafac Racer brakes.

Right now, the seat post is stuck, but I did get it to move about 1/8 a revolution. Price paid was about what the Crane and barcons are worth.

Lots of rust on components, but I have most of the parts needed to swap it out.

24 inch frame size, so too big for me.

At least the stem is not stuck.

Seat post is now out. Someone put a long MTB seat post onto this bike. Bike has been stripped down and is in the acid bath tonight for some minor touchup. Should turn out quite nice.


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4091/...e8ef93e0_b.jpg

A former co-worker found this in a pile of trash in an alley and gave me the frame before he left.

Don't know if this one is worth fixing or not. Found some holes in the steerer tube and the paint is cracked and weathered pretty badlly, no dents in the frame though. Put some components on the bike and took it out for a spin, a real lively ride but the dreaded creak forced total disassembly and the holes from rust in the steerer was discovered during that time. There's a local guy here in town who builds frames (Oasis Bicycles) out of his garage and picked up some Campy tidbits to put the whole thing together. I nearly took a torch to it to get the lugs off the bike but I couldn't quite do it. It was the best riding bike I've ever ridden and the frame is the perfect size for me. After the Centurion project this one will be a real challenge if I take this one on.


Update:

Confirmed it is a 1979 Mercian King.

Thanks to the gents at Mercian:

Hi
Yes its a Mercian it looks like a King to us with the heart shaped cut outs in the lug and the Mercian top eyes.
Thanks again
Grant

Mercian Cycles Limited
7 Shardlow Road
Alvaston
Derby
DE240JG

www.merciancycles.co.uk
www.mercianblog.com
@merciancycles on Twitter
Shop 01332 752468
Closed all day Wednesday and Sunday

I'll do the oxalic acid to better access the damage.
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q...L/DSC02000.jpg

Oxalice acid and a new fork and you will have an incredible bike

A little googlin' says that the Colorado was the racing model. Nice

Sat. afternoon project. Found @ garage sale this morning, for $25, dirty, with flat tires. Unknown Schwinn model??

Here's a couple before / afters. Nothing fancy. In my size, and no money spent to get it rolling.
Usual tubes and tires. Free from my parts stash. OEM front rim needed some serious straightening, so swapped it for a well used Wolber Super Alpine 700c I had hanging on the wall. Brake pads adjusted down to fit 700 rim
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=173024http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=173021http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=173023http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=173022http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=173020
General wash, oil, adjust. Trued up the rear rim.
Still needs bar tape. I'm thinking some nice light tan tape would be nice.
Seat is not my fav, but not terribly uncomfortable for shorter rides.
Cable housing could use updating, as there are some cracks, but all brakes, shifters work fine, with no hesitation.
Put a little over 10miles on it, and all is good. Came with a nice vintage Jim Blackburn on the back.
Added a Zefal frame pump for emergencies. (Zefal's are not my fav, but they are cheap and will do in a pinch).

Turned out to be a nice Saturday afternoon project.

I believe that's a Colorado Cyclist decal and not a model designation.

Hey Thrifty Bill -
I don't know what a Crane is worth, but it looks like the rear tire needs air - and that can only mean one thing - YOU GOT AN INCREDIBLE DEAL !
Congrats on your Thrift store find! -( around here Thrift stores charge more than the LBS ).

If it's a little too large for you , you should consider doing stretching exercises. Deals like that, on a 70's TREK, don't come along every day.

I picked up a bunch of old bike related posters & memorabilia from the 80s & 90s. Lots of Lance when he was with Motorola, Eddie Merckx, Greg Lemond, and one of my favorites....

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...t/IMG_3595.jpg

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...t/IMG_3602.jpg

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...t/IMG_2717.jpg

Just a JC Penneys bike... but the Bluemels fenders were appealing, so home it came... along with a bunch of wheels, frames, vintage bike magazines, and posters.

Maruishi made great bikes IMO. Their touring bike (Traveler, I think) has been called a "poor-man's Rivendell", and they seem to fairly undervalued. The RX-4 wasn't too high up on the list, but should probably have decent specs (higher end ones sported nice .022 ishiwata).

Was this before or after the whole intern scandal?

I cant Imagine that it would have been before. Pretty sure the advertisement came after.

Seem to be living vicariously through you guys as I have not been looking for bikes and you guys are finding some nice ones... polished up that Tipo hub and even though it is low end it is still rather beautiful and the bearings are very smooth.

My Zeus high flange hubs and Weinmann concave wheels were going to go on my Cooper until I discovered a crack in the rear hub flange which makes that hub nothing more than a pretty display piece... figure the Tipo will serve as a substitute until I find another elusive Zeus hub.

Should be getting my Zeus levers in a few days... :)

I need to move to some other part of the country. Around here, there is no dump. According to my town, private contractors haul away recycling and destroy it right away. A bike like that would be listed at $200 or so in CL here in CNJ.