Japanese Atomi (spelling)
 

A received a road bike from a friend that is in pretty good shape sans a little rust and the need for new cables. It is apparently a Japanese bike from the seventies called an "Atomi" or something similar.

Does anyone have an info on it? I can't seem to find any on Google. Is it worth rebuilding? I am in the market for a road bike and don't have much to spend right now.

I know the components are mostly Shimano and the tires are a Matrix brand (sorry, I know little about bikes right now :D)

Thanks for the help.

You should try and get a pic to post. Matrix wheels were on some of the lower-to-mid-end of the nicer branded bikes in the 80s, I think. Shimano has a variety of levels of components ranging from not great to top-notch.

Post a pic and/or try and get (a) exact name of brand, (b) model name, (c) any labels of the components (numbers, letters, names, etc.), frame, fork, etc. The more of that you post, the easier it will be to tell you the quality of what you have. Though you say the bike's Japanese, it's good to see if there's a "Made In" sticker on the frame, as well.

+1 Shimano means nothing. They make crap that you find on Roadmasters at Walmart, and they make super high end wonderful stuff (and everything in between). The best bike I have has Shimano branded components on it. The cheapest, worst bike I have ever owned had Shimano as well.

+1 As far as made in Japan, should be a sticker stating that. Otherwise, a lot of bikes that look to be Japanese were made in Taiwan.

Post a picture. If you do all the work yourself, you can rehab the bike for around $40 (if you buy some parts on the internet, and are careful on your spending). Sounds like your bike would be worth that investment. Take it to a bike shop, and a simlar rebuild could cost you $150 to $200. At that point, it is often better to buy a bike that is ready to ride, and sell yours as a project.

"Matrix" was Trek's house-brand rim. They may have had tires made with the Matrix name as well. For many years Trek used TREK branded National tires on their bikes.