I found a Sekai 2600 Eurosport at a garage sale. It has Tange Infinity Tubing, Mangalloy Fork, 105 components and gold araya rims. Nitto bars and stem. From the components date code I think it is an 86 or an 87.

This seems like a nice bike. And the condition is great.

But I have done some searching and can't find much on this bike-- not many hits for a Sekai "2600" or "Eurosport". In fact, I can't find much on Sekai bikes in general.

What can you tell me about this bike?

Jared

It's at least a 1987. The components may be from late 1986 but 105 SIS was introduced for the 1987 model year. Bicycles sporting Shimano 105 are typically considered low, mid-range models. Tange Infinity is a seamed, CrMo, butted tubeset, while the Mangalloy forks (and almost certainly stays) are a carbon-manganese alloy that was used as a cost cutting measure over CrMo. It's not quite as strong as CrMo and therefore is usually a bit thicker to compensate. It is therefore heavier, though not as heavy hi-tensile steel.

From what I can see, it is all original, with the exception of the period correect Look PP66 pedals replacing the original Shimano 105. The paint scheme is a typical late 1980s, pastel fade, courtesy of the influence of the Miami Vice TV show. Original price in 1987 was $480 US.

Please proivde the serial number for my database. TIA.

My son has a 105 equipped Sakai 1000, we put the parts on that frame from a 89 Cannondale that the frame broke. It is a great riding bike.
Yellow Jersey of Madison WI was a dealer of these bikes. They have decals for them still available. You may want to contact them to see if they have more info on your bike.

The serial number is K7A5101

The date code on the components is KJ and KK. That would put the components as Oct-Nov of 1986.

And one more thing-- the handlebars are nitto B115.

And T-Mar, do you have any info on the company?

Jared

That confirms it. Definitely a 1987 model. The serial number is from early 1987 and Shimano would have been building the 1987 components by that time in 1986.

The Sakai Bicycle Company was a marketing company based in Seattle, Washington. The brand goes back to at least 1972, when the company was called Velocipede. The bicycles were designed in the US and built to spec by various Japanese manufacturers.

BTW, I forgot to mention your model has competition geometry which, in conjunction with the level components, would classify it as a club racer.

So I happened to buy this bike off Craigslist over the Christmas break, same serial number, not really sure if it was Jared or someone else who bought it from Jared (I guess I'm not too good with names). I was actually looking for a Dave Scott Ironman, but I wasn't find anything local and this Sekai was fairly similar. The Infinity tubing is really the only knock in comparison.

So here's how it looked when I got a hold of it. It looked like it must have been bought back in 1987, put in some corner of a garage when the first summer hit, and never ridden again. The green Avocet with no spoke magnet was somehow replaced with a Schwinn cyclometer which also had no spoke magnet, plus it had a new set of Vittorias.



I removed the cyclometer and Vittoria decals from the top tube first thing, found a set of 105 caged pedals (I go places with my bikes, not interested in carrying an extra pair of shoes when I get there), and replaced the Vetta saddle with a white Turbo. Here it is now:




I'm really happy with it. It's a great ride and despite quite a few rainy weekends here since I bought it, I've probably gotten my money's worth out of it already. I've Googled around quite a bit and have yet to find any other example of this bicycle, and I'm kind of curious to know how many of these were actually made.

Wow! I had a Sekai 2400. Bought it in the early 80's. Had to replace it due an unfortunate incident w/a parked car. It was a great all around bike.

As the Jared in question, I don't think you bought it from me. I tried to talk a friend into buying it, and he would have none of it. So I put in on CL and sold it to some young ASU guy. It didn't have the Vittoria decals or the tires when I sold it.

I think it is a really cool bike. And the condition is great. If it had been a 54cm I would not have sold it.

Jared

PS-- nice picture of the Salt.