asoralvin

Well, there is at least a fifth...mine. Its a Maruishi Roadace in a rich medium blue, 12 speed I believe. Not sure which RX level it is. Maybe pics and followup info later in the morning....sleeepy.

Tuc

Had this bike since 92, had the full Exage components then with the BioPace chainrings. Got it down to 21.5 pounds and I usually ride it with a set of tubular rims instead of these large (comfortable) clincher rims. Made by BRC in Canada for a race team and imported to Canada by Maruishi. Ishiwata frame.

dgodave

Cool thread. My first MTB was a MARUISHI, back in like '83. Wish I still had it.
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I sold it to a college roomate who took it touring in the high Andes and left it with an especially kind family at the end of his trip.
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Snydermann

I just picked up a Maruishi Catalog on eBay, it looks to be early-mid 1980's. It hasn't arrived in the mail yet, maybe I'll know more then.





We've been told that Maruishi built bicycles for Lotus, so we've been doing research trying to determine which models. Many Tsunoda/Lotus bikes are labeled Made by Tsunoda, so any bike not labeled as such is suspect. The Tsunoda decals on the Lotus bikes seem to stop around 1984, that's also when the engraved fork crowns and seat stays were added to many of the bikes.

Can anyone with a Maruishi tell me what format your serial number takes?

that_guy_zach

From what I have read on here they also built many of the Nashbar frames also.

auchencrow

My circa '85 TA18's s/n is DP28928. It has engaved fork crowns (kangaroos) and seat stays ("Maruishi")

Snydermann

Thank you.

Of the 130 or so Lotus serial numbers we've collected the majority of anything built before 1986 has the same Letter-Letter-5 number format. No DP bikes yet but a few that begin with D. Also, the vast majority of Lotus bikes have a 0 or 1 for the first number after the double letters.

So at least the Maruishi serial numbers follow the same pattern as Lotus numbers, although, maybe a lot of bikes do.

kiwigem

Roadace 7 circa 83, kangaroo FCs, serial no: FA46143

kiwigem

I am stoked about that catalog!

dgodave

For sure.
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I want to see every page.
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lockwoodx

Holy crap, the bike on the cover is the exact model and color that was my father's old bike I recently sold. I'm still lurking around because the buyer is going to put up pics soon after he cleans it up and gets it running to his spec and I can't wait to see him on it being used again like it should be appreciated. I'm still very curious if you can shed any light on the year, model, and make of that cover bike. Gun metal grey, the blue detailing, it's identical and the bike has always been a bit of a mystery.

auchencrow

It's a TA18 Tour Ace. (The only one that came stock with a rack.)
More here.

kaedeadul

Actually that tourace is a different year. I'm the guy who bought the bike from him. There are no toe clips on the pedals(removed?), the tubing is Ishiwata 025 not 022 and the seat is a kashimax voco not vetta (changed seat?). Otherwise appears to be the same, suntour mountech derailleurs, down-tube shifters.
PICS:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/79984967@N04/7331844036/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/79984967@N04/7331841254/

Sorry the bad quality of the pics... it's late here and my camera's flash is malfunctioning for some reason.

serial number: DH18716
and it's not the same year as the catalogue linked on sheldon's website.

auchencrow

You have yourself a great touring bike there kaedeadul.

BTW - I don't think they were ever Ishi 022 - always 024. The former would be sort of too flimsy for a full-on tourer, and catalogs do occasionally have errors. Also, I suspect your saddle was swapped. (At least mine came with the Vetta and almost no miles on it.)

kaedeadul

https://www-hsc.usc.edu/~rpinder/Maruishi2.pdf

in the above catalog which is the 1984 edition, the tourace has an unmistakable vetta. The color combination is not quite the same as mine...there's light blue on the front tube of mine. In the catalog picture that snyder posted however does have light blue and that looks like a kashimax seat like mine and the pedals lack the toe clips... wonder what year that catalog is....

And thanks about the comment... I couldn't be happier with the bike... though I have been contemplating putting barcons on it and making the rear cassette 8-10 from the 5. but I also dont want to defile the bike too much.

Any chance he will post larger pics? I'd like to see a detailed shot of the Tourace 18 specs page

auchencrow

In your pdf (Adobe) viewer, you have to use the "+" icon to zoom in. If you do the specs look like this (not great resolution but it can be read):

Snydermann

The catalog I have is marked on the back cover "1984 Printed in Japan". The "Tourace TA" was available in Royal Blue, Claret Wine, and Gun Grey. The saddle is a Kashimax VOCO super anatomic vinyl top.

I don't know what year the catalog is that was posted in the link, but if it relates in any way to Lotus bikes (of which Maruishi was a supplier) the bikes in that catalog look more like 1986 Lotus bikes. Lotus used Kashimax saddles until about 1984 and started using Vetta around 1986.

kaedeadul

Not sure if it helps with your serial number project but it seems like my
maruishi is the gun grey ta18 from the catalog you have. Serial number dh18716

lockwoodx

Great looking pics man. Love what you've added and hope it wasn't too much trouble cleaning up. Wanted to keep it as untouched as possible and I always felt a little guilty for never using it myself but it wasn't my size and I'm a roller blader.

The catalog PDF Auchencrow linked me is what I used in the CL ad to describe the bike as to the best of my ability but that cover shot really caught my attention. You scored the swimsuit model buddy!!

Enjoy and Cheers

asoralvin

https://www-hsc.usc.edu/~rpinder/Maruishi2.pdf

Thats the bike that's been in my attic, like new for the last 18 years. Bought it from a army returnee from Japan...only the rack that was on the back is now gone. Is this bike worth fixing up, ie new derailleurs , brakes etc or worth riding as is or not worth the money thqat could go into a better bike/frame?
EDIT: Its not the better model, just the RX5 further down the document.

kiwigem

Any reason you need new deraillers? Age alone isn't reason to replace them. New brake pads would be cheap. But, yes, if it fits you well and you want to ride, an RX-5 is certainly worth a tune-up and new cables, etc.

asoralvin

[QUOTE=kiwigem;14365280]Any reason you need new deraillers? Age alone isn't reason to replace them. New brake pads would be cheap. But, yes, if it fits you well and you want to ride, an RX-5 is certainly worth a tune-up and new cables, etc.[/QUOTE


At 200 lbs. I may be stressing it, but other than that I checked at competetive cyclist on the web and my dimensions relative to the bike's is in the 'Eddy' to 'French' Fit . I'll take it to the bike shop and see about whatever it needs as suggested; brake pads...the tires look like new but were changed from the original to a cross between race and mountain type. Other than that the cables work well..but like the lubrication etc. I'll leave the going over to the tech along with adjustment for best fit and a startup education in riding. The last real riding I did was as a kid with my Rollfast mid weight, black-framed, red tank/twin lamp model ! I want to ride and definitely could use the exercise that comes with it.

The reason I asked about the derailleurs, or for that matter the 'worthiness of the frame', was because I am serious about utilizing biking as an exercise that I will enjoy for some time and wondered if this can be upgraded in the future to a high enough level to last for some time.

The Craigster

This is an old picture, but the bike remains largely the same (minus a Brooks Imperial and a set of Pasela T-Servs which are coming to the end of their lifespan).

auchencrow

Sweet!

VintageRide

I picked up this seemingly uncommon Maruishi Discovery ( early Hybrid I assume ) that was advertised in the local Craigslist for 75.00. It was stored hanging from the the ceiling in the original owner's basement for 20 years and they mentioned she only rode it occasionally for about 2 years before putting it away. I just needed a winter/errand bike and it seemed to fit the bill. It is lugged of course with Tange 1000 DB tubing and Suntour dropouts. Although I do not care for unicrown forks very much the one on this bike does not look out of place and making up for it are some gracefully curved fork blades. Shimano drive train including a 14-32 freewheel - the Sugino VP triple crank set has 28/38/48 chain rings. Brakes are Shimano cantilever. It seems somewhat unusual to find a 5 speed freewheel on a bike made in the late '80's, it was purchased in 1990 here in Vancouver. I have taken a liking to the relaxed geometry in my older age and the chain stays measuring at 47 cm certainly help the comfortable ride. The wheels are 26" with Araya 1.75" rims with Suzue hubs. It is one of the few bikes that has axle nuts that I actually prefer over quick release, I think the fact that they are nicely chromed has something to do with it. It came with Bluemel "Mountain Range" fenders and there was enough room on the frame to mount some Kenda NPJ 2.10" wide tires I had lying around ( measured at 55mm on these rims ).. Everything is original except the tires and the Vetta seat, which I replaced with a Fizik Vitesse. I love all the braze ons including double eyelets front and back, rear rack and mid fork mounts and two water bottle mounts as well. The shifter cables also go under the bottom bracket. I was going to replace the Nitto stem and handlebars but they are too nice, and I would rather keep it as original as possible. All in all a nice decent quality bike for under 100.00. I just need to upgrade the rear rack and get some panniers. Here are some pictures - the last two are with the original tires. By the way, between the "Made In Japan" sticker at the bottom of the seat tube and the "Tange 1000 DB" higher up there is another in between that had the letters BRC and the words "Bike Riders Choice" under them. I wonder if it was some program where certain bikes got a sort of recommendation from the industry back then. Just a guess.