Hi all!
I created an account on your fine forum in seek of all your help. My girlfriend's bike was recently stolen and it was her baby soon. I would like to get/build her the exact same bike. All I know is that it was a Univega, it was purple, it had shifters between the legs (suntour?), it was mid 80s-ish and I have one picture of it... Your help would be greatly appreciated. I know I'm not providing much info but it's all I have. Thanks in advance!


EDIT- I'm looking for info on model name so I can look for something more specific than "80s Univega"

I see a picture of you girlfriends leg and a skate board. If you are serious how about a picture of the bicycle. Roger

You may have a hard time finding a replacement for an exact model. Not only do you have to find that bike, but it also has to be in the right size and in good condition.

My best suggestion is to find out what aspects of the bike she liked and find something else that she will like just as much. If you still want to try and identify the bike, I'd suggest finding some scans of old Univega catalogs online to try and identify the model. Here's a thread right here on BF with a few links to old Univega catalogs: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/857472-Vintage-Univega-Catalogs


Another approach I've often used to help identify a bike is to do an image search with your favorite search engine and when you see something that looks like it, go to the web page and see if there is any information on the bike. In this case you probably would want to start with something like "80's univega road bike".

Though I can't help you, I think you will figure out the model if you look at enough pictures, and you can find lots of them on the web. Search on eBay and Craig's list for purple Panasonics. When you find the right one, you will know it.

That said, I'd suggest she might be equally happy with another Japanese bike at the same quality level. Look at Miyata, Fuji, Nishiki, Univega, etc. Whatever it is you lost, all these companies made a similar one. You might even find something a little better.

If my girlfriend was a model I"m not sure I'd want to replace her.

Nutted rear axle = lower end model, perhaps a Nuovo Sport.

Realize Univega never made a single bicycle. They made brochures, visited factories in other countries to have them build bikes, and made sales calls on bike shops.

The same is true for many brands. Univega bikes were well thought out and very nicely made. They had a very low defect rate.

While also true, I think it opens up other brands for consideration. For example, many (but not all) Univegas were made by Miyata. So you could add Miyata to your search list.

Perhaps some memory jogging will help you remember the model name. A while ago on this forum there was a thread listing all of the Univega model names (there are dozens). I think it was current around 2 years ago. I posted on the thread, so you can use that to narrow your search.