pmassie

Hello all

Its my first post, and i was hoping for some advice and information.

I have an old Panasonic DX 6000 which i bought very cheaply some years ago. It was (and is) in reasonably poor shape rust wise, but otherwise seems to ride fine as far as i can tell. I recently got a new mtb and was thinking that i'd quite like to try and restore my old bike as much as possible, just because i really like it.
I looked in the online catalogs but couldnt find anything matching the decals on this bike. I'm reasonably sure that it doesn't have original parts. I would probably just clean & service the existing parts and reuse them. I would really like to get the frame re powder coated though.

I dont know much about bikes, but im pretty mechanically confident, and theres no time frame, so it doesnt matter too much if it takes a while.

I guess i was wondering if anyone knew what year model the bike was, what the original parts were etc.
Also looking at the bike, does anyone think its a complete and utter waste of time.

Thanks very much for any input
Cheers

cb400bill

Welcome!

A DX-6000 is very nice bike and is definitely worth restoring. I would suggest looking into having the bike repainted instead of powder coated. It will look more original and likely hold its value better.

Your bike's down tube Panasonic decal is different than any that I have seen before. Is this bike in America or elsewhere?

daf1009

I recently acquired a 1970 Raleigh International that I planned on having powder coated or painted...but...have found that cleaning the frame in some aggressive ways is actually bringing the original paint around...you might think about that before having it repainted...and yours looks in better shape than mine.

THere are a number of threads here that can point you in the right direction!

pmassie

Hi, thanks for the speedy replies!

I'm in South Africa, I've no idea where the bike came from... European model maybe?
I'll definitely check out my options wrt 'recoating' the frame. thanks for the advice. to be honest i thought all bikes were powder coated . Shows what I know!

Standalone 

Hello, Sarth Effrika!

The rust damage to the Top Tube may be enough to cause problems. You may need to find a frame builder and have it replaced. See the "What do I do with this Zeus 2000" thread on this subforum there is concern about rust on that bike, and it is not as bad as yours. I have a DX2000 and love it-- yours is much nicer and worth restoration, I think. Might be expensive, though.

Chombi

Interesting that it seems like the font on the "Panasonic" DT decal might have been chosen to hint at the Asian origins of the bike.....
Something that's certainly not done as much these days anymore....

pmassie

haha, HELLO USA

Thanks for the input... I'm hoping the rust damage is superficial. Apart from the little thingies which used to anchor the rear break cable... which are history im afraid.
Interesting idea about the Asian origins... will look into that.

thanks again

due ruote 

Cool bike, definitely not a waste of time!

Also, have you seen this? https://www.pbt.com/about-us/peter-baker.html

Peter served an apprenticeship in his teenage years, and during this time also enjoyed success as a New Zealand Cycling representative. In his first year as a senior, he placed an impressive second in the 1970 New Zealand Cycle Championships (Peter is seen below leading the pack - not for the first time!).


I have no idea whether that's the same Peter Baker whose name appears on your bike, but stranger things have happened. Any idea whether the bike might have come by way of NZ?

pmassie

Wow! That's a great find. I've googled him before, but without any success. Honestly I have no clue where the bike came from before I got it. Someone sold it to me for r500 a few years ago, that's around $50, taking pity on a poor student. Found a guy at the local bike store who says he can tell me if the frame is structurally sound or not...