This popped up on Craiglist for $50. I can't read the downtube, even on a zoomed in version, but it looks like it might possibly start with "SM" and end with a "T". From the geometry it looks like an old one.

Mismatched wheels...I dunno. For $50 you probably can't go too wrong but it doesn't exactly speak to me.

If it is close I would go take a look. it does have a RD hangar. If it has full cromo frame and fork it could have lost of potential.

Seems to have some cool vintage parts... looks like Suntour derailleurs, Dia compe "frog leg" brakes, could be a bullmoose stem/bar, and that adjustable seat post. Should be easy to recoup the $50 with a part-out.

I've never seen that much setback on a seat post. If it fits I think it would be worth $50

Looks like a high flange front hub too. Random. I'd get it for 50.

Possibly Takagi cranks, maybe KKT Lightning pedals. More good stuff. Very wide gearing freewheel that could be an "Ultra" six-speed Suntour if you're lucky. Red-ano UKAI or ARAYA hoop --if that's what the rear is -- is also dope with the BMX and cruiser crowd. Suntour thumbies, if it has 'em, are worth $25-50 on their own.

Prevalence of Japanese parts, and geometry including box-crown fork, indicates a Japan-made and early MTB. Not a Diamond Back or Miyata though.

If early '80s Japanese parts are your game, it's a no-brainer at $50.

Yokota?

Certainly worth $50. Not sure that rear wheel is anodized, might be a steelie that's been spraycanned - the non-plastic dork disc speaks cheap to me.

Looks very similar to an old Takara that I had several years ago.

I called the guy and I'm going by to look at it tomorrow afternoon. He said he bought it a LONG time ago and it's been sitting in his garage for 20 years. He couldn't even tell me the brand of the bike and it wasn't close where he could check it.

I'm primarily interested in the frameset so are there any oddities I should look out for? Would the rear dropouts likely be 130mm instead of 135mm? The front at least appears to have canti-studs but can't tell about the rear. Is the BB shell likely to be compatible with modern cranksets?

I've been studying the word on the downtube and I'm thinking it might be a Sekai. Some interent images show Sekai's with the name brand in the same spot and the model on the top-tube, very near the headtube, where this bike appears to have some writing. The downtube has one too many letters but I found at least one Sekai that had a symbol after "Sekai". We'll see tomorrow.

The BB shell should be 68mm. You just need to be sure you get a BB & crank that are compatible. The rear spacing could be 126. No big deal, though; a steel frame with such long stays can be respaced easily. Definitely cantis on the back too.
Post some pics once you see it in person!

Rear spacing will be 126mm

Oddities to look out for . . . . are 21.1mm inside diameter steerer tube. Also on the canti studs, some early MTBs put the anchor point for the end of the spring on the outboard side of the stud, which limits your brake choices (though there are still good ones).

If it's a Japanese early MTB then the BB will guaranteed be 1.37 x 68mm, English. World of choices.

Seatpost size worst case scenario could be 25.8mm, which is somewhat scarce in the vintage market, but easy enough to buy a modern Kalloy 25.8mm.

It looks like an early Sekai "Bigfoot" I just bought. Sumo 26 x 1.75 rims, Tourney crankset (26-36-46), Victor bear trap pedals (imitation Suntour XC II pedals), Suntour Power Ratchet Thumb shifters, Suntour Perfect 5-speed (14-18-22-26-30), Suntour AG tech front/rear derailleurs, SR seatpost. Strangely it has a SR front hub with a Shimano rear hub. I bought mine off CL for $40! It also has one of those early MTB/BMX top load stems with 4 bolts. The handlebars are steel & 22.2 mm entire length. Rear dropout is 128 mm. FWIW it weighs 33 lbs. I cleaned, removed surface rust & clear coated raw steel, new brake pads, cables, housings, slapped on an old Brooks B76, new tires and grips. I also cleaned & re packed all bearings (headset, BB, hubs, freewheel & even the pedals). The one in the photois even a similar color - looks sea foam green in photos & certain light and looks metallic silver in direct sun. It's a fun ride. Likely my new favorite.
Good luck & do say what you find out.

Forgot to mention the somewhat unique bi-plane crown fork.

The seatpost is pretty dang rare and worth about $100 +/- by itself from what I have seen on ebay, so grab the bike quickly before a vintage mtb lover notices it. They came as original equipment on very few bikes, and was also available aftermarket, because I just found an NOS one. Besides, it's a also a lugged mtb in decent shape, and those definitely don't grow on trees anymore.,,,,BD

The downtube looks to say "Smarts", of which there is a Smarts Mountain in NH. That's all I've got? Maybe a local NH store brand perhaps? Looks to be high quality early parts, so well worth the effort to go grab it.,,,,BD

Why does everything have to be parted out? Just a random thought.,,,,BD

The bike is rad. I'd buy it.

I agree with Bikedued; the tendency to part every bike for profit only makes sense from a financial standpoint. From a "we love old bikes" standpoint, it's an illogical impulse.

To justify spending $50 on a bike you probably don't need but would like to own?

No. 1. Actually on 2d thought, pass on the bike because I'm on my way to buy that bike. Seriously this is such a no brainer either for a flip or a keeper if it's your size.

Looking at that bike it's a buy now ask questions later kinda deal at $50, it's screaming full of vintage goodies at just a glance.


Glenn

I didn't see the lugs. Also looks like too many letters on the down tube to spell "Sekai", and wrong color. So...maybe not the Sekai I was thinking about.

Okay, I went to look at the bike. My thinking going into it was that if even the main triangle is cro-moly and the bike isn't trashed, I'll buy it. When the guy rolled it out I knew instantly I was going to buy it....cro-moly or not. This thing is exactly what I think of when I think "vintage mtb" and it's so like the old photos I drool over I had to have it.

Surprisingly (based on what's visible in the photo), it's a Takara Highlander. The only sticker on the seat tube is "Made in Japan". The three main tubes ring when flicked with a finger nail so they might well be cro-moly but I won't be surprised if they turn out to be hi-ten. The bi-plane fork isn't really bi-plane, the space between is solid so it's just cast to have the outline of a bi-plane fork.

The components I can ID:

Suntour Thumbshifters
Dia-Compe brakes/levers
Suntour Mountech derailleurs
6-speed cassette/freewheel
Tourney GS crankset
SR MTE-100 seatpost (only about 7" long).
SR MTS-100 stem (one of those funky 4-bolt bullmoose style stems).

Anyone know any specifics on the bike? Bottom of the barrel Takara? Middle of the Road? Top of the Line?

Takara was one the less expensive brands. This is no bottom of the barrel bike though. The frame has forged drop outs and the crank is a nicely forged; the bike has pretty decent quality components throughout. It is a good quality bike and a heck of a nice find at $50.

I took it for a few spins up the street and back and this is an altogether different beast than I'm used to!! I recently bought a 1995 Trek 820 that basically handles like the 1995 Trek 730 hybrid I rode for 12 years. I wanted to experience one of the "slack angle" MTB's which is why I was interested in this one.

First, it's in rough shape operationally. Everything works but not well. One or both wheels is so out of true that I can feel the wobble while I'm riding. I see how this design is optimized for downhill riding. My butt is way back, the handlebar is down low and I'm really stretched out on the bike. I would like to pick up a cheap kalloy straight post and put one of my old saddles on and try it without all the setback. Also, I'm getting ready to check the stem to see if there is any rise there. The strangest thing is the steering. The front-end is wobbling all over the place and I'm massively over-correcting. The closest thing I've felt was when I was kid a got a true chopper bicycle with the front wheel at the end of a several feet-long fork. The steering on that was the same way until I got used to it.