1976 Supercycle Excalibur (Bridgestone Superlight)
 

A while ago a friend offered me "an old supercycle 10 speed" I had no idea what to expect but free is free. He called yesterday to say he could drop it off but that it was final and I couldn't give it back!
My friend Drew used to be a Canadian Tire Store owner in the 70's and this one had been scratched by his assembler so he would not sell it and bought it himself as a loaner, kids bike, shed filler and it sat for forty years. Some of the plated parts and the rims are rusty but the frame and most parts are alloy. I've ridden it on its original "The Special IRC Tyre"s and it feels good and is my size 23". Paint and vinyl type decals are very good. It sports Suntour Power Shifters V-GT Luxe RD Sr Silver CW and BS crested cranks. The decals proclaim it an Olympic Special dating it at 1976. (Montreal).

It came equipped with a working Primus frame pump. A Made in Japan sticker is on the frame near the BB. Remnants of the $199.99 price sticker is still on the stem. According to Drew it was the most expensive bike carried that year.

It appears to be built by Bridgestone for CTC and is very similar to the Kubaki Superlight.

If anyone knows what the large lugs on the seat and chainstays are I would love to know. Fender and rack lugs already exist on the dropouts. Are those crazy seatposts still available?
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bonded cast lugs, thats why the expander seat post,Its interesting . but if it was Submariner , it used stainless tubes bonded .It is the thrill of the hunt ,I scored a Noleen ALT racing fork 10 $, a set of albratross cr/mo and bar ends , bad !

A little over a year has past and "Excalibur" is a permanent member of my fleet. A great old 10 speed, fun to ride, and easy on the eyes.
Makes me feel like a kid again.

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Skiptooth freewheel? What's the reason for that?

A 70's idea for better shifting on the larger rings. Have to admit, it does work well.
There's some good info in this thread. http://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...-tooth-ok.html

Hm, I learn something new here every day.

Just picked up what looks like a clone of browngw's Excalibur by Supercycle. Some photos here.https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fa0541c81a.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4afee2dcac.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0667324a11.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0833df5f3f.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4467c95fe3.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4b4677e528.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...73716a845d.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...2c2b3f6b97.jpg

Supercycle Excalibur
 

Some pics of a just acquired Excalibur by Supercycle. Wondering if there's any correspondence between browngw's serial number and this one.

Some more pics the Excalibur by Supercycle. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3f31170908.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fc1b1af0d6.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c4f7aac6aa.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4ce0224c2e.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e959aed06d.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...23c63ba4ee.jpg

Yours is one model year newer, being a 1977 model manufactured in late 1976.

Thanks T-Mar! What code in the serial # leads you to this conclusion? Mine is # V685952. The first '6'? Or, is the year in some other feature different in my Excalibur vs browngw's?

What a strange and lovely bicycle. Time capsule :thumb:

Great to see another of these wonderful bikes. The only other I've seen was cut down to make a stool after an accident. My serial # is B681256. The only differences I noted quickly were mine has the Olympic Rings on the seat tube badge and has a no guard on the chain ring. Mine had a similar (but not identical) peg on the rear axle to protect the rear derailleur? I did not re- install it. The biggest surprise with this bike is how well it rides. My friends and I alike agree that it is quick yet stable, feels fast, lots of gear range and very comfortable on its Panaracer Pasela PT 27" tires. Give it a chance and ride it lots!


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a0040bf9be.jpg

Yeah, I also figured that rear axle peg was the RD's first line of defense. You've done a very nice job polishing the brightwork (chrome). Sparkling. Any particular product, tool or technique you'd like to share?

There is no miracle cure of course, but I use aluminium foil, a liquid wax (RV or Auto) for lubricant and you clean and wax at the same time. Really rusty stuff (like old Raleigh wheels!) use the foil with blue window cleaner (with ammonia). I spent hours this past winter cleaning wheels and parts while watching TV with a towel in my lap. Mrs. browngw thinks I'm crazy. Parts clean easier when removed from the bike. My Excalibur was totally stripped down, cleaned, lubed etc.



https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3912aa5c1b.jpg

Blue Magic is pretty amazing for polishing chrome....use in a well ventilated area.

I have those suntour shifters on one of my bikes. I like that they are ratcheted.

Congrats, both of them are great finds.

Thanks for the cleaning/polishing tips, browngw. I hope you don't have the buffing wheel whirring while watching tv! Thanks Trueblood for the upvote on the ratcheted shifters. I was dubious about them when I got the bike, but I guess I'm used to smooth travel friction shifters, I tend not to trust anything to be better than my own unimpeded feel through the fingers and wrist.

That said, I'm venturing to SRAM Force brifters for my new bike from Black Mountain Cycles. Figure better late than never for my entry into the 21st century.

See my thread, https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...ber-guide.html . post #1 .

Thanks T-Mar. That list reveals a pile of sustained work. I suppose it's helpful whenever anyone posts to cite serial numbers or take photos, just in case it may help your archiving efforts....which, in turn benefits everyone on the forum.

Late reply, but still: Why does everyone think that their 40 year old department store bike is secretly a Bridgestone, or Panasonic, or 3Rensho? Even the Bridgestone Kabuki (and it is "Kabuki", not "Kubaki") was not actually made by Bridgestone. It was farmed out to a lesser quality mass-producer. Just be happy with what you have, instead of trying to inject it with unicorn blood.

The C&V forum doesn't like to dampen the spirit of 'enthusiasts'. We all get 'it' but we don't complain about people's efforts to restore bikes for reasons other than prestige or value.
If you're Canadian, you likely remember this bike well. A nice resto wot?

Those look like mounts for a rear lift stand which was OEM on all utility/city bikes in Japan from that era. Even now they are pretty common for that type of bike. Nothing better if you load a basket or rack, no tippyover.

Except in this case, you're wrong.
Not all the Kabukis were Bridgestone-built, but the Superlight and Submariner are definitely Bridgestone Diecast/"Techniart" bikes; nobody else made frames that way.
I've got an actual Bridgestone Superlight, and it's a bolt-for-bolt identical to the Canadian -market Supercycles, except for the stickers. Mine was bought in Japan, and might be the only Bridgestone-badged Superlight in the US; certainly there's very few of them.
As rare as it is, though it's nothing particularly special, other than being unusual for being an all-aluminum bike from the mid 1970s. It's a good rider but it's not as "nice" of a bike as the Grant Peterson era bikes of the 80s.

This is an old thread resurrected. If you want to restart an old discussion, please do a new thread. Thread closed.