So i have landed upon 3 old bicycles that i know nothing about. They are through a friend who is a picker in northern California and I've told him to shoot me photos of old bikes he finds in his picking trips. Here are 3 that he bought yesterday (without consulting me) and he/I would like to know a little more about them. There are 2 more bikes that he will send me pics of and i will add to this thread tonight...

If anyone can help me out that would be great - any info is appreciated. And if anyone is interested they will be for sale in the Bay Area, California after they get cleaned up a bit.


UNIVEGA GRAN TOURISMO - This is a great frame, i am verifying details of the groupo and wheelset, etc...
Good shape and looks to be mostly/all original - SN: 1895524


ITALVEGA NUOVO SPORT - not sure but I think its a 70's bike? post Univega?
Not all original parts, some new mixed parts - SN: 412975

DEKI BICYCLE - Strange hotrod shifter with giant speedo??? Cheap-o looking bike but unique in it's own right...
Kinda rough shape - SN: S1826

Univega is the only one worth a second look. The others are frankenbikes or so low on the totem pole (Deki) that they wouldn't be worth putting money into except if you needed a bike...any bike.

PLEASE tell anyone shooting pictures of bicycles to shoot either from both sides or from the drive side only, never the left side only.

Univega was Italvega's new name when production shifted from Europe to Asia. The Italvega probably has Valentino derailleurs, literally the Edsel of the Campagnolo line. (Edsel was Henry's son; Valentino was Tullio's son.)

That stickshift system looks like a real ball buster.

The Deki is a real unknown, and maybe best to keep it that way, but the ital- and uni-vegas are both well-known brands from Ben Lawee, the USA Importer/marketer.
The Italvega is one of the mid-range models, might have 3-tubes of Columbus SL, maybe even plain gauge tubing, but the stamped dropouts and lower cost components...still a nicely made and finished Torpado (by another name) even has a fair bit of chrome plating. Worth fixing up...
The Univega was his later line (as John E. says, when he sourced frames from Japan) nearly certainly made for him by Miyata and roughly equivalent to a Miyata 610, not quite a model 1000 which was one of the best production true Touring frames made...worth fixing and riding...as you can see, the Miyata factory had their stuff together!
Both will need some work and $$ to be made ready.

That Deki is HAWT! I feel like I'm burning rubber just looking at those stick shifters! I wanna stick some playing cards in the spokes and make motor sounds with my mouth, riding that thing around on the playground.

But seriously, none of these bikes is a great investment for flipping, but may be fun projects for your own use, or giving to friends, selling cheap in CL, etc. And I'll contradict Unworthy here by saying the Univega is more like a Miyata 310 or 110, since the Miyata 610 would be a touring frame with canti brakes, rather than a sport/tour with the standard mounted brakes like yours.

I own and ride a Univega Gran Turismo of about the same vintage. It's a great all-around bike, definitely a keeper. Mine's an '82, yours looks to be 2-3 years older. The '82 has cantilever brakes.

Univegas were not the best bikes, they weren't the cheapest, but they were the best value for the dollar. I have two with a Super Strada frameset to build

Awesome! Great info from everyone! Thank you very much. I appreciate your input!

Ya, I told him that. he has 2 more bikes to send pixs of, and i asked that he shoot the right side at least... also close up the derailleurs, cranks, etc. so i know if its stock, or chopped...

Thanks - ya for a touring frame the caliper brakes are not standard fare... also i like the hotrod shifters. i told him to strip and clean, rattle-can it black and make it his City bike... i think its rad, and NO ONE else will have one!

It's like changing your name to Princess Consuela Banana Hammock- It's fun, it’s different, and no-one else has a name like it!

I'd ride the Univega as a fixed gear. Possibly was made by Miyata.

For the Deki, remove the speedometer, no paint, just clean and go! Dig the stem and shifters. Now if a set of cheapo fat white walls were available.....

The Gran Turismo is a heavy touring bike with stable handling. If it's stock, the components are decent. The Italvega would be a good fixie/single speed conversion

Miyata made Univegas.