# Sturdee Japanese Bicycle



## Two Wheeler (Apr 1, 2019)

Does anyone know anything about this 70’s vintage Japanese made bicycle?


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## juvela (Apr 2, 2019)

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Hello Dan,

Thanks for posting this mystery.

Name likely a house brand for chain store or importer/distributor

There were two of these, the same colour as your example, on Los Angeles CL for _years._  Checked just now after seeing your post and they both seem to be gone.

Date has to be right near 1970.  As I recall it,  ~1971 was the first year for these "safety" brake levers.

Chainset looks to be Takagi - a manufacturer absorbed by Shimano at one point but name kept going.  Trade publication advert of 1971.





Brakeset appears it may be Yoshikawa.  Their logo is a little fish turning in a tight arc.  You may find it shallowly stamped in the centre of the front caliper arm of the calipers.  Within the area of the company's bicycle products they are best known for their BMX brakes.

The 5V gear block will likely be a Shimano.

Hub barrels may be stamped .333. [Shimano].

Is handlebar stem marked Jun?

The frame's bulge-formed head is by Nikko-Sangyo.

http://www.nikko-bulgeform.co.jp/e/bulge/bulge.html

The machine's fork is an "off the shelf" item not made by the cycle manufacturer themselves.  It likely comes from a provider such as Akisu, Ishiwata or Tange.  You may find a marking from one of these on its steerer.  Me guess would be Akisu.

Probably the single best clue as to an identification of the manufacturer for the cycle is the serial placement.  This position on the left side of the head is fairly unusual.  It would be a promising avenue for you to explore if you wish to proceed with an investigation.

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## morton (Apr 2, 2019)

Wonder where they got the idea for the style and shape of the headbadge?  Hmmmmmmmmmmmm


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## juvela (Apr 2, 2019)

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There is a discussion thread over at BF begun by a person who used one for a project -









https://www.bikeforums.net/singlespeed-fixed-gear/401313-starting-new-project.html

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## Two Wheeler (Apr 2, 2019)

juvela said:


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> 
> Hello Dan,
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> ...



Thank you for your quick reply. The bike in the pictures is indeed the one off LA's CL! My son bought it. He is an aspiring filmmaker and needed a bike for a shoot. I think he bought the first bike that was close to home. He no longer has a need for it and wondered what to do with it. I'm in St. Louis so have not seen the bike in person. It looks to be poor quality from the pictures. Am I correct in that regard? The guy he bought it off said he had bought it in Okinawa Japan in the seventies when he was stationed there. I smiled at that because I have a Miyata Lemans Course that I bought in the '80s when I was stationed there. So is this Sturdee bike a diamond in the rough, a Goodwill donation, or should it go in the recycle bin? I would like to have the headbadge off it, but it looks like it is riveted on. Living in an apartment he has no tools to remove it.
Thanks,
Dan


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## juvela (Apr 2, 2019)

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Hello Once Again Dan,

Okinawa : may have come from the PX.

As I recall it the seller on Los Angeles CL had two of them, nearly identical, both this colour.

They had been listed _so long_  that when I saw your post I just assumed I could go to CL and pull up the listings for them!

The bicycle is of such poor quality _and _ in such poor condition that it is just about worthless.

One responsible thing which could be done with it would be to donate it to a bicycle co-op.  They have classes to teach people how to work on their own bikes and it might make a sample for such a presentation.  Another thing they do is to disassemble them and put all of their fittings into the appropriate bins where they can be used for repairs to keep other bicycles going.

Hope this has helped you a bit.  

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## Two Wheeler (Apr 2, 2019)

juvela said:


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> 
> Hello Once Again Dan,
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Thanks for all the information! My son is going to try and get the headbadge off for me and see if he can find a co-op.


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