Friday, August 14, 2009

New (old) Bike

Well, OK, I don't need another bike, but I was driving through Butler (Indiana) for work this morning and I saw this bike sitting in front of the 2nd hand shop in town. I immediately saw the long stem tube and slammed on the brakes. The lady who owns the shop told me the price she was asking for the bike so I bought it right there. Actually, I only had $4, but I put that down on the bike and ran back at lunch and paid the rest for it.

Myles has found a similar bike, although this one is in rougher condition and the components maybe aren't as nice.


I don't know much about tubing, but it's 4130 Chromoly.


The head badge is decent.


The model is Pulsar. I did a quick Google search and found lots of Japanese (I think, I don't know which language) entries for the Kuwahara Pulsar, but no pictures. Will continue the search.


Symmetric shifters, as described by Jon in Myles' post above. The rear derailleur cable is sticky and not working very well.


The rear rim is wobbly, but I should be able to true it easily. Will update progress on getting this bike road worthy. I'm looking forward to seeing how it rides.

Happy riding!

17 comments:

Steve A said...

The movie "E.T" reportedly featured a Kuwahara BMX bike.

In exchange for that tidbit, you need to tell us more about the Tricross!

Steve A said...

Why don't you give them a call? Kuwahara's phone number is (574) 269-3373 and I wouldn't be surprised to find out they're based in South Bend, just a hop, skip and a jump down the road from you. There's a good chance, they built Myles's bike, too, despite the different name plate.

331 Miles said...

Is it the right size for you? Looks like a big 'un.

Big Oak said...

Thanks Steve. Yea, South Bend's pretty close.

Here's a photo of my Tricross at http://bigoakbikes.blogspot.com/2009/03/another-windy-day.html

I've put new Velocity Dyad rims with Shimano Deore XT hubs on the bike in May, plus Schwalbe 700X32 Marathons on in June. I really like the set up.

Big Oak said...

331 - I hope so! The size of the frame is what caught my eye.

Rat Trap Press said...

Nice find! What are your plans for it?

I think Steve may be right about our bikes being built by the same company.

Steve A said...

Go see:
http://www.kuwaharabmx.com/about.html

Doohickie said...

I got a peek at Myles's bike today, and it is in pretty darn good shape. The frame is excellent. The 40-spoke rear wheel is pretty cool.

Looks like you have a pretty good find there too.

jeff said...

Give us pics as you get it in shape. It looks like a classic!

Big Oak said...

Thanks Doohickie and Jeff. After having some time to look at it in detail, it definately is in rougher shape than Myles' bike. I'll do a post on the details.

RTP- yes, maybe the frames were made by the same company. Kuwahara made frames for Schwinn and other companies, according to the history source provided by Steve. I have a 1977 Schwinn Letour III frame that was made in Japan, so maybe these frames are cousins.

RANTWICK said...

That head tube is huge! I don't know about you, but I always like to figure out what year a frame is from... nice find.

Jon said...

If it has DiaComp brakes on it, look on the back of the brake arm. There will be a number there, with the last two digits being year of manufacture. If the brakes are 83s, the bike is likely an 84.

Big Oak said...

Thanks Jon,

On the front brake is 84, rear brake is 83, so it was maybe built in 84 or 85?

Unknown said...

I picked up a Kuwahara Pulsar myself (grey/black) last spring at my LBS and had no luck finding anything about them. Please let me know if you find anything out!

Unknown said...

I recently had a Kuwahara pulsar that fit me perfectly. Looks like the same size. I was using for winter commuting. It is a cyclocross frame. Bye the rear deraileur you can see eyelets for extra spokes which I thought was awesome. Two Eyelets for on both front and back for racks/ fenders. I was very sad to see my pulsar go.

Unknown said...

someone stole it

Frostbike said...

Just wanted to say I also have a Kuwahara, but until recently I didn't know what model it was due to the scripting being worn away. But it's a great bike, I'm still using it as my primary commuter several years later.