Tag Archives: touring bike

The First Zunow Catalog: KYGM 1973

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Last year I scored an original printing of Zunow’s first catalog from Yahoo JP Auctions. The catalog is for master builder Takeru Kageyama’s line of full-custom bicycles branded “KYGM” (pronounced “Gee-mu”).

It offers a window into the early days of the Zunow brand, when Kageyama-san was producing French-inspired randonneur, road, and touring bicycles. The catalog is in Japanese, which is a challenge for a non-speaker like myself. With the help of some translation tools and my experience with bikes & bike parts filling in the gaps, there are some interesting learnings to be had. Click “Continue Reading” below to learn more and download a free copy of the catalog.

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3Rensho Rarities from the Cyclone Days

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Click photo to embiggen

Have you ever seen a 3Rensho cyclocross bike? I had not, until I came across the bike pictured above, on auction at Yahoo JP auctions. I thought about throwing in a bid on it, but rather narrow-mindedly decided that a 3Rensho that doesn’t have the logo engraved into a seat stay cap or fork crown wasn’t a 3Rensho worth buying. Man, was I wrong! I regret it now, as I’ve come to learn that engraved logos do not a 3Rensho make.

I’ve been diving into the history of Cyclone LTD (the Yoshi Konno’s brand that later became 3Rensho) as I’ve been researching the provenance of the custom 3Rensho Super Record I recently restored. In the course of that research, I’ve dug up a few interesting rarities to share. Read on to learn more!

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Eddy Merckx Bicycles by Miyata

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In 1973, Miyata launched a new line of bicycles under a special branding & endorsement deal with cycling legend Eddy Merckx. Above is the cover of the first catalog, introducing Merckx to Japanese cyclists as “The world excellent bicyclist Eddy Merckx; Unprecedented 280 victories in competitions; Eddy Merckx who is the fastest man in the world.”

Released only in Japan for a few years between 1973 and 1980, the Miyata Merckx bikes remain a lesser-known but fascinating piece of cycling history. There’s a few scattered articles in English across the web, and I’ve pulled together everything I could find into one place, including hi-res catalog scans from three different years of production. Read on to learn more about the Eddy Merckx Miyatas!

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Maruishi Emperor RE-C-A Touring Bike

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The Maruishi Emperor has been a popular line of touring bicycles in Japan since at least the 1970s. The Emperor line covers a number of different models, but like the Maruishi brand itself, there is little information on them available in English. After much research, I have identified it as an RE-C-A “Camper” model, released in 1976. It caught my eye as a frame set on Yahoo Japan auctions, as the triple-triangle style of frame design is uncommon, even in Japan. After it arrived in my shop and sat for a few months, I built it up using period-correct parts that came from a Zunow KYGM I am restoring. Read on to learn more about this bike, along with some history of Maruishi.

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Bianchi Volpe touring bike

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Volpe side view

Another day, another bike post!  This is my geared touring bike that I built up from a 1998 Bianchi Volpe frame. I wanted to build a geared bike for century rides and other rides where a single-speed wouldn’t be the best choice.  I also wanted to try out a bullhorn handlebar setup, which I enjoy.  It’s very stable and perfect for when you really want to go fast.  This bike is still sort of a work in progress; it’s comfortable and fit to me but I’d like to replace the stem to match the rest of the white & blue theme.

More details and pictures after the jump…

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