I have always been surprised at the lack of interest in Japanese steel here. I have never owned one, but from what I have read the hi-end frames in the 70's with top Ishiwata and Tange steel were comparable to the best Reynolds and and later Columbus steel of the time. There are threads on bikeforums.com that get into Japanese steel in detail. I do remember a few guys racing in the early 1980's on some sweet Miyata bikes, but for sure Italian steel and (for the budget minded, cannondale) dominated the field back then.
damien roohr
canton, ct
On Jan 15, 2011, at 6:05 PM, Thomas Dockery <driveadime@msn.com> wrote:
> I worked for the mid west distributor for Sekai between 1981 and 1984 (Champaign Cycles, Champaign Illinois). The 4000 and 5000 could be bought as a complete bike or frameset. The 4000 was a touring design built with Tange #2 Cro-Mo tubing. The 5000 was a racing design with Tange #1. Both of these bikes where very nice builds for mass-manufactured frames. There where built by a company in Japan which did several labels including Sekai. I am sorry, I dont remember the name of the company. Peter Davis at Champaign Cycles could give you the real details. I beleive he is still involved in the business.
Check out Yellow Jersey's Sekai page, where there is a link to a 1975 catalog:
http://www.yellowjersey.org/
According to the 1975 catalog, in that year the "Criterium" 4000 had Tange #1 tubing and the "Superlite" 5000 had the .6mm/.3mm superlight Tange tubing. I think the 4000 model evolved a bit over the years.
There is a review of the 4000 from 1974 here:
http://www.velo-pages.com/
If I may hazard a guess, Brian's bike would have a serial number that starts with "M" followed by the last digit of the year of manufacture.
James Black
Los Angeles, CA