New to me Panasonic Touring Deluxe & Jim Blackburn Front Rack
04-22-21, 02:05 PM
#1
Full Member
Thread Starter
New to me Panasonic Touring Deluxe & Jim Blackburn Front Rack
Went to check out a 25" (my size) 1985 Panasonic Touring Deluxe. The bike was unrealistically priced at $300, & the seller only had one pic on FB Mkt Place, so it languished for months. Finally, I reached out & highlighted the time & cost it would take to get it back on the road, (all new consumables, all bearings serviced) not to mention the bike originally sold for less than $500. The seller agreed the price was unrealistic, then invited me to come have a look.
It's more of a sport touring bike, bosses for 2 water bottle cages instead of 3, no mid fork mounts for a rack, & the frame is nothing special, Double Butted Tange 1000 & a High-Ten fork, so I knew going in $75 was going to be my number. Still, it has cantis & double eyelets front & back, a relaxed geometry, & a triple crank. Plus unlike many of Panasonic's mid 80s color schemes, the Touring Deluxe looks subtle & understated. The bike was lightly ridden-paint & decals look fantastic. And it definitely punches above it's weight when it comes to ride quality, very similar to a Miyata 610 I always regretted letting go of. Nonetheless, $75 was what it was worth to me, & I politely told the seller I couldn't pay any more.
He mentioned having a coupe of other items to potentially throw in, & if I would agree to $100, the bike & the additional goodies were mine.
He headed back into his garage and returned with a vintage Jim Blackburn Front Rack, as well as front & rear Deore MT60 derailleurs. We elbow bumped, I gladly paid him, & here are the pics.
It's more of a sport touring bike, bosses for 2 water bottle cages instead of 3, no mid fork mounts for a rack, & the frame is nothing special, Double Butted Tange 1000 & a High-Ten fork, so I knew going in $75 was going to be my number. Still, it has cantis & double eyelets front & back, a relaxed geometry, & a triple crank. Plus unlike many of Panasonic's mid 80s color schemes, the Touring Deluxe looks subtle & understated. The bike was lightly ridden-paint & decals look fantastic. And it definitely punches above it's weight when it comes to ride quality, very similar to a Miyata 610 I always regretted letting go of. Nonetheless, $75 was what it was worth to me, & I politely told the seller I couldn't pay any more.
He mentioned having a coupe of other items to potentially throw in, & if I would agree to $100, the bike & the additional goodies were mine.
He headed back into his garage and returned with a vintage Jim Blackburn Front Rack, as well as front & rear Deore MT60 derailleurs. We elbow bumped, I gladly paid him, & here are the pics.
Last edited by OutnBack; 04-22-21 at 03:32 PM.
04-22-21, 02:07 PM
#2
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Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: SoCal
Posts: 79
Bikes: Bikes: 1979 Trek 930, 1979 Trek 710, 1996 Trek 970, 2000 Merlin Extralight, 2005 Merlin Agilis Framesets: 1980 Trek 410, 1981 Trek 610, 1984 Trek 400, (2x) 1985 Trek 600
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Nice, the rack it self is worth the $75 !!!
04-25-21, 08:18 PM
#3
Recovering Bikeaholic
I have to respectfully disagree...$300 was indeed a fair price; you scored a very fine bike AND a special deal at $100. 👍👍👍
