onesie

Yesterday i was given this bike from a neighbor and was interested in knowing what bike it was and how to go about making sure it's capable of riding. I'll be honest, i haven't owned a bike in years and am completely clueless when it comes to bikes i see it has a bridgestone badge and what i think is campagnolo on the down tube

David Newton

Onesie, I'd hate to tell you that it's the worst, 'cause there is always something worse around the corner.
If you want to ride, take a little time and find something better, you'll be glad you did.

That being said, squirt some motor oil into every joint that moves, including the cables, wipe it all down, make sure the brakes will stop the wheels, and go out and give it a spin, somewhere without cars.

onesie

not sure if this helps but i see what looks like a serial number on the frame "h154544"

thank you david for your help. the back brake seems to be working fine though the front one does seem like its "loose"

EjustE

that left brake lever is way way low on the bar.

fas2c

It has the same lugs as the pre-Bridgestone Kabuki.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...gestone-Kabuki

wrk101

I love vintage bikes as much or more than anyone. If I was given this bike (and I have been given several bikes like it), I would take it directly to my favorite thrift store and donate it. Its a bottom of the line bike from the boom era, in poor condition. I would put my time into something better.

The cost to get this bike in good ready to ride condition will equal or exceed the value of the bike when you are done with it. This assumes you do all the work yourself, already have teh tools in hand, and the time/interest to do it.

mcgreivey

Was Bridgestone Bridgestone before and after it was Kabuki?.

Looks mid-'70s, and heavy. By 1980, they were using the Kabuki name. By the mid-'80s, they'd dropped the Kabuki name. The shape of the stem, the low-level Shimano rear derailleur, the cottered cranks, and of course the lug shape, mark it as not an '80s Bridgestone, I think.

cyclodan

Bridgestone Cycle Co. Ltd. began in 1949 and has been marketed uder the names Bridgstone, Anchor, C. Itoh and Kabuki

Ruffinit

Bridgestone marketed their bikes to the US as Kabuki when Japanese bikes were the rage. Bridgestone found that their name wasn't Japanese sounding enough. I owned a very similar bike when I was in Spain during the early 80's. The headbadge is exactly the same. I'm thinking that the Bridgestone branding may have only been used outside the US until the 80s. Mine of course was in much better shape (almost 30 years ago). I found that this bike was a very nice bike, smooth and responsive, with a touring frame geometry. IF YOU don't keep this bike I am interested in various pieces of it if not the whole bike. Because of the way this bike rode, it convinced me to buy my T700 in '86 and it has over 50,000 miles on it now.
My LBS was kind enough to have given me a C. Itoh which is a rebranded Bridgestone/Kabuki. This particular bike was higher end than yours or my Spanish bike was in that it has all aluminum tubes except for the seat tube and has Shimano 500 (predicessor to 600) derailleurs and alloy hubs.