WOT

A bike has come up for sale in my size branded as YAGAMI.
The seller says it’s Japanese and made from Araya tubing.
It looks good in the ad however when I search for the brand I can’t find anything relevant. Could anybody steer me in the right direction?

T-Mar

Given the Araya tubeset, it is likely a marketing brand, with Araya being manufacturer. This can be corroborated from the serial number, which will also provide dating information. Araya manufactured a full range of models but their proprietary tubing was typically found on entry level models. Pictures or a link to the advisement may help members to provide more information.

WOT

Here is the link on eBay

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...2F233317402638

nomadmax 

I don't know how much 220 pounds is in USD but I stop looking at a bike when I see a claw mount rear derailleur.

bertinjim 

WOT-

The bike looks to be an entry level product. The swaged crankset, lug style and generic "Araya" tubing seem to support that conclusion. The 200 pound price is way out of line and a price around 100 pounds or less would be more appropriate.

T-Mar

That is an entry level model, probably about 2nd from the bottom of the line. Stamped dropouts are indicative of a hi-tensile frame. Steel rims, stem mounted shift levers and swaged cotterless crankset are other indicators of entry level. The stem, brake levers and saddle are obvious replacements. The derailleur combination of a SunTour VGT on the rear in combination with a SunTour NSL on the front, if OEM, would suggest circa 1979-1982. If it was stock, I doubt that I'd consider this even at half the current asking price. However, that is one of my favourite saddles, so I might be tempted at about 100 GBP, provided it was local pick-up.

The Golden Boy 

That's being REALLY generous.

@WOT- stay away from this bike unless you get it for under $50 (40 pounds) and even THAT is generous.

For starters- check out Randy's website- he put together some really great tips on how to spot a "good" bike: VINTAGE BICYCLE QUALITY - INTRODUCTION



To me- look for a frame that is Chrome Molybdenum (CrMo "Cromoly") or better, look for a derailleur hanger... I'd shy away from bikes with stem shifters and "turkey wing" brake levers (the ones that activate from both the front and from the tops of the handlebars) unless you really know what you're looking at.

Old bikes look cool- especially old bikes that have shiny components and that "vintage" look. But the trick is knowing the difference in a pretty, but low end (heavy, cheaply made) bike and a pretty mid level or better bike. That seller is selling a low end bike for a prime bike price and is banking on buyers seeing a pretty "vintage" bike.

thook

i'd give $20 for it at a yard sale. change out a few parts and rock it as a putz around type thing. the uncommon factor and paint on it's alluring if one's standards weren't high

but, i agree...the seller's ignorant and capitalizing on the vintage trend

Lascauxcaveman 

Concur. Not a horrible bike, given that venerable Japanese quality of that time frame. But certainly not more than a $50-80 bike in most communities.

WOT

Thanks for the straightforward answers. I’ll be passing on this one.

pcb 

There was a Japanese trading company named Yagami that consolidated orders/shipments for US (and likely European) bicycle branders. I had the impression they were relatively small, on the level of Kozaki and InterJet, with primarily bicycle-related clients. But I don't know that for a fact.

Pretty good chance Yagami decided to brand their own bikes at some point, going to Araya for production would make sense, especially if Yagami was based in Osaka/Kansai, where Araya was based.

The bike looks to be a fairly well executed, unremarkable, not-very-special machine.

T-Mar

Thank-you for posting. Yagami had sounded familiar to me but I couldn't remember where I had seen it. They were located in Nagoya, where Araya had one of their five factories.