Sjtaylor

I was perusing the local CL because I don't know why. I have way too many bikes. I like to check to see the XXL frames that might show up. I particularly like the steel lug framed bikes.

This Maruishi bike came up. I didnt recognize the brand but did recognize the frame as maybe being my size and definitely a touring frame. The rear wheel has 40 spokes and just looked like a high end bike when new. The asking price was $150 so I took a look.

The 25" frame looked undamaged but the bike was trashed. It had obviously been ridden without a tire on the front rim. The inner chain ring was cracked. The brake calipers were frozen, etc., etc. I paid $100, $50 for the bike and $50 because the seller had been laid off and seemed pretty desperate.

Im going to build this bike. Thought I'd show some before photos. I'd welcome comments, suggestions and any info about this particular brand and model.

Thanks.

clubman 

It's a fine bike, I like the $50 for the seller in need.
Looks like the post and stem are slammed so get those sorted out. It should be a great tourer when done.

ryansu

Nice find and nice gesture to the seller with the extra $50. I am sure T-Mar could opine on the Marusihi brand. Here is what the web has to say

Sjtaylor

The slammed seat post came right out however the slammed stem is stuck. The frame is upside down with the steer tube full of liquid wrench. Never experienced a stuck stem so I watched a few YouTube videos and I’ll take my time to sort it out. May try a heat gun next.

Problem number two...One of the cantilever brake pivot posts was overtightened. That post is about .020” short and swelled .010” on the end. I was able to get the brake off the stud but I have some work to do make it right.

Everything else on the frame seems okay but what a shame that bike was so abused.

rgvg

Is that Scott Ryder's website?

Sjtaylor

Thanks for the internet info on Maruishi. I hope I can remove the stem without tearing something up.

Sjtaylor

Thanks for the internet info on Maruishi. I hope I can remove the stem without tearing something up.

rgvg

There was one catalog on the internet I saw some time ago for Maruishi but I can't find it anymore. One thing I learned from it was the color of the decal next to the front derailleur (original sports frame..) is black and a shade of blue for the straight gauge crmo and that one you have there is db. I think there was a Tour Ace 15 as well, so that one is probably the higher end one.

Sjtaylor

I got the stem to move and free up a little after an upside down liquid wrench soak. I’ll let it soak until morning in stead of wailing on it tonight. That stem was stuck hard. I put a hammer handle in the fork for leverage.

it didn’t help that the stem was slammed all the way in.

The rear wheel has 40 spokes with a schrader valve hole in the rim. Does that seem right?

rgvg

Dunno about Maruishi but my Centurion Pro Tour 15 (1983) came with 40 spokes schraeder. 40 spokes I don't think was unusual for a tourer.

thumpism 

My Nishiki Cresta GT also has 36F/40R 27' wheels. It was an '80s thing, mostly.

T-Mar

Maruishi lays claim to being Japan's oldest bicycle company, dating back to 1884, when they first imported bicycles to Japan. One of the conflicting later dates may pertain to actual commencement of manufacture. The kangaroo logo was adopted because when the Japanese saw a British gentleman wearing a swallow-tailed coat and riding a penny-farthing bicycle, they thought it looked like a kangaroo running through a field. As a result, the Japanese reportedly used the same word for both kangaroos and early bicycles, resulting in Maruishi selecting the kangaroo as their mascot.

While they never had the North American presence of a Fuji, Miyata or Panasonic, they were a mass volume manufacture, with a claimed capacity of one million bicycles by 1980. The early to mid-1980s seem have been the heyday for Maruishi in the USA based on the samples that have surfaced, though importing to the USA dates back to at least the late 1970s. While manufactured in Japan, the bicycles were designed by the USA division of the company, so they were tailored to American preferences. Maruishi had a good reputation and contract manufactured for many USA based marketing firms, notably Nashbar

The serial number should allow us to narrow things down to a year or two. Pending further evidence, the graphics and components suggest late 1980s, circa 1986-1987. Based on the Light Action rear derailleur, Shimano B124 triple crankset, Dia-Compe 981 cantilvers and 27" rims, it appears to be around the crossover from entry level to mid-range. I can't see any tubing decals but it's likely tretubi, seamed, butted CrMo. Maruishi tended to favour Ishiwata, so it's likely a heavier gauge version of EX or EXO. As noted, 40 spoke rear wheels were a common feature on grand touring bicycles of the era, to handle the extra weight of the camping gear.