Needles

I thought I'd post some pics of my ersatz road bike. If they use Nishiki numbers, this is a 1985 Kamra Aero II. I got it in 1990, used, in Washington, DC for $175. It fit me. Since then, I've rebuilt it, changed the wheels to 700c, and put flat bars on it. It's a sweet ride and maybe 19 lbs. Not bad for a steel bike. It's all original finish, and It gets ridden, so it has nicks and some road dirt. I've never even seen pictures of another one. Apparently, they weren't imported to the U.S. commercially.

nlerner

Yeah, that head tube decal sure looks like the Nishiki one:

zukahn1 

Could you show us the underside of the BB with makers mark . While it s a early 80's I'm not sure it is Kawamura built bike which are most associated with Nishiki .West Coast Cycle Imports which designed and had imported built mostly in Japan. based on the quality of the welds and the designed by label I'm thinking this was a bike built by another maker built for the international market using the short lived smashed to shape aero welded design under licence.

T-Mar

I've seen maybe a handful of Kamra in the past. They have all had Kawamura serial numbers. In fact, the Kamra marque was owned by Kawamura, so I'd expect to see a Kawamura serial number format, though I am a bit surprised to hear it's 1985. By that time, the traditional geometry aero frame had pretty much given way to the sloping top tube, small front wheel, "funny bike" style. It has the aero fork and appears to have an aero down tube and chain stays but the seat tube appears to be round. Tubing is plain gauge CrMo while the components are upper entry level.It was probably marketed as an entry level "triathlon" bicycle.

Needles

T-Mar

Yes,, it's 1985 Kawamura manufacture for the Asian market.

Needles

Somebody told me once that "Kamra" is supposedly an abbreviation, or street slang, or something, for "Kawamura" though I don't know for sure. And, yes, the seat tube is round. Since it has slanted drops, and the reach is long enough on the brakes, I've converted it from 27" to 700c. The rear triangle is so tight I had to deflate the rear tire to be able to move it forward enough to get the wheel off with the 27" wheels. One neat thing is the little stud on the inside right seat stay to hang the chain on when you have to remove the rear wheel. It's surprisingly light, to me, for what it is, and it's taken some abuse (Mostly neglect, since it always seems to work.) over the years. The ride is not as springy as you'd expect from a steel frame, and the 700c deep rims are so stiff they don't mellow that out like the 27" Mavics did. Here's the way it is today. I put a flat bar on it because I have an old shoulder injury that keeps me from using drop bars anyway.

T-Mar

The aero down tube and seat stays will decrease vertical compliance, so the frame will not feel as resilient and this compounded somewhat by the use of straight gauge tubing. However, they also result in a frame that is not as rigid laterally. If the 27" wheels were OEM. then it likely wasn't marketed as a "triathlon" model.

sovende

I have a very similar KAMRA that I picked up at a resale shop just outside of Ft Leonard Wood when I was stationed there in the late 90s. Similar too, is the serial # on the bottom bracket (GE07xxx), which I imagine makes it of 1985 manufacture. RE: it being made for the Asian market, that it quite likely since many of the Soldiers assigned to Ft Leonard Wood had previous assignments to South Korea!
I'm sorry that my photo posting capabilities are currently limited. Verbal descriptions will have to do for now. I can't exactly remember how much "upgrading" I did to it (its been over 20 years) but I'm pretty sure that the SunTour "Symmetric" friction shifters, AR front and LePree rear derailleurs were OEM. This is also probably the case for the Dia Compe N-500/GX brake set. The 27x1 1/4 Araya rims and the QR Sansin hubs are OEM. The SunTour 13-34 6 cog freewheel is OEM (at least I didn't swap it out).
The frame is a bit on the large side (60cm) but I can still stand over the top tube (minimal clearance tho &#128580. That did necessitate the use of a short reach stem (Raleigh) and there is only an inch or so of exposed seat post. I guess many might call it "French fit" sized! The Sakae SX crank is a swap out. I kept the 52 tooth large chainwheel but did install a 36 tooth small ring to give a fairly low (for a road bike) climbing gear. I also replaced the original drop bar with a "Road Champion" randonneur style bar. The Italia suede leather saddle is certainly not OEM.
As the OP mentioned, the rear triangle is quite "tight" and I too, had more than a bit of a struggle reinstalling the rear wheel after I mounted a pair of Goodyear 27 x 1 1/4" tires! (They seem to be "higher profile" than most after market tires).
This bike is one of my favorite "rides"! I've dubbed it my "gravel" bike. Since many of my rides involve a mix of back roads, city streets and packed limestone trails, this bike is perfect!

Again, I'm sorry about no pics but aside from frame size, color (mine is red) and the above mentioned swap outs, mine is nearly identical to the OP's.

jetboy 

just say Kawamura 3 times fast (with proper Japanese pronunciation) and you end up saying Kamra.

Needles

I call mine my "road bike" but it really gets ridden on pavement, gravel, paved trails, and even some very mild dirt--- like all of my rides. I need to put some wider tires on it, though...

Londonsworld 

Awesome!

pastorbobnlnh 

Londonsworld , Dura Ace AX or 600 AX? Closeup pictures, please.

Londonsworld 

I don't know. I read something about Nishiki Aero bikes and came across this picture. Hope to see one in person someday ;-)

sovende

I'm reviving this thread to post the pics that I should have when I first replied last Summer ( I hope that there isn't a "Statute of Limitation" on replying to an old thread. ) Also, because it was the bike that I used on my first "true" road ride of the season. As I mentioned in my initial reply, I've dubbed this bike as my "gravel" bike but it is well suited to road riding too! Anyway, here's a couple of pics


For those that are interested, that unusually large device mounted on the handlebar is my Garmin eTrex Legend GPS ! To be sure, definitely "old school" but serves its purpose quite well

pastorbobnlnh 

Fantastic choice in the Suntour LePree three jockey wheel/pulley RD. So non-aero!

T-Mar

From a historical context, the size of the GPS is not out of place. In 1985, many of the bicycle computers were still quite large. Avocet wouldn't revolutionize the bicycle computer until the following year (though Lemond was field testing prototypes on the pro circuit in 1985). I used my 1st generation Cateye well into the early 1990s and by that time friends good naturedly referred to it as my "laptop". In 1985, Bicycling magazine came up with this selection for review...


And your Garmin is miniscule compared to the orignal, prototype, IBM bicycle computer...

pastorbobnlnh 

T-Mar My wife is a retired IBMer and since her hire date was in the early '80s, we lived through the introduction of the PC. Your cartoon is priceless. Thanks for posting this! Looks like a young jimmuller .

T-Mar

Hmm, I thought it would have apparent that I didn't draw the cartoon, given that it shows the non-drive side. It's from Mike Keefe's book, The Ten Speed Commandments. I believe that he drew the cartoons too. Glad you enjoyed it.

sovende

Not my choice as that’s the RD that was on the bike when I got it . I did notice that the OP’s Kamra, which is very similar to mine, also had a RD with three “jockey wheels/pulleys”. SunTour brand but Arx model. From the pics our FDs look the same.

pastorbobnlnh 

Interesting. I hadn't noticed the ARX in the OP's pictures. Thanks for pointing this out.

It just seems so incongruent by the manufacturer to use an RD that was intended for MTBs and Touring bikes on a go-fast aero frame. But obviously these must have been stock.

I say this because I purchased a Lotus Super Pro Aero from the early '80s and it came with Dura Ace AX, which Shimano claimed was more "aero" than any other groupset. Of course this means it has a short cage RD, which confounds the low gears I need to climb the hills and mountains here in NH. I'm a big guy and I love my low gears!

sovende

I don’t mind the incongruity so much but did think it strange to have what one would call “hill climbing” gears on an otherwise obvious road bike set up. I made it even more incongruous when I replaced the 40 tooth chain ring with an even smaller 36 tooth ring! Now I have a 29 gear inch low but still have a 108 gear inch high.
I live in a region of Wisconsin that was spared the scraping action of the glaciers during the Ice Age. When the glaciers melted, the resulting rivers left wide, flat “valleys” bordered by short but steep areas called “coulees”.
I can ride relatively flat terrain if I stay in those river valleys but if I venture into the coulee region, I definitely appreciate the wide gearing range that my Kamra Aero II offers.

OutnBack

I had a mid-80s Kamra that was the spitting image of a Nishiki Tri-A. It had internal cabling, a triple crank, & a Suntour Cyclone 3 pulley derailleur. Wish I still had it.

Needles

I missed the question about the rear derailleur, so I went and got one. It says "aRX". I was able to find a stock photo of the 3 wheel version, but it's in a photobucket, so I can't figure how to post it in an acceptable format, so I'll post the link, too. It was apparently a touring version. Good looking bikes, BTW! https://hosting.photobucket.com/albu...psc4emuiwx.jpg

XxHaimBondxX

not sure if I should create a separate thread, but I just picked up an identical bike to restore this winter. The issue is left crank arm is stripped and pedal missing. How important is to stay with original parts vs similar period correct vs new part that fits, in case I want to resale it at some point.