jhboyy7

hey guys im new to the bike scene i started this summer with a univega activa sport and crashed and bent my fork so since then i have been building up bikes starting with the univega and thena sain trapper but now i need a new one cuz im getting taller i found a really nice one on craigslist sadly i have no clue what its worth and i cant find any information on it please help.

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv...527564140.html
it says its a derby lightwieght racer 58cm its got shimano 600 componets and the shifters are on the ends of the handle bars wich i have never seen. ive looked on google and found nothing

cb400bill

Your link doesn't work but I found the bike anyway. It appears to be made of Reynolds 531 steel. Nice looking bike for $140.00

The bar end shifters were originally designed so that sprinters could change gears while in the drops. But, the design quickly found favor in with the touring bikes.

Millhouse56

I too have a Derby lightweight racer that I found about 4 years ago. It's been hanging from the rafters of my back porch. It was made in Japan, It looks to be 1970's if I had to guess. It's a 10 speed with Shimano 600 rd, Shimano Tourney brakes, 27" Araya wheels and bar end shifters. Except for this site, I have not been able to find any information on this bike. It seems to be a bike of decent quality. It also has chrome forks, Reminds me of a 1973 Schwinn Voyageur I once had. Any info would be welcome. Thanks

juvela

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IIRC our @T-Mar has written of the Derby badge.

I "think" he said it belonged to a chain store but can no recall which one...

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T-Mar

Derby was the bicycle brand of Windsor-Lloyd, a company that appears to have specialized in aftermarket automotive products, primarily lubricants but also fan belts, spark plugs, ignition coils, etc. The company dates back to at least the 1930s with the bicycle brand dating back to at least 1938. I'm not aware of a store chain with which they were associated, so they may have supplied mom & pop type garages.

Shimano 600, if OEM, would place it no earlier than 1975. Mid-1970s would also be consistent with Tourney brakes. It sounds lower mid-range. Any tubing decals? Pictures may help. The serial number may allow us to determine the exact year and manufacturer,

Millhouse56

I still have to post a few more times before I am allowed to post pictures. Will post pics when I can. Thanks for the info.

T-Mar

Looks Japanese, circa 1975-1977, upper entry level to very low mid-range. Stem is at an unsafe height, well above minimum insertion mark. Please provide picture of tubing decal and serial number.

Millhouse56

Hi T-Mar I'm new to this forum. How did you get my pictures? I initially tried to post them but was informed that I need 10 posts before I could attach pics. Happy to see them but was surprized.

Millhouse56

By tubing decal, do you mean the head badge? It does have a decal at the bottom of the seat tube that says "made in Japan". Also, on the handle bars and on the crank arms, it is stamped 79. Could that be the year made. I'll try to post more pictures soon. Thanks.

T-Mar

While forum threada won't accept any pictures until 10 posts, any upload attempts are deposited in a picture gallery, which members can access, though it takes a bit of searching.

The decal at the top of the seat tube appears to be a tubing decal. It and the serial number will hopefully reveal more about the bicycle.

Millhouse56

I was able to take a few more pics, of the tubing decal and the serial number.

CO_Hoya 

bluehills3149

"Hi.Ten" sticker means the frame is made from low grade high-tensile steel. No Reynolds 531 here.

T-Mar

Unfortunately, the serial number doesn't supply me with any concrete information as to the exact year or manufacturer. However, the additional picture of the Tourney brakes provides a clue. The yoke cable was eliminated and replaced by the subject link arm for the 1977 model year. These were short lived, not appearing in Shimano's June 1978 catalogue. Of course, it's possible that the manufacturer was utilizing old, left over inventory. If so, the 79 on the handlebars and in the serial number may have meaning. Either way, it's very late 1970s. As to the level, given the era and hi-tensile frame, I'd consider it upper entry level. Thank-you for posting and taking the extra effort to supply answers to our queries.

Hummer

MCI7908 is a Maruishi date of manufacture code. Not a serial number as indicated previously.

MCI = Maruishi Cycle Industries
79 = year of frame manufacture
08 = month of frame manufacture

The serial number is on the side of the head tube, non-drive side.

Kuromori

Those brakes are shot. The instructions explicitly say not to run bare cable in the link arm, and indeed, the brakes don't really work if you do. There's supposed to be a little piece of plastic tubing over the brake cable so when inserted into the linkage the cable doesn't slip, which means finding a piece of plastic tubing just the right size.

Millhouse56

The brakes work fine. Just need to be cleaned and lubed. The arm is just big enough for the cable to fit, no room for a plastic tube or sleeve. The cable doesn't slide through the arm, it just provides more tension on the cable when the little lever on the left is flipped up to bring the shoes closer to the rim.

Kuromori

I am looking at the official Shimano instruction sheet right here in front of me, and it says, and I quote, "NOTE (A) Do not allow the bare inner cable to make contact with the link without the protective tube." It is supposed to be a very tight fit with the plastic tube. It should not be a loose slip fit, it should be difficult to insert and difficult to slide by hand and the link should be compressing the tube.