tpadul 

So my vintage road bike find back in June is still a mystery as to what make it is and T-Mar tried to help decipher the serial number but no luck as to what it is. My LBS had a good look at it when they replaced the freewheel for me and they owner was pretty certain it was a Japanese build and was leaning toward Miyata given the “M” on the top of the fork. At first I thought the fork was a Murray but the LBS said no way that is a Murray fork.

several members here chimed in and like T-Mar thought it was probably a Japanese build but it was repainted and had no stickers or head badge.

So now I want to just find a cool head badge leaning toward Japanese names and find some cool Japan stickers to put on the bike just for kicks. I have no plans on selling it at all so the decorating with decals and head badge is just for fun.

I found several cool head badges on EBay but the majority of them are being sold by on seller In Indonesia so I’m not sure how reliable that seller would be for shipping to the US?

if anyone has any cool ideas or has seen some cool head badges or decals I’d love some suggestions for the bike.

My daughter lives in Japan now in the Navy and she actually brought some auto stickers back for me but I’ve already put all of them except one Japan 🇯🇵 flag sticker on our cars but I can easily have her buy more and send them.

The one head badge that really sticks out for me is the one below that just says “Tokyo” on it and the Sakura one

Any thoughts or ideas?


“M” on the fork, it’s not a Murray fork as I originally thought

KennyFSU

I'm digging the Azuki one with the arrows.

rhm

I like them all. Asia Bike gets my vote.

T-Mar

For the record, I'm opposed to installing any known head badge, until the identity of the bicycle has been positively established. It would be misrepresenting the bicycle and could be considered fraud, in the event of a resale and non-disclosure. If you really want something on it, design and create a TPADUL badge.

I remember this bicycle and the discussion quite well. As for the fork, I believe Mr. Moss was correct in his identifying it as a Murray fork. However, I also believed it to be a replacement, as the blade end treatment does match the stay end treatment. As for Miyata, it is definitely not a Miyata manufactured product based on the previously posted serial number. The serial number suggested a 1985, Taiwanese manufactured frame but we couldn't identify it beyond that.

tpadul 

Thank you T-Mar for chiming in, as I said in my post though, I have no plans ever on reselling the bike, I plan on keeping it and therefore there really is no fraud or misrepresentation to worry about. So my ideas for a head badge and stickers are simply for fun because I plan on keeping the bike for myself and will not be selling it. And of course you and Mr. Moss are probably correct then about the fork being Murray, I was just going off of what the LBS told me so I really don't know, I still don't understand all the terminology you use as I'm still learning so I really have no idea what it means when you say that the "blade end treatment does not match the stay end treatment" ? Sorry if I sound ignorant about those terms, but that goes right over my head. I'm trying to learn. So the frame is made in Taiwan most likely so then I'll look for Asian themed stickers and maybe I'll create my own head badge, but all this really is just for fun since I'll most likely never figure out who the maker of the bike really was.

tpadul 

And also because I can see that you are so knowledgeable about the serial numbers and you have invested so much time into those, if you cannot pinpoint a maker of the frame, I honestly don't think anyone has the ability then, therefore I will never know the make of the frame, but for my own fun and the fact that I really want some cool stickers and emblems on the bike to spruce it up I've decided to put some fun stuff onto the bike, if I can't ID the frame it really has no great resale value anyways.

WGB 

That Takara badge looks brand new. I have a Grand Touring I'm building back up with some mods. The old badge is rough and I don't want to use ut with the new powder coating. I was thinking of getting a sticker but wondering where you acquired it?

tpadul 

That Takara badge is currently on Ebay! you should check it out, there was one that was selling this morning for $5.50 with $4.00 shipping from Bowling Green Kentucky but the auction ended with No bids and the seller had offered me $4.00 for it when I made an offer of $3.50 but I had not realized that the offer would end as soon as the auction ended which was like seconds away by the time I saw he had made a counter offer, he might relist it soon. I'm still not sure what I want to do, I would like a head badge that kind of matches or compliments the color of the frame and since the frame is a purplish/ mauve kind of color I'm just not sure the red and black head badges would look cool on it.

tpadul 

Here is the ebay link for the picture of the one I posted here, this one is $14.99

https://www.ebay.com/itm/vintage-Tak...sAAOSwpVxfMbyH

SpeedofLite 

How about using the Japanese equivalent of the question mark?
Hopefully one that is short enough to use for a legible head badge?.
It will be unique and certainly will be a conversation starter with cyclists and people who can read Japanese characters.

Vintage_Cyclist

I'd just go with a small sticker for that bike.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...sacat=0&_pgn=1

randyjawa 

Wish I had said that.

I do understand the fun thing about the build. And, for what it is worth, my guess is that the fellow who put the Cyclops decals on this orange Cannondale felt the same way. I actually offered this fake Cyclops in the For Sale forum a few days ago. Point is - the OP might not keep the bike forever, for a host of different reasons. But, sooner or later, the potential to fool someone will rear its ugly head.

This is not a Cyclops and I bet that there was no thought of ever letting the bike go nor were there any intentions to fool a fool like me. But I almost got fooled...


Thanks to those who pointed out the true nature of the fake Cyclops bicycle. One of the reasons that I like to frequent Bike Forums.

tpadul 

That's a good idea, or i really like the idea of a few of the website recommendations for a custom head badge and then find some cool stickers to put on the bike. T-Mar said that it is most likely a Taiwan build so maybe some decals along those lines as well.

tpadul 

Yes, I do see you point and T-Mars as well, so I'm leaning toward having a custom head badge designed for it and a few members yesterday shared an Etsy page from a guy in Spain that had some amazing work and another website for a woman here in the U.S. that does some insanely beautiful custom build head badges, so I really think that is a good idea to have a custom head badge made for it.

Thanks so much for your input as well, and yeah, as you said I really have no plans on letting it go but at some point down the road who knows, my wife may get sick of me collecting and having so many bikes that I might have to get rid of it.

Thanks all for chiming in with more eye opening thoughts on this.

SpeedofLite 

Dang, sorry, I missed that info in his post above. Of course, Taiwanese characters are more appropriate then for a "?" head badge.
Whatever, your bike, make it yours.

Velo Mule

On @gugie advice, I designed and had made some decals for my Royce Union. The brand is too low end for VeloCals or similar to duplicate so I made my own. They came out great. Too good for the bike that it is, really. The price and delivery was good and getting to design my own graphics gave me the look that I wanted. Here is the link:

DIY Lettering



You could create your own headbadge this way as well. They have lots of tools to modify graphics.

majmt 

The "Freddy Mertz" is my favorite head badge.

Velo Mule

I'm guessing you have many people scratching their heads over that. Not from this forum, but out in the real world. I can also imagine this at a bike event and someone thinking that Fred Mertz must have been a racer or someone important in the cycling community.

This reference brings back memories that I haven't though about in a long time. Funny thing is without even seeing the picture I know who you're talking about.

Is that on your bike? A clever, obtuse Headbadge. I like the Championship colors around the picture. It make it look like a legit cycling reverence. It looks like a nice bike too.

majmt 

I saw that on another forum. Wish I could find the decals but if I did, I’d just have to get an orange bike to to put them on.


To make up for my thread jack FWIW, I’ll add that I had an Azuki “10-speed” in high school, I rode the snot out of it and totally buggered it up learning to wrench and mod but the head badge (that one with the arrows) was a gem. Seeing that brought back some great memories.

.

Velo Mule

Oh man, I missed the joke at first. I was wondering why you referred to the character as "Freddy Mertz" rather than "Fred Mertz" . Thanks for that additional picture to clear it all up for me.

Bad Lag

The fraud is perpetrated when the act is done. It matters not what your intentions regarding resale are.

"Mr. Treasury Agent, I made those phony $100 bills as a joke, they are flagrantly not genuine Treasury Notes. Anyone can see that. They were stolen from me during a burglary of my home a month ago."

tpadul 

Lol...not quite the best example as treasury bills are meant to be spent and used for purchases not at all the same as a bike you intend to keep for yourself but I do get your point though.

fliplap

Just grab the Rivendell “Resurrectio” decal set and call it a day. Classy, and perfect for exactly this case.

https://www.rivbike.com/products/resurrectio-decals

tpadul 

Ha!!!! I love that! That’s a cool idea

DYREWILLOW

Hi everyone, any recommendations on where to get good decent head badges online ?