Hello! I just signed up, seeing as I'm an avid cyclist since my younger years I felt I should join and ask around about my current love.
It's a 1975 Empire Professional. A neighbor of mine rode it when he was a child and gave it to me because he didn't want to see it get thrown in the dump. From what I've noticed, it's a Japanese bike, 10 speed (2 front 5 rear) with some really high-grade hardware. It's a high-tensile steel frame, double-butted, with 700C wheels. My neighbor said when his father bought it for him he payed $1300 for it new.
I had to do very little maintenance on the bike when I got it, replacing the seat and post, tuning the brakes and derailleurs as well. The front is a Shimano but the rear is a unique type, called a Shimano Twist, and I've never seen it before. The usual downtube shifters are on there as well. Everything appears to be made by a company called "SR".
I've done very many modifications to it:
Turned it into a 5 speed (removed front derailleur and lower cog),
Changed seat (not to a Schwinn but to a Corsa Ora racing saddle),
Polished bare steel parts,
flipped-and-clipped handlebars, using the same foam padding,
and Tektro TL720 barend brakes, Jagwire cables and cable covers.
What I'd really like to know is where the hell did this bike come from? I've looked everywhere and found very few images of it online. Was it really $1300? The parts are great, but I want to know from you guys. I've only found the date (1975) and a few images of it but nobody seems to have much info on it.
What do you think?