Cool Vintage German Bike
03-18-22, 06:18 AM
#1
Shawn of the Dead
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2021
Posts: 578
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 277 Post(s)
Liked 448 Times
in
216 Posts
Cool Vintage German Bike
My friends girlfriend showed up with this nifty vintage german bike. A $100 craigslist find. I say its vintage because it has "made in West Germany" on the headtube. It has a front wheel dynamo that powers the lights although the front light needs bulb. Also has a frame pump ,fenders and a rack. I know nothing about it but thought it was cool and there hasn't been a "West Germany" for quite a long time. The downtube says "Keitler Alu-Sportrad" and the chainguard says "Positron PPS 6 gang" The seat tube says something too but she has a velcro strapped bottle cage blocking it. All aluminum and fairly light for a big city bike.
Just thought it was cool.
Just thought it was cool.
03-18-22, 08:17 AM
#3
SE Wis
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Posts: 10,507
Bikes: '68 Raleigh Sprite, '02 Raleigh C500, '84 Raleigh Gran Prix, '91 Trek 400, 2013 Novara Randonee, 1990 Trek 970
Mentioned: 40 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2743 Post(s)
Liked 3,390 Times
in
2,053 Posts
Positron FFS 6 speed date it to mid 80's. Also "can", not will, make some future maintenance an issue. Mostly cable replacement or freewheel removal.
Edit - Looks like it may just be Positron without FFS
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...alling-me.html
https://velobase.com/ViewShiftSystem...d-779c1840e286
Lots of threads on Kettler.
https://www.google.com/search?q=keit...&bih=617&dpr=1
Kettler is still around
https://www.kettler-alu-rad.de/dk-en/
Edit - Looks like it may just be Positron without FFS
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...alling-me.html
https://velobase.com/ViewShiftSystem...d-779c1840e286
Lots of threads on Kettler.
https://www.google.com/search?q=keit...&bih=617&dpr=1
Kettler is still around
https://www.kettler-alu-rad.de/dk-en/
Last edited by dedhed; 03-18-22 at 08:25 AM.
03-18-22, 12:17 PM
#5
SE Wis
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Posts: 10,507
Bikes: '68 Raleigh Sprite, '02 Raleigh C500, '84 Raleigh Gran Prix, '91 Trek 400, 2013 Novara Randonee, 1990 Trek 970
Mentioned: 40 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2743 Post(s)
Liked 3,390 Times
in
2,053 Posts
03-18-22, 01:46 PM
#6
Senior Member
Kettler was the company which pioneered the aluminum frames in Germany in the 80s and 90s. Typical setup for this time with the bottle dynamo. This is a practical utility bike. Nothing fancy. But even new bikes are not that different from a styling perspective. Nowadays they use hub dynamos and have disk brakes. I however would replace the old style filament based lights with modern LED lights which are a lot brighter. Yes you can run 21st century LED lights of a bottle dynamo. I have done this on one my bikes using B&M LED lights with a bottle dynamo.
03-19-22, 07:09 AM
#8
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Utah
Posts: 8,667
Bikes: Paletti,Pinarello Monviso,Duell Vienna,Giordana XL Super,Lemond Maillot Juane.& custom,PDG Paramount,Fuji Opus III,Davidson Impulse,Pashley Guv'nor,Evans,Fishlips,Y-Foil,Softride, Tetra Pro, CAAD8 Optimo,
Mentioned: 156 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2323 Post(s)
Liked 4,981 Times
in
1,775 Posts
Yep, appears to be a typical "department store" quality German bike, which isn't a bad thing. I ran a similar Mars Trekking bike for several years as an errand bike. Nothing fancy about the bike at all but it just worked reliably and was actually a pretty comfortable ride. I'll second the comment about running LED bulbs, I did the same thing. Much better, but still marginal, lighting.
__________________
Steel is real...and comfy.
Steel is real...and comfy.
03-19-22, 10:41 AM
#9
Banned
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Lincoln Ne
Posts: 9,924
Bikes: RANS Stratus TerraTrike Tour II
Mentioned: 46 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3352 Post(s)
Liked 1,056 Times
in
635 Posts
The first bike is called a mixte. Some think it is a woman's frame but short guys ride them too.
03-19-22, 07:23 PM
#10
Grupetto Bob
Join Date: Sep 2020
Location: Seattle-ish
Posts: 6,205
Bikes: Bikey McBike Face
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2577 Post(s)
Liked 5,626 Times
in
2,915 Posts
6 gang means 6 speed for the non-German inclined.
__________________
Road 🚴🏾♂️ & Mountain 🚵🏾♂️
Road 🚴🏾♂️ & Mountain 🚵🏾♂️
Likes For Rdmonster69:
03-20-22, 08:49 PM
#12
Bikes are okay, I guess.
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Richmond, Virginia
Posts: 6,938
Bikes: Waterford Paramount Touring, Giant CFM-2, Raleigh Sports 3-speeds in M23 & L23, Schwinn Cimarron oddball build, Marin Palisades Trail dropbar conversion, Nishiki Cresta GT
Mentioned: 69 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2647 Post(s)
Liked 2,446 Times
in
1,557 Posts
Neat little bike. Not many made it stateside but they show up here periodically. One local dealer has a his 'n' hers pair on display on his wall.
