Stockton350

Hi -- I've noticed that old Univega catalogs are hard to find online, so I've been thinking of creating a database of scanned catalogs similar to ones done for Fuji, etc. Does anyone know what year these pages belong to?

https://s137.beta.photobucket.com/use...view=slideshow

If anyone has catalogs they want to share, let me know. Thanks.

cycle_maven

Look like about 1982-1983 or so. Definitely not 1984 or later- the Gran Turismo had cantilever brakes by then.

old's'cool

If you slide show has the complete model range, I don't think it is a 1982 catalog, as I have an 82 Viva Touring that is not depicted in your scans.

mainstreetexile 

It's the 1980 catalog, that's the only catalog that I have actually seen.

mainstreetexile 

Forgot to add: I hope your project turns out well, I would love to see some more Univega catalogs! I had been in talks to do something similar a year or two ago with someone here on the forums to borrow his copies, scan them, and host them for everyone to see, but he stopped responding.

T-Mar

+1, it would appear to be 1980. That was the first year fot the Altus LT used on the Sportour and there's no mention of any of the new derailleurs from SunTour's 1981 line.

Stockton350

Thanks for your help, everyone. I put together a rough site with images I found on the web. The resolution isn't great, but it's a work in progress. I just purchased a couple old Univega catalogs, so I'll scan them and upload them as soon as they arrive.

https://univegacatalogs.wordpress.com/

If anyone has catalog scans to contribute, please let me know. If you'd like to link to this site on relevant discussion threads, that'd be much appreciated.

nlerner

Here's a partial 1983 catalog:

https://yojimg.net/bike/univega/

old's'cool

A partial 1980 Sportour (serial # starting with letter I) passed through my hands. The bike was lacking wheels, seatpost, saddle, RD, and brakes, however everything present on the bike was consistent with the Sidhal's scanned catalogue except the colour, which was original black, with red accents (e.g. cables). I have seen this colour scheme on other Sportours. So, does anyone have a theory for this inconsistency?

wrk101

Catalogs are written months ahead of actual production. So it is not uncommon for actual production to change: components, colors, models, whatever.

old's'cool

Sounds pretty reasonable.

frantik

my first flip bike was a 1980 Univega Gran Premio... it was a great way to learn the difference between low and high end stuff.. i was almost afraid to ride it, the bike was so nice

eschlwc

nice to see my '81 gran rally in a catalogue. i love that bike -- it's so fun to ride around town...


(apologies for the aero levers.)

so the more recent two catalogues linked above ('83 and '87) do not show a single road bike like those beauties shown in the one earlier catalogue. are these two merely incomplete, or did the company move away from road bikes in these later years?

Flying Merkel

I have an '82 Gran Turismo. complete with cantilever brakes. Nice to see the old catalogs.

The Thin Man 

Very nice, Stockton. Thanks for putting this together.
I especially like the '83 catalog and ultra cheese of the models. Groan worthy indeed.

frantik

on the back page of the 83 MTB catalog it says they had separate catalogs for BMX and Road bikes

balindamood

A Univega source page (like Lotus, Miyata, et al) is LONG overdue. Thanks.

Stockton350

Glad there's interest in a resource like this. I agree with Balindamood. Lotus, Fuji, Miyata, etc. are nicely represented and Univega seems like it's worth of its own archive. For anyone who's interested, I've got two more catalogs make their way to me in the post right now and I'm planning to post high-res scans. Here are some auction pics:

https://i.ebayimg.com/t/UniVega-Bicycle-Catalog-Bike-Vintage-/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/$(KGrHqJHJDQFCWu))mdmBQod(OHTPg~~60_57.JPG


https://i.ebayimg.com/t/UniVega-Bicycle-Catalog-Bike-Vintage-/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/$(KGrHqJHJCYFB5KM7irtBQodTeZotQ~~60_57.JPG


https://i.ebayimg.com/t/UniVega-Bicycle-Catalog-Bike-Vintage-/00/s/MTIwMFgxNjAw/$(KGrHqRHJEsFCcEFTLeMBQodTy)2qw~~60_57.JPG

Stockton350

For an added serving of ultra cheese, here's a story about the advent of "city bikes" from a 1983 article of New York magazine. Check out the model there:

https://books.google.com/books?id=mOI...nivega&f=false

frantik

^ hey that's a really cool article. it's cool to read about the dawn of the mountain bike industry from a non-biking perspective. It's pretty crazy that in 1983 they were talking about MTBs as city bikes, even using smooth tires and stuff. I use mtbs as "city bikes" for exactly the reasons stated in the article.

I don't really feel like MTB manufacturers capitalized on the whole concept of city bikes that much.. the "city oriented" mtbs seem just like lower end models.


PS.. LOVE seeing the 80s office worker on the stumpy check out the heels in the next article.. wooo 80s!!

fiataccompli

I'd love to see some mid-late 80s catalogs. I have a Gran Premio that I believe is all 6 speed Suntour Sprint, triple butted tubes, aero levers, horizontal dropouts....figured it's probably about '86-'88, but I'd love to know & also see sorta what the marketing folks said about the bike when it was new.

mainstreetexile 

Cool. Based on the logo, these are even older then the other one, maybe 78 and 79? Do you have the full 1980 catalog? I had one for a bit and have full scans of all of the pages, haven't gotten around to cleaning them all up yet though.

I'd really love to see some catalogs in the 1982-1987 range too.

Stockton350

Mainstreetexile: The 80s catalog is all that I could find on the web, but I'm hoping this collection will grow as people contribute. If you'd like to share your scans through the site, please let me know.

Stockton350

I finally got around to scanning the Univega catalogs and they're available for viewing/downloading. Can anyone identify what year this is from? I can't seem to find any indication in the catalog itself.

(Notice the note at the top of the Univega specifications chart saying specs are subject to change without notice. Further proof that manufacturing specs can differ from catalogs...)

https://univegacatalogs.files.wordpre...-catalog-1.pdf

frantik

I'd guess that is from the 70s.. also I didn't see the page for the Gran Premio but the specs are there

I like the first page where it talks about how the frame is really what you're buying from the manufacturer and the rest are parts from around the world