FuruiiJitensha

It was my favorite bicycle, I bought it when I lived in Japan, around 1990-1991. At the time it was the equivalent of about $750 USD.

It was a beautiful white and sky blue hybrid with somewhat narrow MTB tires.

Araya apparently makes rims for the international market but now only sells bikes in Japan, but they don't have a model like this one (or else I'd buy one from there).

Are there any makes you can get in the US who make a bike (and ideally, one where you could choose colors) like this?

I can't post the page until I post 10 times but it is on the Japan Araya site in their catalog archive in the 1991 archive.

FuruiiJitensha

It says I can't post URLs but it's preventing me from posting a photo as well.

FuruiiJitensha

Thy bicycle was an Araya MF700CX-K

csport

Are you in the US?

The link: https://araya-rinkai.jp/wp/wp-content...chive_1991.pdf
The bike is on p. 15 of the PDF.
Looks like a steel hybrid with a triple.

What about Jamis Coda or Urban series of KHS?

FuruiiJitensha

Hi and thanks for your reply. Yes, that is the one.
I am in the US. I really like the Jamis you suggested, and will look into the KHS as well. I'd never heard of thee brands so this is a big help.

FuruiiJitensha

Just an update to this thread, and more questions -
The replies on this thread got me on the track to find bikes since I'd been out of this for so long.

It started with Jamis, which I never heard of, then led to the usual suspects - Trek, Cannondale, Giant and Specialized.

After a lot of self-educating and agonizing over choices. I realized that I don't want a Comfort bike and prefer a Fitness bike, disc brakes and preferably hydraulic. If it's not too silly to have color preferences, white is my first choice, lighter colors over dark. I am willing to go up to $630.

This is how it has progressed:

• Jamis Coda - Nice but their disc models are a bit pricey compared with some of the below
• Trek Verve 1 - I liked this but turns out to be more Comfort than Fitness, I love the white color
• Giant Escape 3: In my top 2 but feel the components are a bit lower spec than I prefer, I still might get it
• Giant Escape 2: In my price range and good feature but don't like the colors
• Giant Escape 1: Love this bike but at $830 about $200 out of my price range, great color
• Specialized Sirrus Men's Spec: Really like this, a first choice,the price is right around $600, but older model and very hard to find, nice blue color
• Specialized Sirrus SL: Really like this,a first choice, the price is right around $600, but older model and very hard to find, not bad grey color
• Specialized Sirrus 2.0: The successor to the Men's Spec, not crazy about the colors but this is in my top 3, the florescent green

While I could find a couple of my first choices, none local and the cost and hassle of not buying local seem not worth it, and I want to support my local shops.

Almost everything is out of stock with 3-6 week waits not including setup time.

Any comments on my choices?

Speedway2

Buy the Coda. Spend the extra $$. The "steel" frame is so smooth, the bike looks great and fits your bill of wants/needs.
Save up a little more and get the Comp or go nutz and do the Elite . Buy once....Cry once. You deserve it.

hokiefyd 

I agree -- that Coda should be one slick, smooth bike. All Codas use chrome-moly steel, with the better models using the Reynolds brand (probably more marketing than anything). A Coda with hydraulic disc brakes is probably the bike I would buy if I were looking at this "fitness hybrid" category.

FuruiiJitensha

Thanks again for all the replies and suggestions.

FuruiiJitensha

I can say that since my first post on this that I have already learned a lot, and realize how many factors there are with bikes, a lot to know and someone just getting back into it has a learning curve and it is unlikely that one is going to get all of it right the first time, especially with the current inventory shortages and virus limitations.

FuruiiJitensha

I wish money wasn't the factor it is - I have serious concerns that I won't have a job after another couple weeks and see this as a justifiable expense, if kept modest. Otherwise I would get the Giant Escape 3 or one of the Jamis higher-end models. I do value the recommendations on these, Jamis particularly.

I need to get back into shape and am already way behind getting that off the ground, and a lot of bikes are back-ordered with 6-week waits or more not including set up.

FuruiiJitensha

I will pull the trigger this weekend, and have been leaning towards this bike and in this color:

Sirrus 2.0
...while it is not my first choice of color and kinda of reminds me of a line from American Graffiti, but I think it might grow on me and there is one in stock nearby.

hicks

Get the Jamis!

daps

I got a Jamis Sequel S3. They start at $899 MSRP I think. Disc Brakes. Full steel frame. I believe on the sequel the fork is steel as well. The higher end Coda has a carbon composite fork I believe. The wider tires are a huge reason I pulled the trigger this morning. In Idaho we just started opening stuff things back up on the first. My bike shop had all Jamis 19 percent off. Might call around and see if any local bike shops are doing deals to pick up business even if your state hasn't opened things up. The sequel models have 650B tires and can be upgraded to tubeless down the road. My bike shop had just recently started carrying the Sequel models. Said since they came in last week he had sold 6 before I bought mine.

FuruiiJitensha

Just as an update and out of appreciation of the suggestions given here and in other threads.

I did in fact go with the Sirrus 2.0. I would have preferred the Giant Escape 1 but it way out of what I thought was a $400-500 price range, and the Giant Escape 3 just didn't feel right and I just didn't like the colors of the Escape 2.

Money was indeed a factor given I may be out of a job soon plus Corona making a new job harder to get AND because I had to buy the wife a bike as well. And helmets and locks and lights and car rack.... Money was not the only factor - availability played a key role and why I ended up going with my #3 or #4 in the end rather than wait until midsummer and miss out on bike riding weather and not put off getting started any longer.

So the wife's bike was a bit of a learning experience, She prefers granny bikes, or Dutch bikes I guess they are called, and we ended up with a Jamis Citizen Step Thru, which seemed like a step up from one of those. But she couldn't keep up with my Sirrus so we ended up selling it. We replaced it with a Jamis Allegro A3 Step over, which made a big difference and will serve her better for exercise.