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Road Test/Bike Review (1983) Six Great Economical Bikes ($160 - $230)

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Road Test/Bike Review (1983) Six Great Economical Bikes ($160 - $230)

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Old 04-29-23, 06:38 PM
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Road Test/Bike Review (1983) Six Great Economical Bikes ($160 - $230)

The bikes featured were KHS Citation, PEUGEOT P6, PANASONIC Sport, UNIVEGA Supra-Sport, NISHIKI Sport, and FUJI Monterey.
Only the pages containing specifications are inserted below.
The complete 19-page article was approximately 67% advertising and is available as a pdf here: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AgHfxA8atbGnlg2S...IGmPs?e=kGFeZO










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WTB: American Cycling May - Aug, Oct, Dec 1966.
WTB: Bicycle Guide issues 1984 (any); Jun 1987; Jul, Nov/Dec 1992; Apr 1994; 1996 -1998 (any)
WTB: Bike World issue Jun 1974.














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Old 04-29-23, 09:50 PM
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I may just be channeling long-ago trauma from having to ride them, but I just can't say any bike with OEM steel wheels was a "great deal", even back then. Sluggish acceleration even with decent tires, mediocre dry braking, and questionable wet braking made it worth the extra few bucks to skip those bikes and instead buy the higher-end model with aluminum rims. When alloy rims became ubiquitous later in the mid-80s is when these entry-level bikes became truly good deals.

Last page ad: 40 years later, I'm still using a Grab-On brand saddle pad on my Raleigh Pro on top of a flexible plastic saddle (Unicanitor or knockoff - haven't looked in a while). It's a very comfortable combination for a short spin or a century+. I'm on my umpteenth saddle cover, though - the original Grab-On "tough cloth" one lasted for years but had a habit of wearing through cycling shorts.
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Old 04-29-23, 11:43 PM
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Originally Posted by RCMoeur
I may just be channeling long-ago trauma from having to ride them, but I just can't say any bike with OEM steel wheels was a "great deal", even back then. Sluggish acceleration even with decent tires, mediocre dry braking, and questionable wet braking made it worth the extra few bucks to skip those bikes and instead buy the higher-end model with aluminum rims. When alloy rims became ubiquitous later in the mid-80s is when these entry-level bikes became truly good deals.

Last page ad: 40 years later, I'm still using a Grab-On brand saddle pad on my Raleigh Pro on top of a flexible plastic saddle (Unicanitor or knockoff - haven't looked in a while). It's a very comfortable combination for a short spin or a century+. I'm on my umpteenth saddle cover, though - the original Grab-On "tough cloth" one lasted for years but had a habit of wearing through cycling shorts.
I saw that as well. Its so interesting thinking about bikes that cost $200, even back then ($600 in today's money) that simply languish in piles of bikes at co-ops to go to the scrapper.
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Old 04-30-23, 05:54 AM
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That KHS was a super value. Cromo throughout, plus decent components and alloy rims.

i imagine they over-spec’d to get a market foothold.
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Old 04-30-23, 06:57 AM
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Originally Posted by jdawginsc
That KHS was a super value. Cromo throughout, plus decent components and alloy rims.

i imagine they over-spec’d to get a market foothold.
they were scrappy to become noticed.
my sister has a slightly younger one, decent bike, it helped that I managed a deal for her as was working at a shop.

I am actually surprised there were bikes in this price range that a bike magazine would review in 1983.
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Old 04-30-23, 08:26 AM
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Wish I had never lost my P6!
(I think it was '85 though)

Worked great for a 1000-mile, self supported group tour around Lake Michigan, and for commuting & casual riding for years afterwards.
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Old 04-30-23, 04:48 PM
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Originally Posted by repechage
they were scrappy to become noticed.
my sister has a slightly younger one, decent bike, it helped that I managed a deal for her as was working at a shop.

I am actually surprised there were bikes in this price range that a bike magazine would review in 1983.
Maybe it's my inner (outer & everywhere else?) cynic, but this may have been a first step in the magazine's metamorphosis from a very useful read and reference in the 70s and early 1980s into the "BUY!cycling" of the late 90s thru a couple years ago, where there was no such thing as a less-than-glowing review for any advertiser's product, and a constant message of "You're NOT a real cyclist if you don't go out and immediately purchase a ______ bike."
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