karlkras

Hey folks,
I'm wondering if anyone is aware of a mid 80's touring bike from Nashbar that was labeled what I believe is "Nashbar SE" ? There's such a beast being offered on eBay (nope, I'm not affiliated) and can't find any information about it.

Thanks!
k2

East Hill

I've never heard of it, but the bidding is already up to $152 dollars, so someone must think it's worth a few bucks.

Anyone else?

East Hill

sonatageek

I have a Nashbar road bike from the late 80's and it is a nice rider. I figure that if I cleaned it up is would be worth $125 in my market. The auction bike has canti brakes and some touring features, so it will probably be a $200+ sale.

T-Mar

Actually, it's a 1984 Nashabr ST, original price $349 US. The tubing is Ishiwata CrMo double-butted, but the old ads don't say which grade. Angles are parallel 72 degrees, wheelbase is 40.5", 17.5" chainstays and a 2.5" rake.

Nice features include chrome dropout flats and fork crown, lo-rider fork mounts and rear rack bosses on the seat stays. however both sets of bottle bosses are on the down tube (i.e. nothing on seat tube) and there is no pumppeg on the head tube (I guess a frame fit pump was intended for the seat tube). The ad pics show very thin, nicely brazed lugs.

The seller has done a good job of component listing. The components are decent with the exception of the Mountech rear derailleur, which was problematic. The jockey pulley housed the spring to move the second parallelogram and the seals for it often failed. Unfortunately it is not rebuildable, even if you could find parts. Given the era it's also a bit surpising that it is only 15 speed, but that is easily upgradable.

It looks like a nicely crafted frame in the ads. The components are, for the most part, good, however don't be surprised if problems develop with the derailleur. it was a good deal in it;s dasy, particualrly since the derailleur problems would have been unforeseen. If there is something else specific that you need to know, send me a PM.

well biked

Hi T-Mar,

The two sets of bottle bosses on the downtube, none on the seat tube, were also a characteristic of Centurion Pro Tours of the era. I've since had a set of bottle bosses added to the seat tube on my '83 Pro Tour, but I'm thinking the two sets of bosses on the downtube were probably more or less typical for touring bikes of the era.

On the "15 speed" vs. "18 speed" issue, I think "15 speed" was typical of touring bikes of that era, also. My '83 Pro Tour is actually a "Pro Tour 15," while even most entry level bikes by then came with 6 speed freewheels. I know Schwinn Voyageurs, Passages, etc. of the era also came with 5 speed freewheels. To me, the logical reason for this would be that 120mm hub spacing could be used, creating less dish and a stronger wheel, as well as less unsupported axle on the driveside of the hub, important stuff for a loaded touring bike. The only problem with that theory for me is that my Pro Tour actually came spaced at 126mm, although it could have been coldset since it was also sporting a six speed freewheel when I got it. So I don't really know for sure what the dropout/hub spacing was on these bikes and if the above reasoning even applied. Do you have any thoughts on that?

T-Mar

Points taken. 1984 was a year when you could find bicycles equipped either way. It was a transitional time for many characteristics (the other notable one being 700C tires). However, I wouldn't go so far as to say that 15 speed was still typical. In fact, a 1984 Bicycling survey on loaded touring bicycles covered 43 models and indicates that 31 were 18 speed. The only brands still exclusively offering 15 speeds were Centurion, Dawes and Univega.

I wasn't so surprised at seeing this combination of features, as I was at seeing them on a Nashabar. They would often skim on other things to ensure they had the latest trends. For the small increase in price, I would have expected them to opt for the 6th cog and pump peg, but I guess they sacrificed them to make the price point.

karlkras

Hey Guys,
Thanks for the information! I'm thoroughly impressed by the historical data you both have on this.

RobbieTunes

Don't be fooled by the seller's claim of ignorance on the item. Based on the ad text, he/she knows bikes and shipping and especially the nomenclature. Should have just told us what it was and put it up for sale. The part about being naive just doesn't jive with the text of the ad.