Repco Appreciation Society

[Bottega]

Hi guys, brought my first repco bike today which seem's to be in OK condition..but i know nothing about them or what model it is.



I got it for a pineapple..

Any thoughts?

[cray-]

Seems to be missing the sticker toward the front of the top tube that usually has the model name on it. I'm sure someone else will recognise that paint job and be able to fill you in. Red sticker on the downtube is Tange 2? Not too shabby, should clean up alright.

[rusco]

Hi Guys

I have collected a heap of pics of the different models, most from the 74 pages of thos thread but a few others.

http://pinterest.com/socialdesignphd/repcos/

cheers

[baysieskip]

Awesome bike porn rusco- really helpful reference

[munga]

i see a merckx, a europa and a bridgestone
and half a dozen of my old bikes

[munga]

Hi guys, brought my first repco bike today which seem's to be in OK condition..but i know nothing about them or what model it is.



I got it for a pineapple..

Any thoughts?

looks like an slx sport from around 92, but don't quote me on it.
i can say for certain that it isn't a vertex, tri-a, olympic or superlite.

i don't think they ever made tange-framed repco's (with the exception of the infinity tubed tri-a's) - maybe decal says 1020 hi-ten or similar?

if you spent $50, and you like it, you've got a bargain!

[DJIntegr8]

Looks like a Tange 900 sticker to me..

Should clean up to a nice machine.

Brendan

[Bottega]

Just had a good look at the bike and gave it a good clean..

The sticker does say Tange 900 on it..

Not knowing anything about Repco bikes what does that mean?

Is this bike any good? i wont be selling it, ill be cleaning it up and giving to my brother.

[cray-]

i don't think they ever made tange-framed repco's (with the exception of the infinity tubed tri-a's) - maybe decal says 1020 hi-ten or similar?

Plenty of Tange used, mostly from Kawamura, Repco slapped their stickers a bit of different stuff over the years.

The annoyance is that Tange changed their ranking/numbering system at some point. I think earlier on it was Tange 1 at the bottom and they counted upwards, then it flipped so that Tange 1 was the best and 2-3-4 continued down the line. Bit confusing, need more early catalogues to figure it out.

Here is the 1988 catalogue featuring Prestige, Infinity, Tange1-5, 900-1000 road tube sets. Trying to decipher the numbers now.
http://www.velobase.com/Resource_Tools/ ... e_1988.pdf

Later on they seem to have ditched the 1-5 system, and just gone by Prestige, Infinity, single/double butted, plain gauge. Here is the 1997 catalogue:
http://www.equusbicycle.com/bike/tange/ ... hure03.pdf

More stuff here: http://www.equusbicycle.com/bike/index.html#

Very confusing.

[cray-]

The sticker does say Tange 900 on it..

Not knowing anything about Repco bikes what does that mean?

It was lower end but not right at the bottom of the range. Tange 900 is Double butted Cr-Mo with the same weight as Tange 2 but the catalogue descriptions suggest a cheaper method of manufacture.

Still better than Hi-Ten. Clean it up and pass it on, not worth spending a whole lot of coin on.

[Bottega]

Clean it up and pass it on, not worth spending a whole lot of coin on.

Exactly what im gonna do..thanks for all the info guys..much appreciated...

[munga]

ah well shows what i know - cheers cray!

[Bottega]

I started giving the bike a bit of a clean up and noticed that not all the parts are of the same brands..now being a TOTAL novice can someone please tell me if these are any good and standard on these bikes?

The brakes Weinmann 590SQ
The wheels Weinmann Etrto 116 Alloy
The hubs SR Japan
The Rear dérailleur Shimano light action
The Front derailleur Shimano
The crank Arm Sakae SA
The brake lever has no branding
The Handlebars Hsinlung HL

thanks guys

[baysieskip]

Hi B

Still not sure what bike you have there so couldn't comment if standard for the bike. The parts are solid without being spectacular bike parts- they would suit a daily commuting bike.

Put it this way, if your brother doesn't like it I am sure you could get more than a pineapple for it relativly easily... or you could change brothers

[cray-]

A little more anorak knowledge* on the subject of Tange and steel tubing in general.

Tange 1-5 use seamless steel tubes whereas Tange 900/1000 use welded steel tubes. Welded tube is cheaper to manufacture but the weld can be a weak point so seamless is considered superior.

Tange 900 is equal to Tange 2 in thickness and weight as it uses the same dies and mandrels during fabrication. So functionally there is little to no difference, just that seamless is more expensive so was generally used on higher spec'd bikes. Also there may be greater variance in how the rest of the frame is built: plain gauge stays, cheaper dropouts and lugs, etc.

Here's a pretty simple explanation from Reynolds about welded versus seamless tubes and how butted tubing is fabricated:
http://reynoldstechnology.biz/our_mater ... tubing.php

Here are two slightly more in depth articles on tube drawing from a fabrication publication:
http://www.thefabricator.com/article/tu ... principles
http://www.thefabricator.com/article/tu ... principles

Interesting stuff if you're a weirdo like me.

*Sorry, I'm one of those strange people that takes great pleasure in knowing the details and technicalities behind everything.

[schuberj]

I started giving the bike a bit of a clean up and noticed that not all the parts are of the same brands..now being a TOTAL novice can someone please tell me if these are any good and standard on these bikes?

The brakes Weinmann 590SQ
The wheels Weinmann Etrto 116 Alloy
The hubs SR Japan
The Rear dérailleur Shimano light action
The Front derailleur Shimano
The crank Arm Sakae SA
The brake lever has no branding
The Handlebars Hsinlung HL

thanks guys

I must admit that I have not seen this colour before, however the parts and the look of the bike suggest a mid 80s Olympic 12 equivalent. Bike is definitely before '88 as it has the older style Repco decals and does not have aero levers, however I would say not very long before due to the two tone paint that is very similar to the '88 Monaco.

Is it my imagination or is it missing a braze-on for the rear brake cable? Also is it 12 speed?

[munga]

schuberj: look at the headtube sicker. later than 88?

Bottega: whats the date code on the shimano components?

http://www.vintage-trek.com/component_dates.htm

what's the serial number on the frame (look under the bottom bracket)?

[schuberj]

schuberj: look at the headtube sicker. later than 88?

I am not convinced, although I wouldn't mind a closer look at it. It looks suspiciously like the R cut off a Repco sticker!

Which brings me to my next theory, Is it possible that someone has put Repco decals on a non-repco bike? The colour of the decal vs the paint does not quite match (although this could be fading) and it would be unusual to find an 80s or 90s bike that no one on this forum has seen! Still, I do like it

Another question to try and place it, are they 27" or 700c wheels?

[rusco]

I started giving the bike a bit of a clean up and noticed that not all the parts are of the same brands..now being a TOTAL novice can someone please tell me if these are any good and standard on these bikes?

The brakes Weinmann 590SQ
The wheels Weinmann Etrto 116 Alloy
The hubs SR Japan
The Rear dérailleur Shimano light action
The Front derailleur Shimano
The crank Arm Sakae SA
The brake lever has no branding
The Handlebars Hsinlung HL

thanks guys

I must admit that I have not seen this colour before, however the parts and the look of the bike suggest a mid 80s Olympic 12 equivalent. Bike is definitely before '88 as it has the older style Repco decals and does not have aero levers, however I would say not very long before due to the two tone paint that is very similar to the '88 Monaco.

Is it my imagination or is it missing a braze-on for the rear brake cable? Also is it 12 speed?

I have a superlite frame with the same repco type. I thought mine was about 1985, will have a look tomorrow.

[munga]

might be a monaco too.

[Bottega]

Another question to try and place it, are they 27" or 700c wheels?

The wheels are 27"

[schuberj]

might be a monaco too.

Could definitely be.

I am enjoying this, it is like the mystery of the unknown bike

[Bottega]

what's the serial number on the frame (look under the bottom bracket)?

L8B1072

[Wal42]

It has exactly the same running gear as my Vantage except mine has 700C Weinmann wheels, it also has a similar paint scheme except for the colours (it is Green & Yellow where yours is White & Purple), also has all the same mudguard & rack lugs, so it's probably a similar touring model, they're a little heavier than the pure racing models but very comfy to ride.

[Anden]

I'm so new in this forum and has not much info on repco bicycles...Been browsing thru but havent really found any posting on this one which i currently own. Sticker says Repco SLX Sport...I'm assuming this is probably not at the high end of the repco scale, no? anymore info i can get on this particular bike somewhere?

am just wondering if theres anything worth it to upgrade on the bike? eg brake levers n pads? wheels?