Univega Appreciation Society

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ldrcycles
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Univega Appreciation Society

Postby ldrcycles » Sat Jun 25, 2011 9:57 am

I don't know why there isn't already a thread for this, i mentioned Univega in the commuter thread and got a very excited PM from a fellow Uni owner, the few people i have seen who have/had them love them to bits.

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My baby, a mid 80s SupraSport, entry level, very heavy frame so not quick up hills but it has a wonderful quality to the ride, smooth as and just hums along on the flat.
The front and rear SunTour derailleurs are original, Sugino cranks and Dia-Compe brakes i scavenged off tip bikes and added new Tektro R530 levers (really comfortable hoods). Have changed the seat and post since these pics.

I used stem shifters as i thought they would be easier to use than downtube mounts, only problem was i was standing accelerating away from traffic lights on my commute a few months back and my knee bumped the rear lever, chain dropped off and jammed and i lost balance, hit the deck HARD and lost a fair bit of skin off my shoulder (so don't ride wearing a singlet ok?). Now i make sure to pedal knees out and no worries.
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Fresh
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Re: Univega Appreciation Society

Postby Fresh » Sat Jun 25, 2011 5:53 pm

A Univega Conquest was the first roadie I ever bought. Mowed all the neighbour's lawns for $5 each weekend for about a year, saved up and bought it from an LBS at Strathpine in QLD when I was 12. Did a triathlon with it too when I was 14. Damn I loved that bike.

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vaeske
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Re: Univega Appreciation Society

Postby vaeske » Wed Jun 29, 2011 7:21 am

Ahh yes. My first official road bike was this little beaut the misses picked up for me at the local Salvos $5 dollars thank you very much. Both inner tubes were reused too :) 1980s Univega SupraSport. I use this bad boy to and from work everyday and it hasn't let me down. touch wood

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Stillson76
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Re: Univega Appreciation Society

Postby Stillson76 » Wed Jun 17, 2015 9:28 am

Hi,

I know this is a very old post, but thought I would see if anyone was still watching :)

I just acquired a Univega Conquest from a workmate who was going to throw it out, and want to give it a bit of TLC and get it back on the road. Is there anywhere online I can go to find parts? Not sure what year it is either??

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elantra
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Re: Univega Appreciation Society

Postby elantra » Thu Jun 18, 2015 9:55 am

^^ Hi Stillson76, nice one there. Looks like a circa 1990 era, judging by the appearance of the crankset and the fact that it has "aero" brake handles/cables.

Online shopping for bits from that era - i would suggest https://www.facebook.com/groups/retrocyclingmarketau/

Also on this forum, viewforum.php?f=25 is the Marketplace, although mostly more modern stuff, there are a few forumites who quite regularly offer really nice retro stuff.

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ldrcycles
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Re: Univega Appreciation Society

Postby ldrcycles » Thu Jun 18, 2015 10:07 am

elantra wrote:^^ Hi Stillson76, nice one there. Looks like a circa 1990 era, judging by the appearance of the crankset and the fact that it has "aero" brake handles/cables.

Online shopping for bits from that era - i would suggest https://www.facebook.com/groups/retrocyclingmarketau/

Also on this forum, viewforum.php?f=25 is the Marketplace, although mostly more modern stuff, there are a few forumites who quite regularly offer really nice retro stuff.
+1 to that. I've only picked up one Conquest, sadly with a badly bent frame. I sold my SupraSport ages ago but still keep my eyes out for any Univegas.
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wqlava1
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Re: Univega Appreciation Society

Postby wqlava1 » Thu Jun 18, 2015 10:32 pm

Univegas only seem to be in Australia as private imports from the US where they were the brand of a guy who imported them from good quality manufacturers in Japan and Taiwan . Other than a mid 80s 27" Specialissima frame that I bought from someone on CGOAB a few years back, I've only ever seen a ladies bike in Fitzroy that the owner had brought back from NY after using for commuting whilst there for an extended visit. I started building the Specialissima with non-original brakes whose pads don't fit in the fork with enough space for the rim width, and haven't got around to chasing the original Dia-Compe 980s (some of which are under the house on a really nice 650B bike that unfortunately belongs to one son's girlfriend and for the purloining of which i would be in trouble).

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ldrcycles
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Re: Univega Appreciation Society

Postby ldrcycles » Fri Jun 19, 2015 2:33 pm

Ben Lawee, originally from Iraq. Before Univega there was Italvega made by Torpado. IIRC my SupraSport had a "sold by" sticker from an Australian shop on the bottom of the seat tube, so there may have been some sold locally.
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Rxticle
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Re: Univega Appreciation Society

Postby Rxticle » Sun Feb 14, 2016 1:47 pm

I got my Univega Supra Sport in 1988 from Tom Wallace in Brisbane. There are still a few floating around.

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ldrcycles
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Re: Univega Appreciation Society

Postby ldrcycles » Sun Feb 14, 2016 7:28 pm

Coming up on 5 years for this thread and not even up to 10 posts yet. Univegas are more exotic than Colnagos! :)
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Re: Univega Appreciation Society

Postby RonK » Sun Feb 14, 2016 8:32 pm

Exotic? Hardly. Sorry, but Univega's are the bso of the day, and no doubt most have gone to the tip where they should be.
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Re: Univega Appreciation Society

Postby wqlava1 » Sun Feb 14, 2016 11:33 pm

RonK wrote:Exotic? Hardly. Sorry, but Univega's are the bso of the day, and no doubt most have gone to the tip where they should be.
Ron, you're either being deliberately inflammatory/stirring or maybe just a little ignorant. They covered about the same quality range as Repco, from a road bike probably up with the Tri-A, and the Specialissima tourer that is thought by those who've done their research to be near identical to the Miyata 1000 from the same Japanese factory and with the same or very marginally better parts spec, down through a range to stuff equivalent to the Repco Traveller. Bike shop stuff though, not K-Mart BSOs.
Last edited by wqlava1 on Mon Feb 15, 2016 11:02 am, edited 1 time in total.

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RonK
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Univega Appreciation Society

Postby RonK » Mon Feb 15, 2016 10:52 am

wqlava1 wrote:
RonK wrote:Exotic? Hardly. Sorry, but Univega's are the bso of the day, and no doubt most have gone to the tip where they should be.
Ron, you're either being deliberately inflammatory/stirring or maybe just a little ignorant.
I'm doing neither, but reflecting on my impressions of the bike after around 6 months of riding one almost daily during the mid 1980's.
I don't recall what model it was - my brother-in-law bought it from either Tom Wallace or Strathpine Cycles. He hated it, and handed it over to me.
But it was a cheaply made low quality bike with low grade components, and commensurate ride and function. Very forgettable.
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Re: Univega Appreciation Society

Postby wqlava1 » Mon Feb 15, 2016 11:50 am

RonK wrote:.... reflecting on my impressions of the bike after around 6 months of riding one almost daily during the mid 1980's.
I don't recall what model it was - my brother-in-law bought it from either Tom Wallace or Strathpine Cycles. He hated it, and handed it over to me.
But it was a cheaply made low quality bike with low grade components, and commensurate ride and function. Very forgettable.
Ah well, most of their production was lower quality, true also for many other bike brands. If I judged Malvern Star on my wife's old bike I could have straight copied all your words above! But I have a medium level Malvern Star I bought new in 1984 (an Excel?) that fits me well and rides much better than the individual parts and tube spec would indicate, and makes me smile. To get back to Univega, to judge them by the only one I have owned (a 1984 Specialissima), I naturally have a higher opinion of what they could be.

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Re: Univega Appreciation Society

Postby Rxticle » Sat Sep 03, 2016 9:42 pm

So I picked up an old Supra Sport frame for free earlier this year. Different colours to my '88, but the same theme. Heavy frame and no doubt a different ride to my '70s Peugeot and top end '80s Pinarello, but being my first bike still holds a soft spot in my heart. One for the wall methinks.

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Re: Univega Appreciation Society

Postby ccronin4 » Fri Jan 20, 2017 4:58 pm

looking for a shimano front derailleur to fit my univega conquest had to take it out of the way will not go all the way even though adjusted the limit screws the derailler has no markings so i cannot tell what model it is
will post photo once i work out how to do it

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Re: Univega Appreciation Society

Postby ccronin4 » Sat Jan 21, 2017 5:48 pm

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Image

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Re: Univega Appreciation Society

Postby drubie » Sat Jan 21, 2017 6:47 pm

ccronin4 wrote:looking for a shimano front derailleur to fit my univega conquest had to take it out of the way will not go all the way even though adjusted the limit screws the derailler has no markings so i cannot tell what model it is
will post photo once i work out how to do it
Make sure your crank is on correctly i.e. do the crank bolt up tight and see if that shifts the rings closer to where the swing of the front derailleur is. Most of the shimano front derailleurs have a very wide range, be very unusual if you couldn't adjust it to work correctly.

Can you show a shot from the front showing the distance to the inner chainring from the seat post?
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Re: Univega Appreciation Society

Postby ccronin4 » Sun Jan 22, 2017 1:50 pm

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thanks it appears the crank is too far out. Since I have to take crank off to fix it I might as well replace the crank with asealed bottom cartridge i hoping that you might know the size of the crank axle or how to measure it. I ride the bike every day, so I have to preorder the axle before I disable the bike just means riding in the lower gear

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xx68
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Re: Univega Appreciation Society

Postby xx68 » Tue Jan 24, 2017 9:14 pm

I've got a Univega mob that my girlfriend / partner / live in lover bought me brand new in 1986 - it was a belter !
Don't have a pic , and would have to check spec ...... I think it was made in Taiwan ?
Worked really well ,remembering that mths weren't really a thing at that time .

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Re: Univega Appreciation Society

Postby Jaws572003 » Sun Mar 25, 2018 1:49 am

Obviously some time has passed since the that post. Just wanted to add my old girl. I purchased this in 88. Rode for many years. Stored it away. Had many chances to scrap but just couldn't do it. Last year I have her a birthday. Apart from the new black tape (originally white) on the bars, and respoked front rim she's original. At that point as she's a antique I placed her back on the wall.
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uart
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Re: Univega Appreciation Society

Postby uart » Sun Mar 25, 2018 12:20 pm

YTF ARE PEOPLE STILL USING PHOTOBUCKET! (and yes I am yelling).

Maybe it's time they changed the name of the "Retro Biking" forum to the "Slow Learner and Image Hosting Challenged" forum. :wink:

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Re: Univega Appreciation Society

Postby Bunged Knee » Sun Mar 25, 2018 1:16 pm

Jaws572003 wrote:Obviously some time has passed since the that post. Just wanted to add my old girl. I purchased this in 88. Rode for many years. Stored it away. Had many chances to scrap but just couldn't do it. Last year I have her a birthday. Apart from the new black tape (originally white) on the bars, and respoked front rim she's original. At that point as she's a antique I placed her back on the wall.
Image
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And please don't use Photobucket image host again.
ID please? What ID? My seat tube ID is 27.2mm or 31.6mm depending on what bikes I ride today.thanks...

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ldrcycles
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Re: Univega Appreciation Society

Postby ldrcycles » Sun Mar 25, 2018 8:51 pm

New to the forum, and outside of forums like this I suspect the average person on the street would have no idea about the Photosuckit saga.

That's a beautiful bike Jaws, what model is it? I'm sure I've seen that paintscheme before.
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Jaws572003
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Re: Univega Appreciation Society

Postby Jaws572003 » Sun Mar 25, 2018 10:25 pm

I apologize for the Photobucket IMG. Been some time since I posted to any Forum.
Can I ask what's the preferred method to post pictures here? Using a mobile make searching FAQS a pita.


Idrcycles
I've only ever know the bike as a Univega Conquest. I did buy it new in 1988.
Still has the Shimano Bioace sticker and bronze Araya rims.

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