Best Medium Range 10spd? 70s & 80s

[Bill]

Hello all I need opinions on what the best Medium Price Ranged 10spd Road bike was in the 70's to late 80's era?

[GeorgeET]

These were affordable.

IMO The Schwinns were very nice as well as the Panasonic in Japan who made many Schwinn road bikes, and than there are Miyata , Bridgestone, Trek and on the high end Cannondale bikes. Others were too pricey.

Cant tell you my favorite till I find one first. Do not want competition. :-)))

[KC-Steve]

I agree with Schwinns. But after taking apart a 1978 Raleigh Record Ace I think the Raleighs have a slight edge in quality parts. Some have the Raleigh name on Shimano components. But the quality stamped steel in the freewheel impressed me. No wear and tear either. Add Nottingham-built Raleighs to your list.

Steve

[GeorgeET]

Yes there are so many choices and they are all good. An English made Raleigh would indeed be nice.

Although looking at the early bikes they had one piece cranks on them boring pedals and so so gears . Thats a bit too early for me. Mid 70's and esp the SIS 80's and early 90's had my favorite parts.

BTW FYI

"Panasonic bikes hiding behind other labels…
You may be surprised to learn that Schwinn, Raleigh, Royce Union, Suteki, Centurion and other labels all at one time or another had Panasonic built bicycles wearing their badges. Schwinn’s very first outsourced bikes back in the early 70s were built by Panasonic. These were the “World” bikes such as the World Traveller and World Voyager. Later on in the 70s, Schwinn made a deal with Panasonic to build the LeTour model which would become the second most popular model for Schwinn in the 1970s."

http://panasonicbikemuseum.info/

[KC-Steve]

On the lighter side, attached is a scan from a 1967 Schwinn catalog with an endorsement from Capt. Kangaroo. For those unaware, Capt. Kangaroo was a morning kid's show on TV and often had a pocket full of carrots for a rabbit. Who am I to argue with Capt. Kangaroo!

Steve

[Bill]

OMG! Wow I used to watch his show when I was younger before they pulled it off the air. Umm Mr.Green Jeans was one of the characters. They also had those picture pages! Hehehe. Nice find Steve!!