drewstinton

[drewstinton]

The Blue '82 Kabuki Skyway

I bought the bike. It's a vintage rarity, buried under so many Cannondales, Giants, carbon forks, and blogs about cool hipster fixies, that there are less than 20 actual websites with information about this type of bike. So obscure, in fact, that I can't actually find one single image of a bike from the same time period in the same style. Save for the Kabuki Catalog scan included below. Here's what my research has revealed: From the 1970's into the early 1990's the well-known tire company, Bridgestone, made bicycles. In the 70's, Americans found the Japanese craftsmanship of Italian engineering to be a nice value compared to the pricier Italian made cycles. As the popularity of Japanese bikes rose, Bridgestone wanted to sound more Japanese, so they adopted the name Kabuki for their line. Later on cycling legend Grant Petersen would rise to infamy in the fringes of cycle design at Bridgestone, establishing his self fully in the industry. That's an interesting story, about design, capitalism, and a love of cycling. You should read ithere. Sheldon tells it better than I could. And, by the way, Sheldon Brown is a very interesting character who's life story is the sort of tale that could be the inspiration for some great fiction about not giving up easily. This bicycle isn't cool enough to be a Grant Petersen designed bike. After avoiding work for most of the day and trying to learn everything I can about Bridgestone bicycles, I think that this one predates his time at Bridgestone. That said, it's still a beautiful bike. Based on an appearance in a 1982 Kabuki Bicycles catalog, I'm guessing the Skyway 10 (SYD, on the top tube) is from 81-83. (I've also read that when Petersen joined Bridgestone they ceased using the Kabuki brand name. I like that the frame is huge. It might be a bit too big for me at 63cm, but I'll stretch. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the bike, meaning, I don't know if I'll keep it or flip it. Either way, tomorrow it's off to see a couple experts for opinions and a review of the frame to check for minor cracks. I'd like to think that it'll be something I can slowly work on over the rest of the summer and ride around town as I make minor improvements on it. *It's worth pointing out that the guy who was selling bike memorabilia where I found the catalog and the guy who wrote the blog posts about the history of Bridgestone are both dead. 

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03-08-13 Lunch with my wife, and a tub of tortilla chips.

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03-07-13 Ten years of federal service. I didn't even realize it had happened. Also, I ran into a good friend on the train!

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03-06-13 watching A Farewell to Arms

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03-05-13 Chavez is declared dead.

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03-04-13 Work all day!

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03-03-13

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03-02-13 Banana coconut cottage cheese toasted pecan awesome pancakes. (Next time with a caramel rum sauce)

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03-01-13 Getting my rim replaced at a super shady repair shop.

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The Barnes and Noble @ union station in dc is closing.

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#onesecond #matrix #software #development #agile

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Megan had a bad day. Mine started with a flat tire and a long drive.

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02/25/13

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02/24/13

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02/23/13 Jonathon Edwards wine makers dinner.