Ok, so looking back through the forum I see there are a couple of these floating around but it seems information on their true background is a little sketchy. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone here used to own mine or has seen it. My friend had it in his garage and didn’t get around to putting it back together so I took it off his hands to ride on the track. Patched it up with spare bits and started riding it. Here is the configuration:
Frame and Fork: Kuwahara Track Frame (57cm C-C) Handle Bars: Cinelli Criterium 65-40 Stem: No Idea! Front Rim: Wobler GTX 2 700c Clincher Front Hub: Suntour Superbe High Flange 100mm Rear Rim: Mavic MA 2 700c Clincher Rear Hub: Suntour Superbe High Flange 120mm Cranks: Suntour Superbe Pro 165mm Bottom Bracket: Sugino not sure why Chain Ring: Fyxomatosis 50t Silver Pedals: Exustar E-PR107TK Track Pedals Seatpost: No-name PoS! Seat: Masi SLS w/ CRMO Rails Tyres: AVOSET FastGrip Time Trial/K20 700x20c Cog: 14t Surly
And here is the hero shot:
There have been a few threads already on these, see:
is triple triangle, obviously very different geometry so perhaps there were a couple of different models. In any case if anyone here knows anything about the providence of my one I would love to know more.
I am toying with getting it re-sprayed, perhaps getting some period parts for it though I am also interested in trying to work out exactly what is on there now for a few bits. The hubs for example, they have a little Suntour Superbe sticker on them (not Pro) but I haven’t been able to find many pictures of ones that look the same. One of them runs smooth but the others is a bit clunky, wondering if that is going to be a lost cause given the age. Cranks seem to be in good nick though. Also came with a set of wheels with Suzue hubs and Campy rims, those don’t roll nice though, need to check if they can be rehabilitated.
Here’s a few more pics:
Definitely interested in hearing from anyone who knows more about the frame.
What do you want to know? There is no elaborate story. They are made in Japan, by the biggest Japanese frame factory back in the day. Branded as many many different things. Quite cool though, seen them decaled with Ishiwata tubing decals quite a bit. Nothing fancy just a neat lugged frame.
Actually I was also wondering if the previous owner might be lurking here. One of the other threads showed a complete version, looked like it was at a trade show, I was wondering if they were sold as complete bikes and what parts they had but sounds like they may have sold it as both frame only and complete bike. Just trying to get a feeling for the context they were found in, your but of background there helps though thanks.
My dad used to work for a guy called Martin Hanley in the 80s. Hanley Trading was the importer for Suntour, Dia Compe, Sugino etc, along with loads of other stuff from Japan. In the late 80s they got a one-off shipment of Kuwahara track frames - as far as I know it was a trial run from the factory.
My dad was also starting to build his own frames around then, and had been experimenting with the triple triangle idea, so he grabbed one of the Kuwahara frames, partially unbrazed it and re-built it a size smaller. He rode it on the track in Tamworth in the 90s, then I brought it down to Sydney and got it re-painted. That’s the green one you’ve seen photos of.
The Kuwahara track frames used Ishiwata EX tubing and Suntour dropouts. The ones from Hanley Trading were built up with whatever parts they had laying around - Suntour hubs, Mavic rims etc. My dad probably built the wheels. I’ll ask him what the parts list would have been.
^ Awesome! Just the type of insight I was hoping might come out, small world eh. That custom triple triangle one looks great, are you still riding it? I see that post was from back in 2011. If my one did come through Hanley Trading it would explain the pretty eclectic mix of parts.
Did you have much trouble finding the decals? I managed to get 1 of the larger Kuwahara ones for the downtube when I was in Japan but the place didn’t have more stock. I am guessing I should be able to find some from the BMX side of the tracks.
