tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8908461644259659419.post6983846103970070770..comments2024-03-27T19:12:49.609-07:00Comments on Midlife Cycling: Hasta La Vista, Esquire!Justine Valinottihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10852069587181432102noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8908461644259659419.post-90967396117164982182020-12-18T09:31:38.516-08:002020-12-18T09:31:38.516-08:00My first 10 speed was a Vista Esquire when I was 1...My first 10 speed was a Vista Esquire when I was 15 or 16. I went everywhere on that bike, even though it was very heavy. I had it through grad school and sold it to a fellow grad student when I was planning a cross country ride. It was freedom for me as I would go all over the place, unbeknownst to my parents. lolHikkermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14592529377334024434noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8908461644259659419.post-84702185091518683742019-08-30T13:26:46.014-07:002019-08-30T13:26:46.014-07:00Very nice info on the Vista, thank you! I have a b...Very nice info on the Vista, thank you! I have a bike that says its a Columbia--but it's Serial # does not match the known patterns for the pre-1972 years. It's a 5-speed with SunTour U deraileur and shifter, and a pair of beach boardwalk handlebars. Grotesquely beautiful. Thanks for the info!<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8908461644259659419.post-27984775888217655182017-03-07T14:06:12.358-08:002017-03-07T14:06:12.358-08:00Lively--In my post, the paragraph between the phot...Lively--In my post, the paragraph between the photos of the Vista Elite and the Vista headbadge says that Vistas started to come with Shimano components around 1975. Perhaps I should have made that clearer. <br /><br />Thanks for stopping by.Justine Valinottihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10852069587181432102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8908461644259659419.post-28426803147294606412017-03-07T13:45:31.295-08:002017-03-07T13:45:31.295-08:00I also just acquired a Vista - a Silver Shadow. It...I also just acquired a Vista - a Silver Shadow. It has Araya alloy rims, and Shimano hubs, dropouts, brakes, and drivetrain (600 series). The brakes date to 1975; I haven't found date codes on the derailleurs. The frame serial number isn't an Araya serial number, so I assume the frame also dates to '75 or '76. From your narrative of Vista's history, I wouldn't expect Shimano components on a Vista so early. I'm thinking more research is called for.Lively or Notnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8908461644259659419.post-68678753060066467942016-12-13T14:11:54.176-08:002016-12-13T14:11:54.176-08:00Southern Haberdasher--I'm glad you stopped by....Southern Haberdasher--I'm glad you stopped by. It sounds like you bought one of the later Vistas that were made in Japan. They were indeed nice bikes, much better than the Columbia/Schwinn knockoffs made in this country. Congratulations!Justine Valinottihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10852069587181432102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8908461644259659419.post-58145985468270853732016-12-13T05:40:00.751-08:002016-12-13T05:40:00.751-08:00Last month I bought a Vista Silver Shadow ca. 1981...Last month I bought a Vista Silver Shadow ca. 1981. I searched all over for info on Vista and NIDA prior to my purchase. Couldn't find much, and it seems i bought it about 2 weeks before this article...wow, timing!<br /><br />But the bike was in pristine condition. Almost like it was off the showroom floor; no rust, no rim wear, no dull or peeling stickers. The decals look like a rip off of the Motobecane "Made in..." which stands to reason considering that it looks alot like a Super Mirage, right down to the color and lugs. The Vista rides so much better than the Motos I've previously owned and its equipped with alloy Japanese parts we've become familiar with (Shimano - drivetrain, Dia Compe - brakes, Araya -wheels and tubing). I haven't weighed it yet, but it feels lighter than my friends' bikes of the same era.<br /><br />Anyway, I'm loving the new bike and it gets compliments all the time. Thanks for the article!Southern Haberdasherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15411386996076981451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8908461644259659419.post-16705512907915861702016-11-17T14:32:09.512-08:002016-11-17T14:32:09.512-08:00Mike--At least, that's what we assume. It'...Mike--At least, that's what we assume. It's hard to imagine how any company could have deliberately gone so wrong.<br /><br />And, yes, "Retrogrouch" did a fine job of writing about Schwinn's demise. I love his blog.Justine Valinottihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10852069587181432102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8908461644259659419.post-60327097397581214852016-11-17T14:29:39.744-08:002016-11-17T14:29:39.744-08:00Phillip--I, too, thought that "Spirt" wa...Phillip--I, too, thought that "Spirt" was an example of "Engrish." As you say, the quality of the derailleur--and the rear SunTour GT rebranded as Vista--were good. The Compe-V front is the Spirt with holes drilled in its cage; the SL front replaces that cage, which was made of steel, with one of alloy.<br /><br />It still amazes me, to this day, that a bike of Vista's low quality offered shifting that was far superior to that of bikes costing several times more.Justine Valinottihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10852069587181432102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8908461644259659419.post-66404857634543011892016-11-17T06:23:35.353-08:002016-11-17T06:23:35.353-08:00I've got a couple of those Spirt front deraile...I've got a couple of those Spirt front deraileurs in the parts bin. The first time I ever saw one I thought the name was another example of some bad Japanese "Engrish". I figured they had misspelled the word "spirit". Actually the quality isn't too bad considering the bikes they came off of.Phillip Cowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01553979458131339924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8908461644259659419.post-45999109336290145692016-11-17T05:46:33.048-08:002016-11-17T05:46:33.048-08:00Schwinn was a textbook case of accidental suicide....Schwinn was a textbook case of accidental suicide.mike w.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10317710564489321690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8908461644259659419.post-51287047125682226942016-11-16T17:45:24.553-08:002016-11-16T17:45:24.553-08:00Mike--I agree that Vistas (the American-made ones,...Mike--I agree that Vistas (the American-made ones, anyway) weren't good bikes. They were no better than department-store bikes like Murray, Columbia and Huffy. It always seemed that Vista was one of those bikes you bought when you couldn't get a Schwinn.<br /><br />Speaking of which: Sometimes I wonder if Schwinn could have done more to "miss the boat" if they tried. It seemed that after the Bike Boom, they missed every trend and innovation that came along. And their manufacturing venture in Mississippi and partnership in Hungary resulted in some of the worst bikes they sold under their name.Justine Valinottihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10852069587181432102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8908461644259659419.post-34418890499562388222016-11-16T17:18:08.301-08:002016-11-16T17:18:08.301-08:00My old shop brought in Vistas the second year they...My old shop brought in Vistas the second year they were open-summer of '73. They were worse than terrible, and i had a very hard time selling them- let alone assembling them and getting them rideable. i never saw a made-in-Japan Vista, but i do remember Japanese Murray and Huffy bikes, big improvements over their regular offerings, but too little, too late. i've often wondered why these U.S. companies never bothered to make decent machines.<br /> i felt like i had a front row seat to Schwinn's demise. A cousin managed a Schwinn shop, later buying the shop from his old boss upon his retirement. My cousin wound up eating a lot of stock, and after a few years had to bail out. We had many long discussions about how Schwinn was missing the boat when it came to innovation, market research, and how it treated its dealers (all of this recently well covered in Retrogrouch's blog.)mike w.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10317710564489321690noreply@blogger.com