# Suntour V



## Gimpie7 (Oct 25, 2007)

Hey guys. I just picked up an old C.Itioh off a friend of mine for a good price. Now these bikes get a bad rep for whatever reason, but I must say that this bike has some nice features about it. The lug work is beutiful, it has screw stops in the dropouts, fairly light weight for a bike of its vintage, racing geometry, and a nice componet group with forged sugino cranks making the top of the list. 

But my question pertains to the rear derailor itself. It says Suntour V with the word patent all over it. Now I have read that suntour invented the slant parrelleagram design and patented it so I am assuming this is what they are talking about. But all the groups that I have looked up for Suntour have failed to mention the V line. Its always V something, be it VGT or VT. The front derailer is the Spirt derailor and that is not misspelled. I just wanted to know where this derailor stood in the suntour lineup. Thanks.


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## bicyclerepairman (Mar 12, 2003)

*Stop.....you're killing me......*



Gimpie7 said:


> Hey guys. I just picked up an old C.Itioh


No you didn't. You picked up an old C. Itoh.



Gimpie7 said:


> The front derailer is the Spirt derailor and that is not misspelled.


Derailleur certainly is misspelled, and you managed to do it twice in the same sentence.

Having shot you this far through the grease, your C. Itoh (later to be known as 'Bridgestone') is nicer than any I have seen. The Spirt front derailleur was first made in 1966, and was made for at least 12 years, maybe more. I believe the Spirt was Suntour's first effort at a modern front derailleur. I had one on my first ten speed, purchased new in 1976. The Suntour V rear derailleur was their top of the line in the late 60's to early 70's. This model was succeeded by the Vx and VGT. In 1975, the Cyclone became Suntour's top model, followed shortly after by the Superbe.

Can you post any pictures of your bike, & ask the previous owner if he or she knows what year it was made and whether they bought it new? Are there any decals on the frame indicating the type of tubing or advertising the bike shop where it was first sold? Are the other components original?

Does this look familiar?

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/bridgestone/bstone1971/itoh.jpg


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## bwana (Feb 4, 2005)

bicyclerepairman said:


> Does this look familiar?
> 
> https://www.sheldonbrown.com/bridgestone/bstone1971/itoh.jpg


You've got to love the fact that it is called a Racer


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## Gimpie7 (Oct 25, 2007)

bicyclerepairman said:


> No you didn't. You picked up an old C. Itoh.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Well, first let me say that spelling is not my best field but I must thank you for the info and praise of my bike. I'll get some pics up here soon as I took some today but have to find the cord to hook it up to my computer.I think that the bike in the pic and mine are different. There are no stickers indicateing the tubing as it is in rough shape and most of the stock stickers have already come off by themselves. The guy I bought it off of bought it at a thrift store a couple of days before I bought it off of him, so he has no idea of the history of it. Everything looks original on it but I can't say for sure. Also I should mention that it has an 888 freewheel on it just date the rest of the componets.

I was planning on turning it into a fixed gear but if it is a rare item I would rather restore it. Lets get some opinions here.


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## Gimpie7 (Oct 25, 2007)

Sorry that it took so long to post these pics but my roommate just found the cord to hook the camera up to the computer. Anyways here is my 1971 C. Itoh. I was able to date it off of the cranks. I do believe that it is all original. There was no model sticker on it so I can't say for sure what it was.


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## Squidward (Dec 18, 2005)

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but shouldn't the rear brake cable be run along the top of the top tube and not down the side?

Holy smokes, Dia-Comp centerpull brakes. I haven't seen those in a long while.

Are the shifters the Suntour ratcheting ones? I've always loved Suntour derailleurs, especially the Cyclone and Superbe series. Too bad they went belly-up so many years ago.

About the patent on the slant parallelogram: it expired. Shimano then Campy were quick to adapt it to their own designs and indexed probably became more consistent because of it.

I'd clean it up and ride it as-is if that were mine. Heck, it even looks like it would fit me.


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## bicyclerepairman (Mar 12, 2003)

Wow. I can tell you that later models did not have lugs as nice as those. Likely you have the original saddle. Oldest Dia Compe brakes around, too. It's a keeper. You don't need to post another picture, just tell me what the text says on the downtube, and whether there's any thing stamped on the front or rear dropouts.....they might be SunTour as well!


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## buck-50 (Sep 20, 2005)

Please please please don't turn this into a fixed gear...


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## Gimpie7 (Oct 25, 2007)

bicyclerepairman said:


> Wow. I can tell you that later models did not have lugs as nice as those. Likely you have the original saddle. Oldest Dia Compe brakes around, too. It's a keeper. You don't need to post another picture, just tell me what the text says on the downtube, and whether there's any thing stamped on the front or rear dropouts.....they might be SunTour as well!



It says guaranteed worlds finest bicycle mechanism on the downtube. There is nothing stamped on the dropouts so I'm not sure what I have there.


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## bicyclerepairman (Mar 12, 2003)

*Take good care of that one.....*



Gimpie7 said:


> .....guaranteed worlds finest bicycle mechanism.....


Likely true when it was written.....thanks to that SunTour V rear derailleur.


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## Squidward (Dec 18, 2005)

buck-50 said:


> Please please please don't turn this into a fixed gear...


+1. I didn't want to be the first to say that.


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## Gimpie7 (Oct 25, 2007)

buck-50 said:


> Please please please don't turn this into a fixed gear...



After thinking it over and talking to a couple a friends of mine I think I gonna bring it back. 

Now I just need to figure out where I can find graphics for a classic C. Itoh.


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## flashflood1972 (May 12, 2008)

*C.Itoh*

hello. new to the forum but im glad I found this thread. over the weekend I picked up a c.itoh bike that looks nearly identical to this one but in significantly better condition. The primary difference i can see being toe-clip pedals and bar-con shifters. I purchased got it from the original owner who hadn't pulled it out of storage in years. paid $30. never heard of the brand, so when I began googling, I was surprised to see such negative comments about c.itoh. now I get the feeling my bike may represents a stronger offering from the company than what was usually produced for US department stores. 

after some cleaning and light tuning I've take it out for a couple of 10 mile rides its great, especially as I didn't have a road bike before this and just don't have the $$ this season to buy one. 

anyway, I took some photos of mine sunday and will post them tonight. I'd like to know more about this model as I begin what appears to be a short road toward restoration.


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## flashflood1972 (May 12, 2008)

*itoh pics*

here's the pics i took of the mystery itoh and i have more component details:

- dia-compe 610 "drop forged" center pull brakes
- sugino maxy forged 165 47-9 crankset
- suntour GT 4532 deraileur
- schwinn approved gt 1100 series rear cassette
- araya 27x1 1/4 rims with shimano hubs
- win stem
- frame has serial 6503 engraved in it 

anybody have thoughts about this bike they may want to share. it rides great for now, so that's what matters most. but if its a collectors item that i could sell to buy a brand new allez, i'd probably do it


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## PegLeg (Jun 28, 2008)

This is cool. I just grabbed a C. Itoh out of someones trash pile. It has been heavily modified compared to the above pictures. It has the Dia-Compe center pull brakes and a Suntour front Derailleur however it has a Shimano rear Derailleur. It also has a six speed cog on the back instead of 5 speed. It has the funky "wedge" seat post as described on Sheldon Browne's pages.

It is pretty beat up from a paint and decal perspective but the frame looks good and straight. The serial number is E33 2353.

Given the modifications, some missing pieces and general condition I did grab this with the intention of making a fixie out of it.


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