# 89 Panasonic DX-5000, Need Help!



## jman0000 (Feb 28, 2012)

Found this bike on CL. Guy wants $325 for it. From the pics it seems there's a few scratches. My gut says it's not worth $325.

What should I offer???

Edit: Nevermind. Went and looked at it. There's a big dent right in the middle of the top tube, about 30% deep. The cable guide next to the dent is also dented into the tube. You can kind of see it in picture 2. Passed on it for now. Might offer him something for the Suntour GPX group. Any idea what that's worth? Do you think I could fix the frame easily or would you steer clear of it too?

What I know:
PANASONIC DX5000 ROAD BIKE.
23" FRAME SIZE.
32" STAND OVER HEIGHT.
14 SPEED.
CR-MO SEAMLESS TANGE 1 DOUBLE BUTTED TUBING.
SUNTOUR GPX COMPONENTS.
PEDALS SHIMANO.
WHEELS 700c


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## jman0000 (Feb 28, 2012)

Anybody got some advice???


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

The dent isn't likely to hurt anything... but that is going to drive down the price....a DX5000 is a very desirable Panasonic frame..It is near to top of the line....

I'd offer $250.00


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## jet sanchEz (Nov 28, 2005)

"A bike named after a teevee? With a big dent in it? Howzabout $50?" might also work.


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

jet sanchEz said:


> "A bike named after a teevee? With a big dent in it? Howzabout $50?" might also work.


You might want to do some research on the high end Panasonic frames before making comments like that....:thumbsup:


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## bikerjohn64 (Feb 9, 2012)

Dave Hickey said:


> You might want to do some research on the high end Panasonic frames before making comments like that....:thumbsup:


+1 

On a similar note; where would the DX-2000 fall into line on their lineup?


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## froze (Sep 15, 2002)

Suntour GPX was their third from the top of the line, never used the stuff so I can't comment on how well they worked, generally Suntour stuff worked really well and was highly reliable and the GPX is no exception to that rule. GPX though is not compatible to any thing else, so if the rear gears wear you have to find the Suntour gears that will work for that GPX system.

But components aside, the frame is toast, it's nowhere near worth the asking price with the dent, maybe $50 as one poster mentioned just for the parts assuming the parts aren't well worn. Then you can spin the parts off and make a little in return. 

Yes, the frame is only middle of the road stuff for Panasonic but was the top of the line of the DX models only exceeded by their Team models. Numerically the lower the DX number the lower the quality, thus the DX2000 would be one up from the entry level DX1000.


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## bikerjohn64 (Feb 9, 2012)

froze said:


> Yes, the frame is only middle of the road stuff for Panasonic but was the top of the line of the DX models only exceeded by their Team models. Numerically the lower the DX number the lower the quality, thus the DX2000 would be one up from the entry level DX1000.


Cool; thanks for this. I thought the sequencing numbers would make sense but needed clarifying.


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## jman0000 (Feb 28, 2012)

Thanks guys ;-)


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## zmudshark (Jan 28, 2007)

Check here for Panasonic info: http://panasonicbikemuseum.info/

I don't think it's worth the asking price, but what do I know?


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## jet sanchEz (Nov 28, 2005)

Dave Hickey said:


> You might want to do some research on the high end Panasonic frames before making comments like that....:thumbsup:


I was being facetious as I believe the dent idetracts a lot from the overall value of the bike. 

A PR6000 is at the top of my list, I nearly had one last week in fact, for only 200 euro. But I guess I was outbid as the ad disappeared.

edit: found the cached ad, in case anyone cares. It was a rare bird, a bike ridden by a former pro, Eric Knuvers. Plus, it was built up with Record! And check out that blue Cinelli stem! Still stings, heh

http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...ost&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca&client=firefox-a


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## froze (Sep 15, 2002)

zmudshark said:


> Check here for Panasonic info: The Panasonic Bicycles Virtual Museum featuring catalogs, photos, specifications, and more.
> 
> I don't think it's worth the asking price, but what do I know?


I think every poster already stated that, mostly due to the fairly large dent in the frame making the bike only worth for parts only, so about $50 because the level of Suntour components is just mid grade stuff.


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## buckeyebarry (Mar 30, 2012)

I have a panasonic team japan that is a 1986. It came originally with suntour superbe pro and has columbus sl tubing. They also had a team europe 1 and2 with 1 having super record. Im rebuilding mine now.


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## Dr.J.Watson (Apr 1, 2012)

Keep looking. That's a bit too much for a bike with a seriously dented frame. It also looks like a 58cm frame, which are quite plentiful. Since he is starting at such a high price point it is probably not even worth bothering with this seller. He could get nasty if you offered $50, $75 or even $100.


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## froze (Sep 15, 2002)

buckeyebarry said:


> I have a panasonic team japan that is a 1986. It came originally with suntour superbe pro and has columbus sl tubing. They also had a team europe 1 and2 with 1 having super record. Im rebuilding mine now.


Did you buy the bike new? T

hose Team bikes are difficult to find, so you have one of the nicer examples of Japanese bicycles. I didn't realize they used Columbus tubesets on those bikes, I thought they used nothing but Japanese steel. 

The Superbe stuff was by far the best component group ever made back then. I have the entire Superbe group in a 84 Trek 660 (I bought a frame and fork then had all the Superbe stuff put on), the rear derailleur is actually a Superbe Tech I opted for instead of the lighter Superbe Pro because the Tech was faster shifting especially when climbing mountain roads; that derailleur would slam into gears when climbing, you barely, if at all, had to take power off the crank to make it shift. There were supposedly complaints about the Tech series with reliability but, I've had the entire group package since 84 and put over 150,000 miles on it and the only problem I've ever had was the front derailleur band snapped but I another brand new one I bought as backup in storage. I also have another Tech derailleur I bought brand new in 85 when I got the front one because of all the complaints I heard about rear failing...I still have that derailleur unused! I then later bought the exact front derailleur new just in case the band failed again, I still have that one in storage as well. I have a set of back up Superbe pedals that was new too, but I just put those on a 88 Fuji Club I have because the original pedals were not that great. If the Suntour ARX stuff becomes problematic on the Fuji as others have suggested, I may swap in the Superbe derailleurs I have in storage.


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## buckeyebarry (Mar 30, 2012)

No, I didn't buy it new but a friend did.He got a smoking deal and wanted the components. It was too big for him so he sold me the frame fork and headset. When he switched to campy he sold me the superbe calipers. I went through some old parts and found a set of aero grand compe brake levers with gum hoods I'm gonna put on it. My son and his friends rode it and it has a bent front derailleur and a missing spoke on the back wheel but its not dented or totally trashed. I have shimano sante derailleurs,shifters and freewheel.


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## raymonda (Jan 31, 2007)

I'm pretty sure that the DX5000 came with Shimano Ultegra not Suntour.......At least that is what my 88 came with. It seems that maybe this group was thrown on and not orignal spec.

Dent, poor group.....not worth much.....$50 seems fair. Just to repair the frame with bondo and repaint would cost $400.......so, I would keep searching.


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## froze (Sep 15, 2002)

raymonda said:


> I'm pretty sure that the DX5000 came with Shimano Ultegra not Suntour.......At least that is what my 88 came with. It seems that maybe this group was thrown on and not orignal spec.
> 
> Dent, poor group.....not worth much.....$50 seems fair. Just to repair the frame with bondo and repaint would cost $400.......so, I would keep searching.


This bike in question is a 89 not a 88, in 89 they switched that particular model to Suntour. Here is a site with a bike in mint original condition, scan down to see pics of components: The ’89 Panasonic Dx-5000 | rideblog

And one poster posted the site that took the factory specs from a catalog from Panasonic; see: 1989 Panasonic DX-5000 Bicycle | Panasonic Bicycles Virtual Museum

If you notice, the two web sites jive with each other, so the conclusion is they came with Suntour not Shimano in 89.


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## raymonda (Jan 31, 2007)

froze said:


> This bike in question is a 89 not a 88, in 89 they switched that particular model to Suntour. Here is a site with a bike in mint original condition, scan down to see pics of components: The ’89 Panasonic Dx-5000 | rideblog
> 
> And one poster posted the site that took the factory specs from a catalog from Panasonic; see: 1989 Panasonic DX-5000 Bicycle | Panasonic Bicycles Virtual Museum
> 
> If you notice, the two web sites jive with each other, so the conclusion is they came with Suntour not Shimano in 89.


I understand that the bike you are considering is a 1989. I was referencing my bike which was an 88 and came with Prestige tubing and Shimano 600. It appears that they really downgraded the 5000 in 1989. Again, I don't think this bike has any value and I would look elsewhere.


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