Vintage and Classic: SR Bicycle with Shimano 600ax...

I stopped by the Velo yesterday on my way home from GMR and immediately spotted this bike on the patio rack. It is an SR frame with Shimano 600 AX components. That is all well and fine, but what I noticed about it first, was the tubing - it is early aero. Both the seat tube and down tube incorporate what we today clearly recognize as aerodynamic shapes. 

The sticker above the headbadge spells it out - Shimano aero dynamic. The larger sticker on the seat tube says Shimano aerodynamic racing components. Both the Dura-ace and 600 lines came in the ax models. From what I have read, the ax line was introduced in 1981, as an attempt to redefine the design of modern racing components. It was one of those design developments widely considered to be "ahead of its time," and like many such creations, was not well received by the public. Production ended after only two years. 

I just wanted to update the above paragraph a little - you know, the more time you spend researching, the more you find out. I mentioned only two levels of components in the ax line. Of course there was a third, called Adamas, it was the lower end of the three; less high-performance, more everyday workhorse.

The SR bike line is a little more problematic. Information I have read is a bit muddied. There are three possibilities: 1) Some people say that SR refers to the well-known Sakae Ringyo, precursor of SR Suntour. 2) Others say that SR is of no relation to Sakae Ringyo, that instead SR was a manufacturer of mid-priced Japanese sport bikes built in Osaka in the 1970s. 3) There was an SR bikes being manufactured in the San Diego area in the 1980s, which produced several different models of sport and touring frames. Which is correct for this bike? I will not be able to let go until I find out. Which ever turns out to be true, this almost seems like a sort of project bike developed in partnership between the two companies. It seems likely that the aero-frame would have been designed in conjunction with Shimano releasing their aero-dynamic ax line of components. But that is all conjecture right now. There is another example here. It is more high-end, Shimano frame, with Dura-ace AX components.