Katakura Silk _ "Swallow Camping" _ model SC15-5 (1975)
This portion of a scanned catalog page shows the Silk Bicycle Company's very fully equipped touring bike model. I also saw the same model pictured in another brochure dated 1967, and this bike looks little changed from the earlier version. I cannot read Japanese, but numerals among the specifications on the page indicated a crankset with triple chainrings (50 x 47 x 33) and a 5-speed freewheel (15-17-19-21-24).
This image was discovered on and enlarged from a Japanese bicycle enthusiast's web page.
For many years the Japanese yen was very low against the US Dollar which made Japanese goods excellent bargains for US buyers. From 1950 through 1970 the JPYen was valued at 360JPY per USD. That would make the original cost of this bike only around $220.
Katakura Silk _ "Swallow Camping" _ model SC15-5 (1975)
This portion of a scanned catalog page shows the Silk Bicycle Company's very fully equipped touring bike model. I also saw the same model pictured in another brochure dated 1967, and this bike looks little changed from the earlier version. I cannot read Japanese, but numerals among the specifications on the page indicated a crankset with triple chainrings (50 x 47 x 33) and a 5-speed freewheel (15-17-19-21-24).
This image was discovered on and enlarged from a Japanese bicycle enthusiast's web page.
For many years the Japanese yen was very low against the US Dollar which made Japanese goods excellent bargains for US buyers. From 1950 through 1970 the JPYen was valued at 360JPY per USD. That would make the original cost of this bike only around $220.