This is a 1989 Panasonic AL 7000 in Black with Black, White and Red decals. It is a 23″ / 58.5cm / Large (center of bottom bracket to top of seat tube) bonded Aluminum frame with a Tange Cro-Mo steel blade fork. The stand over height is 33″ directly in front of the saddle. 

There are 14 speeds available through the alloy Shimano Sport LX two ring BioPace (42/52t) crank with 170mm crank arms with Shimano PD M536 Clip In pedals and the Shimano 7 gear hyperglide freehub. 

The rear derailleur is a Shimano white Sport LX and the front is also a Shimano Sport LX.  Shifting is through Downtube Mounted Shimano Sport LX

white handled Shifters.

The rear wheel is an anodized alloy Mavic MA 40 rim laced to quick release Shimano 600 tri color alloy hub. The front wheel is an anodized Mavic laced to a Shimano 600 tri color quick release alloy hub. Both wheels have brand new 700x23c blackwall tires with Presta valves.

Braking is handled by alloy Shimano Exage Sport side pull calipers with Shimano Exage Sport aero brake levers. 

The new black vinyl saddle is mounted to a Sakae alloy seat post that moves freely in the seat tube.

Sakae Custom Anatomic Bend alloy handlebars are mounted to an alloy Sakae Ringyo stem.

There are bottle cage bosses on the seat tube and a bottle cage mounted to the Downtube. 

The bicycle rides, turns, stops and shifts through all of the gears and rings.

This bicycle was only imported to the US by Panasonic in the last year that they sold bicycles here. After 1989 the currency exchange rate made the bicycles uncompetitive and most bicycle manufacturing shifted to Taiwan. This aluminum frame was assembled in a manner similar to Vitus, Alan and Raleigh. Aluminum tubes the same diameter as a normal steel tube were bonded into an aluminum lug with an adhesive. There is a nice drawing on the last page of the 1989 Panasonic catalog (Google 1989 Panasonic Catalog) that shows the process. There are a few scratches on the left downtube near the Panasonic decal and a paint chip on the left side of the top tube, other than that it is a very good looking, light weight road bike. I don’t know the claimed weight but it feels very similar to a Vitus 979 and I would keep this if it was my size.

Please examine the photographs and ask any questions you may have about this bicycle or let us know if you need any other photos by emailing us at info@rode-bike.com

 

If any of the terms used in the description are unfamiliar, please check out the Bicycle Jargon page for definitions of common bicycle terms.