Last Updated on March 12, 2022 by FAB Jim The Cyclist
Maruishi is one of several lesser-known Japanese bike companies. There seems to be some mystery about how old the company is/was. It has been suggested that at one point they claimed to be the oldest bicycle company in Japan and started importing bikes in 1884. I’ve also read 1894 and 1909 in Tokyo as their founding dates. They seem to have made a range of bikes including some nice road bikes.
I’m confident that they made some of the vintage Nashbar branded bikes. It has also been suggested that they may have made some early Jamis bikes. I’m not certain about that claim.
There is a website for a Maruishi cycles, so they may still be in business. The site claims they have been involved with bicycles for 120 years.
http://www.maruishi-cycle.com/
Here is a nice vintage Maruishi Emperor road bike:
I’m not certain of the year of the bike would guess 70s or early 80s. It has Shimano 600 components with alloy Araya rims and bar end shifters. A neat looking bike.
I was wondering if they supplied bikes for the Keirin races, but according to Wikipedia they are not on the approved manufacturers list. This might require some more checking.
I didn’t see anything in my research.
Elegant and the wheels seem so big! Or have my eyes just got used to smaller modern bicycles.