You are looking at a 1990 Kuwahara Roc D'Azur DX. '90 is my best guess anyway as this is a bit of a strange one.
Kuwahara was best known for their BMX bikes, in particular the bike that carried E.T. around in the movie E.T. The Extra Terrestrial. But they also made mountain bikes, and they're pretty common here in Western Canada. Few of them are high end though, so that makes this rare for just existing.
It's made from Ishiwata 4130 tubing and has Shimano Deore DX shifters, hubs, cranks, front brakes, and probably the BB - I haven't pulled it yet, so not sure. Strangely, for a bike with "DX" in its name, it's lacking two DX parts; the Mountain LX rear derailleur and an Exage chainstay brake.
I guess you can get super picky and say there was no DX U-brake, at least there was never one with a "DX" sticker on it. There was a U-brake with the part numbers MT63 and MT62 which is similar to other DX parts, but it said "Deore" on it. They did the same thing with the DX crank too - it never said "DX" on it, just "Deore." Go figure.
It's made from Ishiwata 4130 tubing and has Shimano Deore DX shifters, hubs, cranks, front brakes, and probably the BB - I haven't pulled it yet, so not sure. Strangely, for a bike with "DX" in its name, it's lacking two DX parts; the Mountain LX rear derailleur and an Exage chainstay brake.
I guess you can get super picky and say there was no DX U-brake, at least there was never one with a "DX" sticker on it. There was a U-brake with the part numbers MT63 and MT62 which is similar to other DX parts, but it said "Deore" on it. They did the same thing with the DX crank too - it never said "DX" on it, just "Deore." Go figure.
This just might be the most original bike of this age I've ever bought. Nitto stem, Strong handlebar, Kuwahara-branded seatpost, unmarked barends, original grips and some heavy duty toe clips. Also Ukai hard anodized rims and IRC X-1 ST tires - I've never seen these before.
So - is this a '90? There are two very strong markers indicating it is. 1990 was the first year for the 'oversize' headset, which was 1 1/8" instead of 1". Several manufacturers maintained the 1" headset right up to the mid 90's, but certainly nobody ever went back. 1990 was also the first year for the Shimano Total Integration shifters, so it's seeming very likely.
However, by 1990, chainstay mounted brakes are virtually unknown. I have a Norco catalog from '90 and the Bush Pilot still had them, but no Rocky Mountain had them anymore, and it doesn't look like Specialized was using them either.
So - is this a '90? There are two very strong markers indicating it is. 1990 was the first year for the 'oversize' headset, which was 1 1/8" instead of 1". Several manufacturers maintained the 1" headset right up to the mid 90's, but certainly nobody ever went back. 1990 was also the first year for the Shimano Total Integration shifters, so it's seeming very likely.
However, by 1990, chainstay mounted brakes are virtually unknown. I have a Norco catalog from '90 and the Bush Pilot still had them, but no Rocky Mountain had them anymore, and it doesn't look like Specialized was using them either.
This Roc D'Azur DX was listed for sale in the UK ten years ago, and it's one of maybe three pics on the Internet of a similar age Roc D'Azur. It has a near identical part break down - same wheels, stem, grips, shifters, headset - but it doesn't have chainstay brakes. The seller said the bike was purchased in 1989, which makes me think that my bike is older.
1988 feels like a better number to me, apart from the oversize headtube and STI shifters.
Anyway, I had bought this as a potential Cheap Bike for the 2026 contest, but now that I've dug into the mysteries of it, I'm not sure I want to mess with it.
1988 feels like a better number to me, apart from the oversize headtube and STI shifters.
Anyway, I had bought this as a potential Cheap Bike for the 2026 contest, but now that I've dug into the mysteries of it, I'm not sure I want to mess with it.
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