Need help to identify a brand of a japanese cruiser women bike

Question

I've just purchased this bike from someone who could not tell me the brand. She told me it was Japanese (information provided by the previous owner). This bike has many atypical features, at least to me, therefore I try to identify its brand/model/year online without success. I hope we can help me identify the brand. Here are the features:

• SAKURA tires 37 X 590 (ISO) with Japanese/dunlop tube
• Shimano rear derailleur
• KALIN handlebar stem
• ARAI Internal rear (Drum) brake (90 Band Brake) and front Rim Brake
• Shimano MF-TZ20 6-speed freewheel + Shimano Revoshift SIS index
• SUSTEK Saddle and handles
• SANYO Dynamo front light
• Large enough back rack to carry a metal baby seat
• GORIN Ring rear wheel lock

I have many other pictures, and also the serial number starting STLCA24... Any advice or help would be very welcome! Thank you so much, Julien

Answer 1

Except for the hub generator it looks a lot like this Bobby Town bicycle.


Searching for "bobby town bicycle" will pop up a couple other bikes.

Bikes like this are widely sold in Japan.
From Asahi's website they have bike classification of city cycle. Some of them with frames similar to the bike in question

I'm pretty sure that Bobby Town is the model. The head tube label is not visible in this picture. I found another similar bike that had "CBA Velociste" in the head tube and I believe that is the name of the company.

Thanks to Superman.Lopez for the clue on the type of bicycle.

Answer 2

Mamachari, a slang term literally meaning “mom’s bike,” are Japan’s ubiquitous city bicycles. Featuring baskets and, often, child seats

Mamachari A functional and sturdy bicycle used mainly to run errands in the neighborhood. They feature an L- or U-shaped top tube, 24- to 26-inch (540–559 mm) wheels, and a basket, and can be equipped with child seats for up to two children.

https://www.nippon.com/en/features/jg00091/

This seems to be a generic non-branded mamachari bike. I doubt you'd find a brand, model or year for it. What is your concern about the "atypical" features? Judging from your list and the pictures these all seem quite common and generic parts.

Answer 3

It is a practical bike, but in my view the bolt holding in place the seat tube and the seat stays seems very dangerous (i.e. do not carry a child on that back seat).

Final note: Japan exported extreme high quality bicycles, and it still exports components of extreme quality, but the domestic bicycle market is flooded with extremely cheap bicycle [1] ... it seems yours is one of them. If you are in the US, it looks cool and unique, compared to the average Walmart bicycle, but in Japan a Walmart bicycles would look cool and unique.

[1] it is a common macro-economic practice: suppress the salaries of the worker of a certain country, so the currency value stays low since the workers cannot buy much from abroad or at least from richer countries, while at the same time pushing up the values (strong public investments in R&D, joining free trade agreement) of your products so they can be exported, since they cost less.