Michael: thanks for the photos -- very interesting indeed. To my own eyes, the very striking thing was the total absence of Flying Pigeons -- those imitations cranked out by the 10s of millions of the WWI-era British design and that used to be like ants in pre-capitalist China; the English rod braked roadster or Bobby bike. Where did they all go? Gad, the mere quantity of low quality scrap steel must have been incalculable. As it is, the photos look almost like NYC or Italy.
FWIW: though I have a strong nostalgia for the Bobby Bike -- I owned one (hot rodded with scarlet paint and AW hub), and rode mine and several others for thousands of miles in my boyhood, including long, strenuous 50-60 milers in hilly terrain climbing toward the Rift Valley at 6+K feet under the equatorial sun (our askari's, single speed of course; wonderful memories) -- I have to say that they are a hugely primitive and by modern standards barbaric design, with their 50 lb weight, Penny-Farthing-modeled riding position, high bb, excessively high gearing, and useless brakes. IMO, tigg'd aluminum was the best thing to happen to cheap bikes. It is interesting to reflect on the attitude that many overworked and poor riders and owners had to their roadsters: pure utility. They rode it, considering things like chain and brake pads structural rather than consumable elements. I've seen exceptions -- one of our cooks kept his in gleaming, polished condition -- but for the most part, pure utility, a mere upgrade from sandals made from old tires. On Sat, Sep 28, 2013 at 3:58 PM, Michael <[email protected]> wrote: > I was so impressed with the bikes there. >> > I just realized that I didn't get a pic of what I thought were the > prettiest bikes there to be seen - The Guangzhou made bikes that look like > old Raleigh three speeds. They had cassettes, though. But were those pretty > black, dark green, and dark maroon bikes with matched color fenders. Very > pretty bikes. > > Here is the set: > http://www.flickr.com/photos/70237737@N00/sets/72157635988782516/ > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > -- *RESUMES THAT GET YOU NOTICED!* Certified Resume Writer http://resumespecialties.com/index.html [email protected] http://www.linkedin.com/in/patrickmooreresumespec/ Albuquerque, NM -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
