FW: [CR]Re: Cultural Differences

(Example: Framebuilders:Masi)

From: "Jim Merz" <jimmerz@qwest.net>
To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Subject: FW: [CR]Re: Cultural Differences
Date: Sun, 28 Jul 2002 08:40:31 -0700


I don't remember the year, but when Nixon went to China the first time around 1974 I had an interesting little job. I was in Portland then and somehow the head of Republican party in Oregon went with him and came back with 10 or so Phoenix brand bikes. These were like the one mentioned below. The guy went into Cycle Craft to find someone to assemble them. They were in wooden crates and were down to the balls not being in the hubs. Wheels needing to be laced. Nothing to show what went where, just boxes of bolts, nuts and washers. Anyway, no one else wanted to do it so I took it on. Took me a few days, but I did it. These were red and had real nice decals, dragons. I wanted to keep one but the guy thought they were worth big bucks, so I just took my money. The guy told me these were the favorite of the Viet Cong on the Ho Chi Min trail! Very poor quality bikes, no alloy at all, soft steel for bolts etc.

Jim Merz Bainbridge Is. WA

-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-admin@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-admin@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of Stephen Barner Sent: Sunday, July 28, 2002 4:33 AM To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org Subject: [CR]Re: Cultural Differences

I have never travelled outside the states farther than Canada, but I had a cycling friend who went to China about 15 years ago and commented that it seemed everyone there rode bikes similar to the Raleigh DL1, which was a 28" wheeled rod brake holdover from the 1930s. I imagine the Brits setup factories in Asia which were taken over by Mao and never changed production. My friend said that the marketplaces in the rural communities would feature one or more "bikeshops," which consisted of a person squatting down in back of a series of bowls in which were laid out all the different rod brake parts and other assorted giblets that fit virtually every bike. I think Flying Pidgeon is a big name over there. The parts are very cheap, as it the labor. Nothing that has any life at all in it is wasted.

Stephen Barner