Dave: I'm not sure as to what you mean by Astra being an entry level cycle brought in by Motobecane. The Astra I purchased in 1968 was $250, or $50 less than the Schwinn Paramount. I believe my Astra was mostly Huret equipped. $250 in 1968 was about 1/2 of a months pay for a highschool teacher, and a bit of money in 1968. Peter Naiman Boston, Mass
>
> From: DavidS4410@aol.com
> Date: 2003/01/03 Fri PM 12:52:11 EST
> To: CaptBike@sheldonbrown.com, ABikie@aol.com, vze4k5n6@verizon.net,
> rena.cutrufelli@comcast.net, R.Delmare@Charter.net,
> classicrendezvous@bikelist.org, morgan@hahaha.org
> Subject: Re: [CR] popular French economy 60's Lightweights(was:[Astra maybe
> French ma...
>
> In regard to bicycle distribution in the 60s and early 70s, Ben Lawee in Long
> Beach, Ca was the US distributor for Motobecane, as well as Raleigh, and
> Bianchi. Lawee assigned East Coast distribution for Motobecane to Ben Olkin,
> who had both wholesale and retail operations in the Boston area. If Astra
> was an entry level offering from Motobecane, then they came from one of these
> two locations. Service Cycle was a Schwinn Distributor through this period
> until Schwinn took over it's own distribution on the East Coast in the late
> 60s, operating out of a distribution center in Cherry Hill, NJ. Although
> Service Cycle was an independent distributor and therefore free to purchase
> for resale anything they wanted, they stayed with Schwinn bicycles, but did
> offer many other products on the parts and accessory side of the business.
> In fact they developed the Cycle Products brand for the mass merchants.
> Later probably some time in the late 80s, Service Cycle bought out Mongoose,
> then Mongoose was purchased by Brunswick, who in turn sold it to Pacific
> Cycle.
> Franklin Imports was the East Coast distributor for Peugeot, and United
> Import was the West Coast distributor.
> Regards,
> Dave Staub
> Sunny, warm Orange, Ca.
> Going for a bike ride now