This depends a lot upon the country and manufacturer. I have had a fair amount of experience with US made wartime bikes. Usually parts which would be chrome plated were painted. I don't consider this a major lowering of quality. Most of the bikes which were made were not deluxe/top of the line models, this is a quality issue. There are also special wartime issue bikes, the BSA paratrooper comes to mind first, then the Columbia Army bike with all HEAVYDUTY parts, most of the American companies produced simple lightweights that were 1, 2 or 3speeds to help patriots like Rosey the Riveter get to the factory quickly and easily. In England they had special regulations for bicycle lighting "blackout", the lights had to be modified so that they would not be easily seen from airplanes overhead. Though I don't like wars, I do like war bikes. chris ioakimedes Fairfax California
-----Original Message----- From: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] On Behalf Of r cielec Sent: Tuesday, April 20, 2004 6:28 PM To: Classic Rendezvous Subject: [CR]War Years Bikes
Wars often limit supply of raw materials and skilled labour for civillian use with result that the quality of many civillian items suffers. What about quality of bikes produced during wars? Should these bikes be avoided or regarded differently from pre and post models? Richard Cielec Chicago, Illinois
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