Re: [CR]Re: Odd-weird-interesting-scary NOS 1972 Czech bike & saddle

(Example: Production Builders)

Date: Sun, 17 Dec 2006 13:46:07 -0500
From: "Joseph Bender-Zanoni" <joebz@optonline.net>
Subject: Re: [CR]Re: Odd-weird-interesting-scary NOS 1972 Czech bike & saddle
In-reply-to: <45857FA9.8080506@earthlink.net>
To: Eric Goforth <ewgoforth@earthlink.net>
References: <E93A8DF87F99D042B59F87E864328C0A083FE9EB@ems7.uwsp.edu> <8C8F00804BB83F1-12B8-FF98@MBLK-M30.sysops.aol.com> <c6d151100612170806r5372c389w5f1eab070b2d2959@mail.gmail.com> <8C8F01623CC4559-FB4-16A5@MBLK-M27.sysops.aol.com>
cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org

I hate to make too much of these bikes but most of the parts are not really knockoffs but rather used an existing design as a jumping off point. I doubt if any of the parts of the Mafac like brakes would interchange and they are in fact relatively decent brakes. Gosh I just recalled the name on them - Centric. Also the jumping off point is more 50's Italian than French. Some parts are unique. The stem has a steel quill and an alloy forged body.

Joe Bender-Zanoni Great Notch, NJ

Eric Goforth wrote:
> There was a guy in Burlington, North Carolina in the early 80's who
> had a little bike shop inside a laundry that carried Czech-made bikes
> similar to this.
>
> They looked kind of like copies of an early 70's French bike with
> Mafac knockoff brakes like on this bike. In person the fit and finish
> looked really cheap and nasty, worse than a Huffy.
>
> -Eric
>
> oroboyz@aol.com wrote:
>> << (like the influence of Alphons Mucha on classic bicycle ads and
>> graphics) >>
>>
>> Tim, tell us more about this! Very interesting!
>> Dale Brown
>> Greensboro, North Carolina USA
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: timvictor@gmail.com
>> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
>> Sent: Sun, 17 Dec 2006 11:06 AM
>> Subject: Re: [CR]Re: Odd-weird-interesting-scary NOS 1972 Czech bike
>> & saddle
>>
>> Dale wrote: > #320062087983 and 320062471061 > > That is a
>> funny-cool-weird-odd-scary bike! These "Iron curtain" companies are
>> sort of like Yugos.. They LOOK normal but are still distinctly Third
>> World when it comes to machining tolerances, etc. > > One thing
>> bothered me in this auction.. Ths seller appears knowledgeable so why
>> would he say "Has a really nice leather seat made by Brooks or Ideale
>> I suppose." He knows that is pure BS. Troubling... What else is BS in
>> what he says? > > Dale Brown > Greensboro, North Carolina USA
>> Thanks for the comments, Dale, especially for the "What else is BS"
>> heads-up. I read right past that, and never imagined for a moment
>> that the saddle would be anything other than a Warsaw-Pact copy. I
>> had only seen the listing for the full bike, not the other one for
>> just the saddle.
>> Yes, about "iron curtain" companies, I have several dozen Russian
>> and Ukrainian copies of Leica and Hasselblad cameras. Their
>> factories were capable of some very technically sophisticated stuff
>> when they felt like trying, and consumer goods were often made in
>> the same plants as their weapons and aerospace products. But worker
>> morale was typically at rock bottom and quality control usually
>> non-existent. Doug Fattic has relayed some great anecdotes about
>> this world.
>> Part of the charm for me is that it's a window into the world we
>> didn't get to see at the time, "behind the Iron Curtain" that I
>> heard so much about while growing up. Also Czech culture is
>> wonderful and much overlooked (like the influence of Alphons Mucha
>> on classic bicycle ads and graphics) and Prague is a most wonderful
>> place to visit, fabulously beautiful and cultured. But the cameras
>> sure are a lot cheaper to buy and ship and easier to store too.
>> Peace,
>> Tim Victor Greensboro, NC, USA
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