The Flying Pigeon Project

Bikes of Tianjin

Back in Dec, I took a trip with some work colleagues to Tianjin, which is the home of the Flying Pigeon. A perfect time to check out the bike scene. It proved to be a bit disappointing. I was expecting the streets to be swarming with Pigeons, but this was not the case. Still I managed to find some interesting bikes.

First there was this Flying Pigeon with a fore-car. Never seen that before. The flat tires gives some indication that it has not been used in a while.

Then there was this Pigeon with perfect patina. It belonged to a policeman who is just out of frame.

So...you think your seat is uncomfortable? How about this pizza slice of leather! Found this on a cargo trike. Bu xu fu!!

Probably the most interesting bike was this motorized bike. It has a modified twin loop frame, telescopic forks from a moped and a rear swing arm. Still has ye old standard copy of a Honda 50 motor for an engine. I suspect this bike started life as a Forever. I say this because he small toolbox under the seat said Forever, but I have no other clues. The owner said it took him 4 years to make. He was all dandied up with cap and coat to go for a ride but was extremely camera shy!

Ashtabula Roadster

A traditional Chinese roadster is designed with a few things in mind:

1. Ease of construction, because the factory will have to make millions upon millions.

2. Durability, because they will be used forever and for everything.

3. Ease of repair. Better be able to fix it with a hammer.

Most of the traditional roadsters have a cottered crank, which is certainly easy to repair, if not exactly the most durable item. If you are a heavy or strong rider, the cotters can deform and you will get "the squeek". Sure you can pound in new ones with a shot from a hammer, but wouldn't you rather not deal with it at all?

Most of the modern roadsters, have a cotterless tapered crank. Easy to make? Sure. And less problematic than cottered cranks too.

But isn't there something else? Some other avenue to address the shortcomings of a cottered crank? Sure!! A one piece Ashtabula crank! Very strong. Easy to make and  the whole crank, just not the arms, can be replaced with no special tools. Seems like a natural, but you never see this in China..

Until a few weeks ago that is: This is the first and only Ashtabula roadster I have ever seen. Take a look. 

It was old and unmarked. Still it leaves me wondering why Ashtabula never made it in Beijing. A missed opportunity perhaps.

Seats

There are many kinds of seats you can put on your Chinese roadster, but if you want to stay traditional, you'll stick with one of only a few variants.

First there is the "Mattress" seat. This is a vinyl seat with felt and both longitudinal and vertical springs underneath for cushioning. It's good enough, but it's not terribly comfortable. It is what came as standard on my bike.

Then there is the so-called "Red" leather seat. This is very much like a traditional tensioned leather seat made by Brooks, Persons, etc. However, I am not entirely sure it IS leather. It looks leatherish, and it smells a bit leatherish at first but the top side is covered with a thick glaze almost a plastic so there is no oiling this seat. And if you take a knife to the underside it doesn't really look like leather either.

This is what I currently have on my bike. Mine is "OK" brand but all the major makes have one something like this.  It is a bit more comfortable than the Mattress.

Then there is the "Premium Fox Brown" leather seat. While you can clearly tell this one is leather, it too is covered with a thick glaze. Waterproofing it I suppose, but again, making it impossible to oil.

Finally, there is the "Black Plastic" seat. It may not actually be plastic...it may just have the same plastic coating that the previous two seats have, but who can tell? I saw this once in a showroom, and it looked a helluva lot like plastic!

You really don't see these very often, but you can see it here on this old Flying Pigeon. This one will last forever. I'm not sure your crotch will fare so well, but I think it is probably intended for work bikes, and therefore needs to withstand all manner of grease, oil, dirts etc.

So how do these seats age? Well, if you treat them well I suppose they age quite well. Here is an example of an aged "Shanghai" brand seat. You can almost make out the remains of the plastic coating similar to that on the Red or Fox Brown seats. Overall, it looks pretty good!

Doing Battle with Rust

Two facts:

1. My wife may not know it, but her Battle brand bicycle is also a brake rod roadster. Sure, with it's welded frame maybe it's not a traditional roadster, but it is a roadster nonetheless. It's got the same old reliable brake rods.

2. When acid rain falls on 30% of the country, you will experience rust and pitted chrome parts, no matter how well you care for your bike.

But how to counter that rust? It is simple: Use steel wool, WD-40, and a cloth. Really you should use copper or bronze wool if you've got it, but I don't, so I am using stainless steel wool. Also, you can use any kind of oil. I am also trying cooking spray.

So how do you use these tools to counter rust. I will use my wife's bike as an example.

Step 1. Spray oil on rust.

Step 2. Rub it down with the steel wool.

Step 3. Wipe the rust off with the cloth.

Step 4. Repeat if necessary. Works like a charm and leaves you with a very nice finish which while not exactly new chrome new, is shiny, clean and shows a nice patina.

As a final note, the cooking spray worked well, but is tougher to wipe off than the WD-40. It tends to smear a bit.

Also, leaving a little WD40 on the chrome surfaces will help repel water, and therefore rust, in the future.

The Zhonggou Bike

As a bike enthusiast, it is inevitable that you will find yourself scanning the bike lots for older examples. Occasionally you come across one that is exceptional.  Such was the case last Sunday when I came upon this well used and well loved example at Panjiayuan: The Zhongguo Bike. I call it the Zhongguo bike because it says so quite dramatically in it's side stand arc. Zhongguo means China, and is pronounced "Jung-gwah"

 

And what a beauty. It sported the perfect patina of polished oxide and black paint that has taken on the finish of bronze. One can almost feel 50 years of hand polish with a soft cloth pass by.  The fittings were of greasy brass, which further added to it's character.

So what brand of bike is the Zhonggou? Well, it's chaincase sports an extra screw at the top, probably to oil the chain, which seems redundant considering there are plenty of ports for this already.  It also says says Yongjiu (Forever) quite clearly on the chain case, so it must be a Forever right? 

Not so fast. Moving around to the side of the bike, we can see it sports low handlebars, which I have never seen on a Forever. The package rack also says "Made in Holland"...well, one could hardly be surprised by that, right? The saddle is a Chinese leather piece. 

Moving to the front, we can see the head badge is still there. Hmmm it would appear the frame is a Raleigh! Not a complete shock, but an interesting find nonetheless. And maybe a bit prescient, as  think Raleigh and Forever now have some type of business tie-up.

But there is one last piece of the puzzle. Examining the axles, we find the following logo "F&S Made in C (some country beginning with a C that is not China)" accompanied by an Eagle.  I take F&S to be Fichtel and Sachs.

So there you have it: Zhongguo is a very harmonious and ancient bitsa bike. British frame with Chinese, Dutch and German components. A very fine blend in my opinion. An a combination which has apparently been well loved by the owner for decades upon decades.

Question for the reading public: Anyone know the origin of the short, low-rise handlebars?