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?

Comments

[mark hercules rider.]

very nice find.did you buy the bike?i really like the aged paint.i would like to know the value in a north american dollar.how are the roads there for travelling ex/ cars, people, speeds of bicycles etc.i just found out you can enlarge the photos,they are excellent.

[JS]

The bike was not for sale as far as I know. I never met the owner. However, from comparable bikes that I have seen which are for sale, I would guess this one would be between 1000-2000 RMB depending on what you could negotiate. So about 300 dollars.

In Beijing most main roads have bike lanes, although taxis and buses are allowed in them as well. Bicyclists tend to not get much respect and the speed of bike traffic (and traffic in general) is rather slow.

In other cities such as Chongqing, bicycles are banned.

[John Timbes]

I just bought a Raleigh DL-1 for $300. The hub is dated 1974. The B-72 saddle was old, and busted within ten minutes on my first ride, so I installed an Eastman B-33 knockoff. Here in North Florida, sand throw-up by the front tire wears chains out quickly, so I ordered and installed a Wu Yang full chain guard. I never have liked block pedals, and these weren't the originals, anyways, so I installed a set of plastic pedals off a cheap Wal-Mart cruiser I had laying around. The front fork is bent, and if I cannot straighten it, I may install a Flying Pigeon replacement. It will end-up being a bitsa, horrid thought for the purists, but a very useful bicycle for me. This thing just eats-up the miles here, where it's not exactly flat, but nothing is particularly steep. My Rhode Gear trailer hitch clamps perfectly to the flattened-part of the chainstay right before the dropout. Wish I had a better selection of rear racks...
John

[Larry]

Hmmm... the "Low Rise" bars you're referring to... I believe they are emulations of much older school (pre WWII) Raleigh Roadsters. Very similar bars were affixed unto my Abley Roadster from India. The handlebar assembly has been removed from the aforementioned machine in favour of inverted Northroads bar (akin to a Pashley Guv'nor). I could snap an image of the originals if you care to view them.

I do very much like the machine you've featured. And the propstands.... are absolutely awesome. Are they readily available over there... or are they fast becoming anachronisms.

Cheers!

Larry "Boneman" Bone - short bars for long arms?

[Jeff Stracco]

Larry-

Sure. I would love a pic of your low rise bars.

As for the side-stands. They are rapidly becoming an anachronism. But I saw one recently for sale that said "Gazelle", obviously a repop for the dutch brand of that name.

I have aslo seen Ralaigh ones, but not recently. If you like I will keep my eye open for you.

[Larry]

You can check out the bars here:

http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b123/bonemanrides/abley_bars/

I would love to have a propstand like that for my Abley... to complete the "nostalgically iconoclastic" look. If one should come available and is not overtly expensive that would be great.

Not sure how we would overcome remunerative and logistical hurdles but let's just say that I would certainly be interested.

Thanks! Hope the pictures are of interest. BTW... the grips on those bars... are all of 3.5" or maybe 4" long so they are quite minimal. Also they're moulded of a dubiously odd feeling material as well.

Cheers!

Larry "Boneman" Bone - getting a grip... at least on my cycles.

[Jeff Stracco]

Larry-

OK. I will keep my eyes peeled for an appropriate stand and keep you posted

I checked out your pic, and I don't think these are the same low rise bars. The low rise bars on Zhongguo sit almost right on the neck.

Still, it is interesting to know how many different types of bars there are!