Recently at the Panjiayuan old bike meeting, there have been several older, unusual roadsters showing up. While they are brake rod roadsters of the Philips variety, they are not Chinese or Indian and not British or German. Not even French. Certainly not Dutch.
The construction tends toward the heavy side. Yes, heavy even compared to Chinese bikes. And the fenders have a strange pyramidal profile. That's strange enough, but perhaps the most intriguing feature is the rocket shaped chainguard. Certainly a bit of 1950's styling can be seen there, but it's no give away as to where the bikes are from.
So who makes these bikes and from which country do they hail? Generally, they are all decades old and very used, but apparently well loved, and have all the original parts except for the paint, which has mostly been rubbed off.
Don't know?
How about some hints?
1. The brand is still in business and makes some of the finest bicycles on earth.
2. They been doing so for 110 years.
3. Look at the chainwheel. The company logo is repeated 3 times. It's not the current logo, of course.
4. The logo is also on the rear fender.
Still can't make it out? How about a close up:
Fuji! Indeed, when most people think of the Japanese make, I doubt they consider that they once made humble, practical, and extremely durable brake-rod roadsters.
Check that out... even the mudguard profile matches that of Mt. Fuji.
Excellent!
Cheers
Larry "Boneman" Bone
Dingmans Ferry, PA, USA
Posted by: Larry Bone | May 30, 2009 at 07:32 PM