Rick Huff has a thing for Flying Pigeons. Like many Pigeon riders, he also likes to take a turn with the wrench. And his skill with that wrench, and good taste, cannot be questioned. Rich has turned his humble Pigeon into an Path Racer for a new generation. But I'll let Rick and his beautiful pictures do the talking.
"It was a really fun project and I couldn't be happier with the results. Up until I found this bike I knew nothing about Chinese bikes. I had moved to downtown Long Beach, California. Parking is always a problem so I starting looking on ebay for a vintage "city bike" that I could use on the weekends to get where I needed to go, maybe do some shopping with. I started my search for a decent Raleigh DL but found it was way too tough to find or to expensive to restore."
"One day I came across an ebay posting for a Flying Pigeon PA-06 (men's double-bar). This guy had got a couple of these bikes through U.S. customs for himself but had one extra that he was selling. I went ahead an bid and won for under $150 (US) and drove to his house to pick it up. I assembled it myself I rode "stock" for about a year. I got a lot of questions and comments as I would ride around town. I even took it into a local bike shop when I needed a cotter pin for the crank. The guys at the shop were blown away... most had never seen push rod brakes before."
"One day riding I got a tree branch caught in the back spoke and it ended up bending the chain guard so that was the first to go. Next, I was riding in traffic and had to get out of the way of a car – I stood up in the pedals and had the drive-side crank arm bend so I had to "limp" home. The bike sat in my garage for a couple of months while I tried to figure out what to do with it."
"I came across a site where a guy was taking old 3-speeds and converting them to a "scorcher" set up... single-speed, flopped handlebars, very simple and stripped down... I thought I'd do the same with my Pigeon. "
"I first found a sealed Shimano bottom bracket that would fit the shell so I could use modern cranks. I used a Sakae (Japanese) crankset and a pair of vintage "rat-trap" pedals from an old Peugeot that I have. For the steering I got the handle bars (no name) and stem (Kalloy) from a local shop. I was pretty sure that I was going to ditch the rod brakes... they look cool, but didn't stop too quick, especially now with the more aggressive setup I knew I would need something better but hadn't figured out what to do."
"I got in contact with Josef at Flying Pigeon LA and he to me they had built a custom "racer" with a coaster brake so I put my bike in the car and drove up to see what he did. I decided on the spot that a coster brake would be a good way to go. He was nice enough to sell me a new rim and coaster brake hub that he had and I had it laced at my local shop. Finally I could stop my bike!"
"I initially kept the fenders on but eventually took them off (one less thing to rattle), they may come back as we get into the rainy season. The finishing touch was a custom logo for the downtube. I always felt that logo that was there looked too modern, I wanted something that looked more "Communist China" since this bike was straight from the factory. "
"There you have it... the result is my stripped down Flying Pigeon "racer". It's super quite and smooth to ride, and a lot faster than it was in it's previous life. I still use the back rack for my shopping runs. I have other bikes in my garage, but this one definitely has the most character and gets the most comments."
Small wonder. It looks fantastic!
Thanks for the post! Anyone interested in their own Flying Pigeon in Los Angeles should contact Flying Pigeon LA. They not only have complete bikes, but the stock parts and are doing their own custom Pigeons. They were a big help for ideas!
http://flyingpigeon-la.com/
Posted by: Rick | October 31, 2009 at 11:31 PM
Very nice! I've actually done something quite similar with an "Abley" Roadster from india... although I just drilled the fork and seatstay and added caliper brakes to mine.
I like the idea of the coaster... but will be putting a 3-speed S/A rear wheel in it eventually.
Cheers!
Larry "Boneman" Bone
Dingmans Ferry, PA, USA
Posted by: Larry Bone | November 02, 2009 at 01:34 AM
First of all I must say I love this bike, classic. I am I Flying Pigeon enthusiast currently living in South Korea. I am writing an article on the flying pigeon for a mens lifestyle magazine/blog and I was wondering if I could do a brief interview with Rick Huff about his FP, the artice is due March 1st.
I also own a small publishing company called Gentleman Tree and was looking to put together a coffee table book about the FB if anyone had any interest. Thanks Josh
Posted by: Joshua Lorenzo Newett | February 12, 2011 at 09:09 PM