The Flying Pigeon Project

Fenghong

Admittedly, I have been sitting on this post for a while, because it features a brand of bike I have been able to discover nothing about.: Fenghong. Not to be confused with Feng Huang, ie Phoenix.

The picture was taken during a sandstorm in Yarkand, far to the west in Xinjiang province, south of the Taklamakan desert. The bike is a double-bar, and also painted in postal green.

Where the bike originates is a mystery. There seem to be about half a dozen Fenghong companies somehow involved in bicycle manufacture.

How the bike 's name itself is mysterioso. It could be the company name of course, but let's looks at some other, more creative possibilities.

Feng Hong was an emperor of a minor dynasty during the middle ages when China consisted of many warring states. But really that's too obscure a reference to name a bike after. 

Feng means "Wind" and Hong means "Red", so the bike could be interpreted as "Red Wind" which would be perfect for a Maoist era ride, except the words should be reversed for grammatical correctness.

There is another "Red" option. In addition to the Phoenix, Chinese mythology has second famous bird: The Vermilion Bird or the Red Bird of the South as it is sometimes called. This is a celestial spirit and a Chinese constellation. Unfortunately, the Vermillion Bird is not called FENG HONG to my knowledge.

If anyone has further info on this make, please let me know.

Flying Pigeon: California Custom

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!

Indian Roadsters: Part 2, The Bikes

In my previous post I talked about the riding conditions in India. These conditions among other factors seem to have had a role in how roadsters have evolved in India vs. China. Let's take a look.

1. One of the first things I noticed was that none of the bikes I saw had a chain case. Although some of the manufacturers websites show a chain case, I did not see one on the road, all the bikes either have a hockey stick chain guard or an extended "super chain guard", but this does not encompass the chain, it is only one sided. I suspect that in the monsoon rains a chain case would probably make a significant water-catch and soon rot away. Almost all Chinese roadsters, by comparison, have a chain case.

2.  Of course the normal hockey stick chain guard creates  a great opportunity to advertise the name of the brand. All the bikes I saw had some type of elaborate chainring displaying the name of the make.

3. No step-through frames. 99.9% of the bikes I saw were diamond frame. I saw only a handful of step-throughs. There maybe a number of reasons for this. A step-through frame is somewhat less durable than a diamond frame. I am sure that is part of it, however I think the main reason is that women don't ride. During my two weeks there I saw two ...only two... ladies pedaling a bike. Perhaps fashion plays a part. After-all, who wants to get their elegant and expensive saree all into a sweaty tangle? I speculate of course, maybe a reader knows better? The one below is certainly a rarity.

4. No baskets. Almost every bike in China has a powder-coated wire basket in front of the handlebars to carry groceries, etc. Not so in India. Instead riders seem to prefer using the "rat trap" package rack, or just hanging a bag over the handlebars.

5. No small frames. Almost all bikes had 28" wheels to boot. Perhaps, Indians tend are a bit taller than Chinese, so this may have something to do with it, but even children were riding bikes with 28" wheels. So again, I think durability may be the key.

6. Durability is number one. With names like "Atlas" and "Hercules" you get the impression that strength and durability are paramount to Indian buyers. As a result many of the bikes we saw were double-bars, like this delivery bike. And check out the number of spokes: By my count it is a 64 spoke wheel! Talk about strength!

But the Indian manufacturers have taken the double top bar concept even further. How about a Four-bar?

Still not strong enough? Check out this Ashoka utility trike. Yep. That's an Eight-Bar frame!!!!

Of course these bikes must far outweigh my Flying Pigeon's puny 40lb frame. At some point something is going to give and apparently some manufacturers have realized that there is more than one way to add strength. For example, take a look at the large diameter tube roadster. I saw these with both lugged and welded frames.

Or maybe something even more advanced like this welded frame, oval tube roadster.

More about Indian Roadsters, next time!

Double Bar Controversy

In my post on the bikes of Guangzhou I pointed out that many bikes had a double top bar. This is sometimes referred to as a "Pig Bar" because, allegedly it was designed to allow a pig to be carried to market.

I doubt this for several reasons.

1. In China, any weight carried on a bike is almost ALWAYS carried over the rear wheel, whether that be a passenger or a mountain of walnuts. Weight is NOT carried between the rider and the handlebar. This can be seen in the picture above.

2. If you were to put a pig or any other sizable cargo between the rider and handlebar the rider's knees would have no place to go. Pedaling would be impossible.

3. The double bar is probably not even a Chinese innovation. Take a look at the attached picture of this 1940's Hercules which I took in a Beijing Pawn Shop. Rudge made a similar bike and probably other European makes did as well. I'm guessing...and it is just a guess, that '40s British pig farmers probably preferred a lorry to a bicycle as a method of swine transport.

So why would you design a double bar? Because it strengthens the frame. Period. You can carry heavy loads, or just put it to heavy use and abuse on poor roads without worrying that the lugs will be shaken to bits. This is why this design is such a favorite among the delivery bikes of Guangzhou. It is strong and lasting. But a specific use such as "designed for carrying pigs to market" seems to be just mythology to me.

I would be interested in what other old bike aficionados have to say. Maybe someone knows better.

BTW: The double-bar Hercules is still made in India, albeit with side-pull brake rods, not center-pull.