The Flying Pigeon Project

HAO about that bicycle??

 

Frequent readers will remember past posts of vintage Fuji Brake-Rod roadsters. These are fantastic, is very heavily constructed bikes from one of the world's oldest and most successful bike companies. Dearly sought after machines indeed.

Now a funny thing happened at Panjiayuan a few months back. A gentleman brought an excellent example, maybe the best example seen yet,  of a Fuji roadster....or was it? In the below pictures you can see quite clearly on the head badge and the fender logo, that although the Fuji trademark silhouette of Mt. Fujiyama is co-opted, It instead bears the letter "HAO" and not Fuji. 

Hao, incidentally, means "Good" in Chinese, although the bike is clearly Japanese.  So is it a copy?

Guest Roadster: Phillips

Yes, there are British bikes in China. Some of them are old and used and some of them are nicely restored. I would have to say that this particular Phillips has been OVER restored...but nicely so.

First off, Let's check out the details. We can see that it has what seems to be a Bosch headlamp with a pass through in the lamp mounting for the brake rods. It could also be Lucas. I think it is mounted upside down, but I'm not going to ding the owner for that. Bosch stuff is hard to come by in China.

Vintage Japanese Bicycles: Magnet Restoration

Having recently come back from Japan, I was very, very impressed by the quality of the brake-rod roadsters I saw there. But honestly, most were of newer vintage. What about the OLD stuff? Surely there had to be some good old brake-rodders around? I had seen some in Beijing, but where were they in Japan?

Interesting Accessory of the Week..

...or maybe the year. Don't think I will see anything like this again. Seen on an old Raleigh it is a three dial combination circle lock. Probably not the most efficient, or strongest lock out there, but it looks great!

 

Why it is called a Telephone Lock, I don't know, Maybe because it has dials like a telephone? Maybe it was repurposed from some telecommunications company usage?  Again, it is a mystery. If anyone has any clues, let me know.

Beixinqiao Part 2

I have often referred to the antique bike swap meet that goes on on Sundays at Panjiayuan. You have also previously heard me talk about the bicycle shopping mecca that is  Beixinqiao.  Panjiayuan being a little remote, it should be no surprise that the old bike guys also get together at Beixinqiao in front of one of the pawnshops. Saturday afternoons prove to be quite a fruitful photographic opportunity.

Among the bikes in attendance were this Dutch Gazelle. Note the lugs. Sure they are not fancy and stylized like you might find on a French bike, but they are massive! You can also tell from the brake rod stirrup that it is equipped with drum brakes.

 

The real attraction of this bike was it's "chaincase". One single piece of chromed steel, it is heavily perforated and stylized with the Gazelle logo. How it survived so long in such good condition is probably a story in itself. It is able to be installed in one piece because the rear chainstays can be unbolted. Not an unusual feature 50 years ago. This bike also sports a Japanese Koba sidestand.

 

There was also an excellent Fuji example in attendance. The owner liked to put the bike on the rear stand and spin the wheel....it was a good 5 minutes before it would stop. It's still spinning in the photo!

 

Of course there were some Raleighs....

And anther excellent step through Raleigh, whose owner is more than pleased to be photographed with his fine machine.