The Flying Pigeon Project

Guest Roadster: Steyr Waffenrad

Mein sehr guter Freund, Mario forwarded me some pictures of his Austrian Steyr "Damenfahrrad"  with which he rides around Munich.

 
"I like it because it is such an unusual machine these days, and of course, being Austrian, it makes a statement about me, as I am Austrian too. I estimate it is probably from the 1950s"

Steyr, or  more precisely, the Steyr-Daimler-Puch conglomerate was the predecessor of a multitude of now divested "Steyr" companies including Mannlicher Steyr, the weapons manufacturer. Steyr started as a weapons maker, first producing guns in 1864 and then bikes 30 years later in 1894. In history, there are many weapons manufacturers (BSA, FN, Husquvarna, etc) who have crossed over into bicycle, motorcycle and even car manufacture. The common technologies are drawing tubes and boring barrels both engine piston barrels and cannon barrels!..and of course precision.

That precision is on display here with fine lugs and pinstriping, which make a statement about the bike's high quality. Quality that they built into every bike coming out of the Graz factory. That's right. Graz. The same Styrian town that produced Arnold Schwarzeneggar.

You can see here this bike is a bit unusual with only one downward brake rod. That's for the front brake and is typical among Germanic bikes of the 1950's and earlier.

Zhongguo! Out of the Box.

One of the great things about unpacking is you get to see things you haven't seen in a while. One of those things is this Zhongguo brand side stand. Zhongguo (meaning China) brand is from the south of China. Guangzhou in fact. But I picked this one up on my last day weekend in Beijing.

The Zhongguo brand is still something of a mystery to me. On the headbadge below it says it is a product of the "Cotton Tree Factory". 

The Smallest Flying Pigeon

So as most of the long time readers know, I am no longer in Beijing, but back in the states. Now that the computer is out of the box, I'd like to start off the new year right and share some pictures of the smallest Flying Pigeon with you.

This particular bike is 6 inches tall and carved of rosewood. It was a gift from my team at work on my departure. I can certify that it is accurate in almost all respects.

Note that this is no mere statue but a working model. Note the rear stand which goes up and down. Yes the pedals and cranks turn as do the wheels. The bike also steers.

Let's zoom in a bit. You can see that the rear carrier is accurately represented including the bolts linking it to the seat stays and chain stays. There is a rear circle lock and a bottle dynamo as well The spokes are actually made of wood and you can clearly see the tread on the tires!!!

Looking at the front end, the rod brake assemblies, front and rear are fully detailed as are the fork trusses and the headlight dynamo.

Craftsmanship...through and through.It is now garaged on my desk, reminding me that I need to get out and pedal the real thing!

 

 

 

Silk. That's right. Silk...or is it a Marukin?

I'm going to toss in some pics of a fine 26" roadster from Japan. One for the Marukin Bicycle works: A Silk. Well, you can't tell that from the headbadge, but that is part of the story...

 

Pawnshop Princess

A few weeks ago, I pawned my Forever rando. At the same shop was a very interesting bike. An NOS Phoenix/ Feng Huang step through from the 1980s' or so it was claimed. The light & dynamo combination was clearly a new addition.

 
Honestly, I could not tell much difference between this bike and a brand new Phoenix being sold a few doors down. But you would expect that: The bike is essentially unchanged.

Nonetheless the shop manager made much ado tapping on the fenders as if to prove they are a thicker guage of metal, and pointing our a detail on the crankarm, which was never clear to me. He and his assistant of course pointed out the packing paper still attached to the chain stays. Apparently the factory switched to plastic packing some time back.

 
So the 950RMB question is do I really think the bike is NOS?  Yes I do. On the down post decal, there was one small area of sun-fading. As if the packing paper had been ripped off to inspect the brand , and then the bike was left in some sunny attic for a decade or two.  I would say it is also nicely outfitted with twin rear reflectors, circle lock, Dynamo and headlight, a nifty seat color and a chaincase trim ring. These things would not make a new bike worth the 950 RMB the shop wanted, but for a bike of some age, sure. It just depends on how much the vintage is worth to you.