The Flying Pigeon Project

Electric Garbage Bikes of Bejiing

OK. The headline is a lie.

There are no garbage "bicycles" in Beijing and they certainly are not electric. Instead there are a variety of pedal powered trikes which serve as garbage trucks. See, in Beijings tight warren-like Hutongs, a US type Mack garbage truck would never fit. But these bikes go there with ease.

Knife Sharpener's Bike

How do you get your knives and tools sharpened in Beijing? In the US, of course, you could bring them to a cutlery shop or a hardware store, maybe. In Beijing, the knife sharpener comes to you. These crafty gents travel by bike and go neighborhood to neighborhood announcing their presence by clanging a strip of metal plates on a rope.

I was lucky enough to come across one of these bikes while the owner was otherwise engaged. It is a Forever. Although it looks like he carries his tools in the front basket, often these bikes are equipped with a leather pouch tied over the top bar

The package rack serves as the work platform. Various whetstones are used and his strop appears to be a piece of old carpet.

The whetstones also serve as a bike stand. Note the interesting tool used as a kickstand. The plastic bag around the seat is standard wet weather practice. You've got one tucked away on your bike, right?

Lhasa Roadsters Pt. 3: Postal Bikes

There are postal bikes in almost every major Chinese city and Lhasa is no exception. There were two major brands. First, the Forever. Postal Green, of course, with the heavy duty steel side racks and canvas panniers.

The next brand was a bit more unusual to see as a postal bike.

These were parked outside the famous Johkang temple in the old Barkhor area of Lhasa. Note the very large bell on the handle bar. You can see the underside here. These are the same kind used on the rickshaws in Beijing. In Lhasa however the Rickshaws used ones mounted on the front axles with a clapper attached to a string. You would pull on the string which would dip the clapper into the spinning spokes and beat it into the side of the bell. Quite clever.

But back to the topic. What brand is this postal bike? 

A quick glance at the seat post reveals it is a Red Flag. Hong Qi it is! The famed logo also appears on the fork.

Lhasa Roadsters Part 1: Work Bikes

A recent trip to Tibet gave me the opporunity to take in some high altitude roadsters. Most bikes in Lhasa, the Tibetan capital see some use as work bikes, like this 26" Flying Pigeon. Also note the chrome chainring guard.

 

This bike also had a strange package rack maybe taken off a Flying Pigeon electric bike. I have not seen one like this before. The Tibetan penchant seemed to be to carry packages in a roll on the back and many package racks had specially welded tabs to hold the rolls.

 

Then there was this Forever which was working hard carrying propane.

 

Here is another 28" roadster, posing  next to someone's shop. Care for some melon?

 

We can tell from the fork decal it is a Phoenix. The sign says it is for sale at 150 RMB ($20). But before you put down some money on this fine ride with good patina, you had better check it over....

 

...oh wow! The seat looks painful! I saw alot of these tire rubber seats. Apparently comfort was not the owner's first concern. Maybe we should pass this one by.

 

OK. This 28" step-through Forever looks more forgiving. Like I said, they really stack things up on the rear rack!

 

And then there was this 28" double-bar Forever at a noodle factory.  Ready to make a delivery, or just stopping in for lunch?

Butcher Bikes of Hong Kong

Hong kong is one of the great cities of the world...maybe the greatest. It seems to have everything: Art, culture and commerce,   skyline that would make Manhattan jealous, not to mention forest, mountains, world class beaches and Jackie Chan!!

But as I discovered on a recent trip, it has another reason for being great that undoubtedly slips under most people's radar. It has Butcher bikes, which is to say utility bikes.

In truth, Hong Kong is not the ideal bike environment. It's quite hilly and it rains a lot, yet some how the butcher bike has survived here. The bikes fall into two categories.

First there is the 28" Double-bar with a massive utility rack attached to both top tubes. Without exception, these were all Phoenixes, like this one photographed INSIDE A BUTCHER SHOP. The opposite wall was filled with hanging legs of Prosciutto! (or the Chinese equivalent.)

The 2nd type, was this low-center of gravity type bike. These were being used by a gas company near our hotel to very canisters of CNG to restaurants, etc. I had never seen a bike like this in China. Quite honestly using a bicycle in this role seemed a bit of a strange choice. On the mainland, a pedal tricycle would fill this roll and probably perform the task much better. So I was pretty sure this bike was NOT from China.

So who made these? I knew some Indian and Dutch manufacturers produce this kinda bike, but those connections seemed unlikely. The frame was no give away, as the bikes were so old they had lost all badging. One had a chainring that said Phoenix, but other's did not. 

 

So who made these bikes?

Well, just before departing Hong Kong I found one with the head badge intact.

 

Pashley! The high end British make! It's good to know that somewhere in the world these bikes are still hard at work and not relegate to the role of "rich boy toys". Awesome!