Alt Bike Culture - Why can't I buy a Street Star Chopper Bicycle?

I want a Cola Jinac, but I can't see anyway that I will ever get one. Search Cola Jinac on youtube to see their awsome promo.

I would love a Street Star Chopper Bicycle, but cannot find where to buy one. When I search for it I only find large scale supplier offering 200 or more bikes, but no sites that will sell me just 1. Please help.

Most impractical bicycle ever​.

Most impractical bicycle ever​.

Nothing is "impractical" in Foo.

You should get 200 and become the US distributor.

OR,

Book a flight to Czechoslovakia, buy the bike, drink plenty of tasty beers, ship bike to yourself.

Most impractical bicycle ever​.

They are made for styling around town in the evening. Sort of like lowrider cars.

Perhaps. Perhaps not. Those chopper bicycles are just plain stupid.

Perhaps the folks interested in chopper bikes think yours is stupid as well.

Personally, anyone riding bikes that they like is a good thing in my book. If you can appreciate the bike as art, there are some amazing "chopper" bikes out there. Have you ever custom built your own bike? http://www.ratrodbikes.com/?page_id=30

Check ebay. They may not have that particular brand but I searched for "chopper bicycle" and found a bunch of chopper bikes.

Have you ever custom built your own bike? http://www.ratrodbikes.com/?page_id=30

I currently ride a Townie. I have a back injury that makes bikes with an upright sitting position and forward position pedals important to me. A slower bike makes little difference to me (my townie isn't very fast) and sometimes it is nice to ride around on something that shouts "hey everybody, look at me!" That said, I think I would like this bike back injury or no.

I have never custom built my own bike. Can you recommend a bike co-op or custom builder I could work with to take classes or commission a similar bike? I have never welded before and that seems like it may be a deal breaker.

...I guess there are no leads on US shops importing the Street Star Chopper or websites where I can get it? Anyone with experience importing a bike from China?

I currently ride a Townie. I have a back injury that makes bikes with an upright sitting position and forward position pedals important to me. A slower bike makes little difference to me (my townie isn't very fast) and sometimes it is nice to ride around on something that shouts "hey everybody, look at me!" That said, I think I would like this bike back injury or no.

I have never custom built my own bike. Can you recommend a bike co-op or custom builder I could work with to take classes or commission a similar bike? I have never welded before and that seems like it may be a deal breaker.

...I guess there are no leads on US shops importing the Street Star Chopper or websites where I can get it? Anyone with experience importing a bike from China?

Townies and the other pedal-forward designs are a very enabling type of bicycle. As a more able bodied person, I too found myself subject to my own snobbishness about bicycle designs until I saw how many people it got onto bikes.

A custom build can be as simple as selecting parts to put together something that suits your specific needs. If you do like the more flamboyant chopper style, I'd suggest checking out my friend Alan Discount's site, CyclesUS. (http://www.choppersus.com/store/) You can choose a kit or every part, and if I know him and his company at all, they will help you through every step of the process.

Moved from Foo.

Most impractical bicycle ever.

And your point is? Choppers are fun. Mine is great when work is hassling me, just ride and smile.

And my Stiletto is an unbeatable parade bike.

http://www.pointhappy.com/gcf/GordonOnStiletto.jpg

I found the link to the manufacturer (http://www.colajinac.com/).

Here's a pic for the rest of us to see what you are talking about.

http://nd01.jxs.cz/712/872/6785815345_19882907_o2.jpg

They have a bit of a facebook page. Other Americans are asking to buy them too. Maybe you should import them and get the funding from Kickstarter. If you think ahead, maybe you can get some LBS's to pre-order them (funds for you) and you drop ship them to the store directly from the manufacturer. Plan right, be persuasive and you'll only get one delivered to your front door and money in your pocket. Be bold. Go for it.

Gotta love those Czech girls, even if it looks like they're in a padded cell :)

Gotta love those Czech girls, even if it looks like they're in a padded cell :)

I'd like to be in a padded cell with a couple...

The suspension on them look pretty cool. Even if its not the most practical bike, as long as it's better than walking, thats enough for a bike thats all about style.

do want

There's a shot on their website of the front and it really looks like they even have the geometry dialed in, with the headtube/fork angle set up to account for typical chopper rake issues.

http://nd01.jxs.cz/712/872/6785815345_19882907_o2.jpg

?:>|
Front wheel is crooked in fork.... hopefully its' just an adjustment thing.

,,,,,,

I would suggest contacting any retailers at all and asking if they can send you one. Do note that it can easily cost $200-$300 just to ship something that big across an ocean.

Also some dealerships have rules that state that they aren't allowed to do mail-order sales. If you explain that there's no retailers in your country, they may be able to get permission to make an exception for you.

That is a cool looking bike. I could ride that on some of the beachfronts around here all day and have a blast.

?:>|
Front wheel is crooked in fork.... hopefully its' just an adjustment thing.



oh, there is a bike there

Here is a pic of the cola jinac and 2 pics of the street star. 269600269599269601 If you read through the translation of the cola jinac page you will see that the builder did custom builds on a very small scale for people he could meet in person. His promo video is from 2007 and he retired in 2009 so realistically I do not plan to ever get that bike or see it in person.

The street star on the other hand is more attainable. It is sold in China, and as far as google can tell me, no US bike shops stock it, and I heard from someone on a motor bicycling form that he ordered a sample and then canceled his contract for 200 bicycles. I started the same process, but was informed by an attorney in my family that that would be "fraud, international fraud." So I came clean to the company rep and it sounds like she is still willing to sell me one bike. the bike is only about $150, but shipping is a little over $450. I am ordering the white one... hope it comes with the tall handle bars.

Thank you, searching for that company led me to this....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z8dFlVNrY8&feature=related

I want a Cola Jinac, but I can't see anyway that I will ever get one. Search Cola Jinac on youtube to see their awsome promo.

I would love a Street Star Chopper Bicycle, but cannot find where to buy one. When I search for it I only find large scale supplier offering 200 or more bikes, but no sites that will sell me just 1. Please help.

I think you will find that the other guy is right... The Chinese interpretation of the Cola Jinac was not practical, so it never took off. As far as Cola Jinac; they started up, all hopeful, and went out of business two years later, with only a handful of bikes produced. It's a shame! By the time I "discovered" the Cola Jinac, they were already dust... I caught one of the builders on another site, but I can't remember that site right now... the build looks easy enough to build though; why not try it? One of the Jinac bikes had full suspension, and used a Rohloff hub; those are abouit $1,600 USD alone, never mind building it into a nice fat 4.5" rim, with a nice tire... that's a $2000+ rear wheel alone... now imagine the $350+ triple chrome-plated springer forks, and whatever he was charging for the other components, which would be retail, because he wasn't in a position to buy wholesale... then there's his cost of building that frame... I can't imagine there's too much of a market for a $3,000 +++ bicycles, in the cruise around town niche... nope, I'd rather build my own. (My humble opinion), I did dig on that bicycle too, for sure! It's sleek, simple, and elegant in design.

Mac