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Company names from Cycling's past.

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Old 05-07-12, 06:40 PM
  #51  
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Rollfast. Bought a red 3-speed from my BIL back when I was in high school. Had a generator light, saddlebag and later, an electric horn. Snazzy.
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Old 05-07-12, 07:17 PM
  #52  
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I have a Univega road bike from the 80's with Suntour components. They still shift smooth as silk. At one time I had a Huret odometer that mounted to the front wheel. I thought it was awesome at the time! I has some Avocet shorts that a friend of mine always said they reminded him of Angus Young shorts- he would call me Angus when I showed up wearing them!

Last edited by Stevestrat; 05-07-12 at 07:18 PM. Reason: typo
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Old 05-07-12, 07:20 PM
  #53  
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Originally Posted by roccobike
Got one,
Mirella
Also, I haven't seen anything new with the name ARAYA in some time.
How about Rigida and Wolber.
I think Wolber is still in business - I saw an advert recently.
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Old 05-07-12, 07:21 PM
  #54  
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Has anyone heard of Zini? They used to make beautiful road bikes in the '70s! I've Googled them to death, but found almost nothing.
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Old 05-07-12, 07:29 PM
  #55  
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Originally Posted by Artkansas
Avocet is still alive and well.
Ha! I had no idea. Haven't seen their stuff advertised for some time, thought they were gone. Thanks.

Shogun Oh man, they were one of the most popular bikes in the 80s. Seems they were everywhere. Out of business, or just no longer in the U.S market?
I always wondered if the novel of the same name, by James Clavell, had anything to do with the brand's popularity.
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Old 05-07-12, 07:46 PM
  #56  
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Originally Posted by t4mv
Hey, now, don't be makin' fun of the Ibis Hakkalugi

How about all those cool bike catalogs we used to have in the 70's....Bikecology, PA Bikes, Nashbar, et al. Boy marketing's changed a bit, huh?
I remember when Nashbar was Bike Nashbar, and before that, Bike Warehouse. Their catalogs were on pulp paper and had line art product illustrations, and they never, ever had anything in stock.
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Old 05-07-12, 07:47 PM
  #57  
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Originally Posted by roccobike
Got one,
Mirella
Also, I haven't seen anything new with the name ARAYA in some time.
How about Rigida and Wolber.
My Gitane had Wolber Aspin rims. And an Ofmega drivetrain. And Modolo brakes.
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Old 05-07-12, 08:05 PM
  #58  
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Originally Posted by lphilpot
Rollfast. Bought a red 3-speed from my BIL back when I was in high school. Had a generator light, saddlebag and later, an electric horn. Snazzy.
I had a Rollfast w 26" wheels and a 2 speed internally geared hub. Had to special order that baby. Think I paid $40 for it, which was chunk of change in the day..
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Old 05-07-12, 09:04 PM
  #59  
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Ooh... ooh... I gotta some more!

Eclipse
Tailwind
Skid Lid
Soma (the old one)
Serotta
Lyotard
Suzue
Sunshine
Maillard
Atom
Kyokuto (K.K.T.)
Dia Compe
Aztec
Scott Mathauser

Don't worry... I'll think uppa sum more!

Alan
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Old 05-07-12, 09:26 PM
  #60  
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Originally Posted by oldskoolwrench

Serotta
Oh, no, don't let Ben see this!


OK, I've got a couple more - Kangaroo Baggs, Plumline clothing & gloves, Emily K, Redwood Cycling Apparel, Baleno, Puma cycling gear..
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Old 05-07-12, 09:28 PM
  #61  
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Originally Posted by tcs
...whose company name was Wright Cycle Company. Their bicycles were the Van Cleve and St. Claire.

Collecting & Restoring Antique Bicycles lists 2100 cycle company names in use in the USA before 1918.
Great info!

I know there were a lot of motorcycle companies prior to WWII that started out as bicycle companies including Harley-Davidson and Indian.
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Old 05-07-12, 09:32 PM
  #62  
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Originally Posted by oldskoolwrench
Ooh... ooh... I gotta some more!

Eclipse
Tailwind
Skid Lid
Soma (the old one)
Serotta
Lyotard
Suzue
Sunshine
Maillard
Atom
Kyokuto (K.K.T.)
Dia Compe
Aztec
Scott Mathauser

Don't worry... I'll think uppa sum more!

Alan
It's like you took a walk through my shop and wrote down the names of many things that are there...
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Old 05-07-12, 09:33 PM
  #63  
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Has anyone mentioned Zeus ?

Cyclo Benelux ?
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Old 05-07-12, 10:22 PM
  #64  
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Here's some tandem brand names . . .
Assenmacher (US)
Atala (Italy)
Bennottto (Italy)
Berry (US)
Borthwick (US)
Bruni (US)
Burley (US)
Colin Laing (US and England)
Counterpoint (US)
Dawes (England)
Fastab (US)
Follis (French)
Flandria (Belgium)
Gottfried (French)
Hanoovian (US)
Ibis (US)
Jack Taylor (England)
Kuwahara (Japan)
LeJeune (French)
Lippy (US)
Meridian (US)
Osell (US)
Poghliaghi (Italy)
Rodriguez (US)
Roland (Taiwan)
Sterling (US)
Southern Cross (Australia)
Velo Schauff (Germany)
BTW: have ridden 18 of the brands mentioned above.
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Old 05-08-12, 01:17 AM
  #65  
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There is a reason for a lot of these names disappearing and that is that they could not keep up with progress and lived in the past. I know some of them were good in their day but better came along and they could not compete.

Unfortunately some of those names still exist but in a new form under new owners that try to make money instead of a good product.
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Old 05-08-12, 04:55 AM
  #66  
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Originally Posted by stapfam
There is a reason for a lot of these names disappearing and that is that they could not keep up with progress and lived in the past. I know some of them were good in their day but better came along and they could not compete.

Unfortunately some of those names still exist but in a new form under new owners that try to make money instead of a good product.
And some that tried to make a good product, instead of money ...
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Old 05-08-12, 06:03 AM
  #67  
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Originally Posted by Gravity Aided
And some that tried to make a good product, instead of money ...
There is also the cyclical nature of cycling. (Try saying that with a mouthful of ice cubes!) There are a lot of companies from the bike boom of the 70s that didn't make it past the next contraction of the sport. Seems like we are having a boom now and when it is over we will loose some more companies.
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Old 05-08-12, 09:46 AM
  #68  
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Originally Posted by roccobike
Got one,
Mirella
Also, I haven't seen anything new with the name ARAYA in some time.
How about Rigida and Wolber.
https://www.araya-kk.co.jp/rim/
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Old 05-08-12, 10:25 AM
  #69  
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Originally Posted by Sixty Fiver
It's like you took a walk through my shop and wrote down the names of many things that are there...
Sounds like your shop is reminiscent of a 'classic' bike shop; the smell of rubber tires, parts on shelving racks, old school mechanics wrenching away... brings back good memories!

Alan
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Old 05-08-12, 11:55 AM
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Originally Posted by oldskoolwrench
Sounds like your shop is reminiscent of a 'classic' bike shop; the smell of rubber tires, parts on shelving racks, old school mechanics wrenching away... brings back good memories!

Alan
Although I can work on anything, and do... it is a pretty old fashioned one man shop that might grow to be a two man shop if I expand things as I am planning on devoting more time to frame building.
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Old 05-08-12, 12:03 PM
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For many modern cyclists, if it does not say Shimano or SRAM it is off their radar.

I enjoy doing workshops and giving classes on what used to be and how the products we use today evolved into what they are and how some of these vintage parts are just as good as any modern parts you can buy.

Many of my own bikes are vintage and retain their original parts or have been rebuilt with period correct parts. My Garlatti is a very international build with parts from Suntour, Simplex, Universal, Lyotard, Stronglight, Araya, Avocet, and Ideale that all came together very nicely. The Arvon hubs are relatively modern and we still make them although the one's I have laced to the Araya 1W rims date back to the 80's.

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Old 05-08-12, 12:50 PM
  #72  
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Originally Posted by oldskoolwrench
"Heavealung"
What some of us do after climbing a steeper grade....
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Old 05-08-12, 07:49 PM
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Originally Posted by CraigB
Weinmann
I have a pair of their wheels that I used when I built My Motta back in 83 or so,still use the motta,upgraded to indexed10speed double,and the weinmans were swapped with open pros,,,
Bud
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Old 05-08-12, 10:07 PM
  #74  
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Originally Posted by zonatandem
Hi-E made some great lightweight bike stuff: bottle cages, rims, etc
... and minimalist aluminum front skewers which snapped on occasion ...
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Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
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Old 05-08-12, 10:08 PM
  #75  
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Originally Posted by Artkansas
Avocet is still alive and well.
... but I miss their great old touring shoes, with the grooved rubber soles and steel shanks ...
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Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
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