Comment: You dudes and dudettes in N. America are really lucky regardless of age. There are no Nishikis or Univegas leaning against barns, here. No CL, no garage sales, no land fills with stacks of steelies poking out of the muck. Look at 'Yahoo Japan' someday and be prepared for a shock. And anybody much over 5' 9 1/2" with a normal inseam may as well not bother looking at all.
My LBS mechanic sometimes comes across something cool cuz he is in the trade and has his eyes peeled. Be it a set of decent vintage hubs or a good frame he is all alight and bristling ... as if he just found a mint Hispano Suiza Spad VII parked in a farm shed that only needed re-rigging before a test flight. I can't explain it, I only know what seems to be the case.
On the other hand, head down to central Tokyo — Shibuya, Hara-Juku blah blah — and you'll see more mind-blowing, lugged steel bikes in 10 minutes than Ford 150 pickups parked at a tractor pull.
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Vitus 979, Simplon 4 Star, Gazelle Champion Mondial, Woodrup Giro, Dawes Atlantis
Last edited by Lenton58; 09-29-11 at 10:35 AM.