Originally Posted by
I-Like-To-Bike
I don't find it surprising. They still shine in comparison (in reliability, comfort and equipment) to most of the product sold for the last several decades in the U.S. for the purpose of urban or campus cycling.
In the 50's in the US, there were probably more US-made single-speed bomber bikes than English 3-speeds. Now where are they? All I see from that period now are the 3-speeds. Impressive.