quintessential= adj., of or relating to the most perfect embodiment of something. What bicycle available during this time do you see as the "quintessential" example? Just as a starter, and one that many have commented on before, would be the Peugeot U0-8. This bike seemed to be plentiful in numbers, and was available thru the whole boom period. It typifies, by being French, the boom period manufacturer/supplier, that being Europe; later in the period, Japan built bikes took a bigger share of the American market. It certainly represented a change in the American market, or, possibly, drove a change, from the bullet proof products of Schwinn, to the lighter bike of Europe.