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Old 01-01-18 | 04:41 PM
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ramzilla
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Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 3,598
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From: Fernandina Beach FL

Bikes: Vintage Japanese Bicycles, Tange, Ishiwata, Kuwahara

At some point in the late 80's everything changed in the Japanese bike industry. Suntour vanished. Fuji started installing Shimano parts on all their bikes and, the whole Japanese bicycle manufacturing system moved to Taiwan. For most of the early 90's the Taiwan factories were still cranking out traditional steel bikes with lugged frames. But, eventually at some point in the 90's lugged bikes disappeared too. By 2000 workers were replaced by robots. Steel bike frame technology evolved into mass produced electro-forged BSO's. Bikes lost their personality. If you've got one of the last lugged frames then the good news is you can still get brand new threaded parts for it. Be good. Have fun.
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