Great essay and pix!
It’s very hard to find this level report with pix in bike mags in America, England, and Japan.
The difference between mag reports and this thread is, things between lines.
A faint scent of love of Alex Singer, the shop, bikes, people, and riding bikes with people, is floating between lines.
I’m not a classic French style touring bike fan, but enjoyed this thread so much.
Hmmm, as an old Japanese cyclist, I didn’t expect to find an Alex Singer at a U.S. bike forum at all!
0 %, lol.
The thread reminds me of younger days…
I started cycling in 1975.
In those days, 60% of Japanese cyclists were touring cyclists.
40% liked to ride fast with road bike, including me.
Japan’s bike makers, big like Bridgestone or Miyata, and small made-to-measure specialist shops like Toei or Pegasus, copied French style touring bike, RANDONAH, ranndonuer.
Their dream bikes are real French ranndonuer, Rene Herse, Alex Singer, and Jo Routense.
And other French style bikes, course route, sportif, promenade, were popular, too.
Even Zunow was making ranndonuer, too.
3 Rensho?
I haven’t seen or heard of it.
The most popular was Rene Herse.
A bike shop, where I had been working as a part-timer 1979 to 1980, showed owner’s light blue Rene Herse.
It was full of original parts, but chromed head lugs were impressive.
The color and texture of lugs were very different from Japan’s bikes.
Many bike shops had French parts corner.
1982 or so, sports div of Seibu Department Store started the exclusive agent of Alex Singer.
Accepted orders but I don’t how many bikes were built.
Thank you for the great thread, poprad!
Last edited by darkmoon; 11-03-22 at 05:21 AM.