Originally Posted by x37
It sounds as if the Grant Petersen-era Bridgestones are great bikes, and I'm thinking of trying to find one. I've heard, however, that Bridgestones are prone to break at the headtube. Is this true?
Thanks.
I owned two 1985/86 Bridgestone 400 road bikes, the low end of their "good" line at the time, and I've followed Bridgestone's and Petersen's trials and tribulations since. First, I've never heard of any routine frame failures so that may be a false rumor. Others will have to chime in here with more accurate information.
Second, the Grant Petersen-era at Bridgestone was technically interesting but a marketing and sales disaster. The bikes were well made but he imposed his eccentric opinions and ideas on their components saying they were what riders
should want. Potential customers voted with their feet and bought elsewhere and after a few years under his direction, Bridgestone withdrew from the US market.
Grant then went on to found Rivendell Cycle Works which allowed him unfettered ability to market off-beat and obsolete equipment by claiming it's better for you. The company has flirted with bankruptcy since it's founding. It now seems to be financially viable by selling expensive touring frames and appealing to the small minority of "retro-grouches" and those who yearn for the past in bike technology. I wish him well but he did Bridgestone no favors.