I have folding pedals on one of my bikes, a non-folding 27" rim bike because sometimes pedals get in the way when I'm transporting my bike, or in the garage where the pedals tangle with other pedals or even hit chainstays. I bought folding pedals to see how they would work out. I have them for almost a year now and can say that I like them a lot. It is a platform pedal and there is no indication that I'm riding on anything but a solid touring pedal.

The bike looks great. It's a good find and a good story behind it. It's is a shame that it ended in a scrapyard, however, it is even better that the scrapyard was wise enough to recognize it, sell it and then do so at an price that would get it gone quickly enough.

Keep the updates coming on this bike. I suspect that it will be looking even better soon.

Here's a 3Rensho Cyclone-era road bike for sale on Yahoo Japan: https://buyee.jp/item/jdirectitems/auction/e1227564039

The photos are a bit low-res but they show a matching fork. The seat cluster is a version of the Cinelli fastback, which is common for that era. Unfortunately the photos don't give a close enough view of the lugs.

San Rensho
 

Aloha, nice find! I was in the market for a nice bike around 1990 and found a local bike shop in Honolulu with a store window full of 3Rensho bikes. They were temptingly beautiful, but I ended up buying a used Zunow that was on consignment, which I still have. Congrats!

Howzit fellow HNL cyclist.

Do you remember which shop it was? Eki Cyclery? IT&B? McCully?

Not a question anyone asked, but FYI if interested:
I believe you'll find the fork was made by Tange. Drop it out f the frame to see the stamping on the steerer, if you want to know. "Tange" stamped there means they made the fork, not referring to the steerer — they didn't stamp the steerers that other makers can buy for building their own forks. You can even see the Tange stamp on some Trek forks with Reynolds 531 tubes, Tange would build with whatever the customer ordered.

Those rear triangles look to be Tange-built also, but there's no simple way to prove it, like with the fork.

Nothing wrong with that; Tange made high-quality forks and rears. In the '80s, Davidson used Tange forks and rears on the less-expensive production bikes like Impulse and Discovery, with just the custom bikes having them made in-house. Though later (about 1990) the fork making was brought in-house for all models. Bill D visited Tange's Cr-Mo fork making department and was impressed that they just had a row of single fork brazing stations, each with one guy brazing one fork at a time. Not a "production line".

That is incredibly impressive considering how many forks Tange was turning out. So many bicycle makers used Tange forks. Did they run three shifts? Or was this just for the lower production 531 forks?

Bill described it to me as their Cr-Mo fork building room, department, whatever. But not where the cheap forks were made. Not sure if he toured that too, but it was the Cr-Mo department he was interested in, the people that made the forks he was buying. Yes when they made 531 forks for Trek it was technically not Cr-Mo (it was Mn-Mo) but that's a 'distinction without a difference'.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b950971f20.jpg

I looked at that bike and a few others. So many good bikes and frames come up for sale in Japan, I wish I had room for more. I found an old catalog page from 3 Rensho. The bike I have is identical to the second bike on the page, it has the same lugs, fork, and seat stays, without logos. The only notable difference is the internal cable routing. The bike you found matches the one on the top of the page.


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...97ad80cff2.gif

Aloha to you! Though I live in Japan, we have a home in Hawaii, and I am technically a resident of the state. I wish I was there today. I love cycling around Oahu.

I replaced the bar tape and brake levers, both of which were dry-rotted. I put on some NOS 600 levers, and a pair of Dura Ace 7400 brake calipers. I adjusted the bike with a little more care, and took it for a ride around the neighborhood. It rides beautifully, it is nimble without being twitchy, "steel" is definitely "real." I loved the tires, it's been a long time since I last rode on tubulars, and I didn't remember how smooth and supple they feel. I am planning on replacing the wheels, as the hubs are mismatched, and was going to use clinchers. But now I think I'll stick with the tubulars.

Compared to my Tarmac, this bike is less harsh, less twitchy, and doesn't beg to be ridden fast.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...403714ff2.jpeg

Honolulu bike shops
 

Aloha, it was The Bike Shop on King St. They had a bronze track bike on consignment over by the stairwell that was intriguing, but I had no experience with one of those at the time.

you're right about internal rear brake cable being different than the bottom bicycle on the catalog page. other differences i can see are nutted brake calipers, clamp-on shift levers and one bottle cage mount. the bike you got looks plenty cool and looks like it rides well - that's the most important thing.

Cycling on Oahu
 

Agreed, and the bike paths help tremendously, if only the overall pavement was in better condition.

I can live with the pavement. The roads are smooth in Tokyo, but everything is concrete and steel. I love the smell of the fresh air in Hawaii, and the climate. I grew up near the beach in Southern California, and lived in Miami for a number of years. I never had any interest in Hawaii until my wife more or less forced me to go. I've loved it ever since.