Blue Order

Well, we come from a time-- the post-war world-- when all Japanese goods were considered junk, just as Chinese bikes now are considered junk. The Japanese did an excellent job of turning that impression around, by creating goods that were better than their American counterparts, and better than anything the Europeans could put out for the money.

At the beginning of the 70s, there were few Japanese cars on the road. By the end of the 70s, you'd be foolish to buy an inferior American car for more money.

But with bikes, I still remember looking down my nose in the 70s at the Japanese bikes I was seeing around town. If you had no money, you bought a Japanese bike. If you had the means, and were in the know, you bought a European bike.

But yeah, in retrospect, our assumptions about Japanese bikes weren't accurate.

Exactly.

sykerocker 

That question is very easy to answer, and to this day I consider the Schwinn Varsity the most important road bike ever produced. It was the perfect bike for the Bike Boom.

Try to remember that back in 1970 or so, all these kids and young adults buying their first road bike had come off not dealing with a bicycle since they turned 16, and the previous bikes they rode were either Schwinn 'middleweights' (26" balloon tyred) or Sting Ray type bikes. Which meant they didn't have a clue about taking care of a proper European lightweight that would take serious damage the first time you tried hopping a curb or some other equally idiotic action. No, the customer weren't that stupid, they just remembered how their old Corvette could do it easily, and old habits die hard.

Any customer who tried that kind of behavior on an Astra, Roger Riviere, or even a Raleigh would be back at the shop rather quickly complaining about the weak piece of crap we had sold them. As the boss wanted happy customers, I usually pushed the Varsity unless I had a feeling that I was dealing with someone who actually understood what the European bikes could handle. Not that I had to push the Varsity very hard . . . . back then Schwinn was the ultimate in quality, and people lined up to buy them.

The riders who actually got serious and continued to ride after the boom was over invariably sold off their Varsity and came back to buy a Raleigh (or equivalent) as their second bike. By this point, they realized what they were dealing with. The customer was happy, the boss was happy and making enough profit to keep me employed, and a whole new generation of riders was born.

Remember that before you rush to slag a Varsity. Without it, there probably wouldn't be near as many middle aged riders around nowadays.

Kommisar89

Beer and sausage? I think you have us confused with the Germans...

Bikedued

I just got a flashback of Beerfest, lmao! Sausage? Sure there are few places around the US where sausage is popular. Most of that is a hold over from European ancestry, lol.,,,,BD

Kommisar89

When I would visit my German friends for breakfast when I lived in Germany, the typical meal was sausage and cheese. Lunch and dinner frequently included Bratwurst as well. And beer was everywhere. Even at McDonalds. That European ancestry thing doesn't always work though - I was in Brussels once and stopped for lunch. I didn't recognise anything on the menu until I got to boudin. Now back in Louisiana where I'm from, boudin is a delicious pork sausage stuffed with rice, seasonings, and usually a bit of cayenne pepper. Mmmmmm, good. So when I saw boudin noir and boudin blanc on the menu I ordered that. Well, I'm here to tell you, it weren't the same thing a-t'all. Turns out boudin blanc is just plain old bland sausage, what I would have called Weißwurst. Boudin noir on the other hand is what we call boudin rouge - blood sausage - and you can't even get that back home unless you know some old boy in the country who makes his own (not that I can think of a reason you would want any). It was absolutly disgusting. I couldn't eat it. I was quite happy to get back to Germany and my sausage and schnitzel. I'll give the Belgians one thing though, the Freedom Fries were awsome

Bikedued

Boudin(Boudain?), YUM! I like it with saltine crackers, and enough LA style hot sauce to choke most people. Thank goodness they sell it at the grocery store here, because as close as we are to LA, it's rare at restaurants.,,,,BD