I can't for the life of me, find any Bridgestone RB-1's, or Panasonics (what I'm looking for). Everyone I find is always 54cm or above! I'm a small half-chinese half-irish guy and finding small frames is just mind-bending.

Were people taller in the preceding decades to my birth? Goddamn.

Am I going to have to start making my own frames or something? This is driving me insane; there is only so many craiglist listings you can look at before stabbing your monitor with a spear.

Funny, I've been getting lots of small bikes lately for my home bicycle rebuilding, repair and sales business. Just picked up a Basso, and I have an '86 Super Sport that needs repaint, and a shorter low end Panasonic. Just sold a short Technium, and a short Peugot Carbolite beautifully rebuilt as a vintage single speed. I'll post photos soon. Then there's this (which is probably too short for you):


(I'll be getting rid of those steel wheels and building a single speed wheelset for it with matching 24" and 27" front and rear rims. I believe this is only possible using Sun rims. Anyone have a model to recommend in silver?).

Should be getting a nice small Fuji this week. They're out there, you just have to look around.

Personally, I think you'd have much quicker success if you were open to other brands. Last year I picked up 21 vintage bikes. About 6 of them were the right size for me, including a Trek 620 and Raleigh Portage. If I had been searching for a Panasonic or Bridgestone in my size at bargain prices, I'd still be searching for my first bike.

However, that said, you could post a WTB post on the Chicago CL. Also, if you can figure out who the most active flippers are in Chicago, if you respond to their ads and tell them what you're looking for you may get something quicker.

One other thing--would you consider a Panasonic-made Schwinn? I have a 1984 Voyageur that is a very nice bike. I think they also built bikes for some other brands as well.

All bikes are too small if they are under 62cm Unless they are for my wife where anything over 17"(43cm) is too large. So I leave all the middle of the size range bikes for everybody else

Aaron

There is more demand for smaller framed bikes. Women look for them as well.

I've managed to amass several in my size, including a nice tiny Colnago, a splendid tiny Paramount, a fabulous Richard Sachs.

Exactly how small do you require?

East Hill

And that darn East Hill is a glutton!

Don't know where you are in Illinois, but if you're near St. Louis, try Re-cycled Cycles. I don't know if they ship.
https://www.recycledcycles.net/

I've got a smaller-ish Bridgstone lying around. I'll post pics soon...

Patience, young Jedi...find small frames you will. Keep looking you must.



This was around the corner from my house last trash day. It had been there for a week. What can I say? I live in a magical bike forest.

Being model and brand constrained, you're going to have a harder time.
I've spotted several 50-52cm while searching CL that were PDG Paramount, Centurions, Treks, Cannondales, Specialized. Unfortunately I need a 54-56cm.
Maybe you'll need to contact a seller in Japan to get an RB-1 or high end Panasonic.

+1 The more open you are to brand, the easier finding becomes. I have picked up some nice Japanese bikes in the last year, varous sizes, Miyata, Univega (x3), Panasonic, Lotus, Fuji, Schwinn (x3) and a nice Nishiki. But I am flexible on brand, size and model, as long as it is reasonably priced.

One Univega and one Schwinn were small frames (19 inch). Only two were my size.

Thank you so much for listing that site!

They have a 52cm c-c Nishiki Modulus!

I have NO idea about that model of bike, can anyone chime in? Don't feel like making a road-trip to St.Louis only to find the bike sub-par (for my standards, which are high).

As for contacting Japanese citizens about obtaining bikes, how does one do that? Do I just post in the Japanese CL's WTB Bridgestone RB-1/Panasonic?

I know many folks that go after NJS frames browse the offerings on the yahoo.co.jp auctions (apparently yahoo rather than ebay is the auction site of choice over there), so perhaps you could find something there. You'd probably need some assistance with communication, however, as I assume you don't speak Japanese, and most sellers probably don't speak great English.

Furthermore, I don't know if Bridgestone or Panasonic's offerings in Japan were necessarily the same, or even named the same as they were over here in the US. I'm not sure exactly how much influence Grant Petersen had on their line over here. Similarly, the Panasonic PICS system was (and still is, for that matter) known as POS (wonder why they changed that one!) in Japan, and I wouldn't be surprised if differences ran deeper than that.