I stumbled across the February 1976 issue of Consumer Reports. Their cover story was titled "10 Speed Bikes." Unbelievably absent; Schwinn Paramounts! Oh well!

Seven were rated "Very Good" the Fuji Road Racer as the top model. The Raleigh Super Course MK II, two Falcons, a Motobecane Mirage, Nishiki International, and a Jeunet 620 rounded out this group.

The "Good to Very Good" group did include two Schwinns, the Sports Tourer and the Le Tour, so not too shabby.

They didn't like the Bridgestone Kabuki because it had really good brakes ?

Very cool, thanks Pastor Bob!

The prices back then seem SO cheap now.

That was my first reaction when I saw it.

Someone bring in the Fred police...

-Kurt

The Motobecane Mirage rated better than the Grand Touring?

Maybe because it was a mixte...

Remember this is Consumer Reports. The same guys who used to rate Camaros, Trans Ams and Mustangs poorly because they had "too much" power and the back seats were too small.

Unfortunately my bike stopped being imported in '74 so it isn't listed. Bummer.

Well, that was interesting but I really couldn't care less what Consumer Reports says about bicycles. They remind me too much of the CPSC, who did nothing good for bicycles.

Before my Bob Jakson, I had a 1973 Raleigh Grand Prix whose components had been completely changed for better gear. If they think the Grand Prix was good to very good, well, it was barely acceptable in stock form and ..., like I said,... I really don't care what they say.

Kinda shocked they rated the Motobecane Grand Touring on par with the Raleigh GP, there is really no comparison there.

No Miyatas? Were they not available this side of the ocean yet in '74?

I have one of those Kabukis, and I never have thought of the brakes as any more responsive than my other bikes. They are just Dia-Compe center-pulls, nothing special.

A very "US-market" line of bikes so I have no reference, but they list a Mossberg as good; any Mossbergs in this forum or anyone know a story about them?

I thought this CR article was an interesting contrast to current day Bicycling Magazine where they review a half dozen or so bikes and nit pick or droll over different things.

In the main article they had certain features they liked:
QR wheels
QR brake calipers
Safety brake levers, aka, "turkey wings"
Reflectors
Kickstands
Quality "lathe turned" bearing systems
Leather saddles

...and other features they didn't like:
Nutted wheels (FG/SS beware)
Brakes w/o a quick release
Chainwheel guards
Cheap pedals
"Crudely stamped" bearing systems
Plastic saddles

They nailed one thing though, the S-10-S is a darn good bike for the money.

Their list also starts rather low on the food chain. All of the bikes in the upper group had more beautiful cousins, like the Paramount that was omitted. I'm not sure that I'd have wanted to date any of those girls -- the sort that your parents would pick for you. Of course, what am I talking about: I rode a used 60s 40# Schwinn Continental then! And loved it.

I have a top end Mossberg. Built by the Mossberg Fire Arms Company. Relatively light full Dura Ace equipped bike. Early to mid 1970s bike. Mine had been spray bombed so not sure what color it was originally or the tubing used. I can do a picture is you really want one. Roger

I also picked up several other publications regarding C&V bikes. I particularly liked this one from the late '40s. Primarily it shows balloon tire, Astubula crank, coaster brake bikes. But the fellow who wrote it had a great sense of humor. This is the inside cover page and it describes me and my brothers perfectly.

I was just going to post that I've never seen a Mossberg bicycle, and someone on the site here has one.
A pic of it would be interesting to see. I now want to find a Mossberg bike someday.

And here is the suggested maintenance schedule from the same book. Notice the hole punched in the top. This is a piece of heavy card stock to be hung near your bike as a reminder to maintain your wheels. I'm amazed it survived!

And finally for now, here is the back cover with a little more of the author's humor. I should mention that the illustrator was Sherman E. Nelson.

I lost all respect for Consumer Reports when I read their bike reviews. The thing that I remember most clearly was that they had one model ranked higher than another because of the brakes. Both models had the same brakes.

It would appear that they didn't really test any top-of-the-line machines. You Don't see the Raleigh Professional or International anywhere either.

Bob Marley played in Horten some 55 miles south of Oslo in 1978 and I bicycled down there on my yellow Motobecane. I may have consumed too much of something because I somehow ended up without the bike. Gaspipe but sleek looking and it got the job done.

Never been a huge fan of Consumer Reports. In the past I had purchased some items based on their recommendation, one being a Sony stereo receiver. Hideous piece of junk, as was the replacement Sony provided. They are *reasonably* objective in their reporting of automobile repair histories, but I totally disregard their recommendations for cars and/or trucks.

javal, Mossberg was/is a gun maker--I'm no expert on weapons--of pistols, rifles and shotguns--and I've only seen one; it was last fall in the CL/ebay subforum and a seller in North Carolina had one that was 'custom-built'. It was full chrome and all 1st-generation Dura-Ace components. I actually contacted the seller but his asking price was way too high and he only wanted to deal with local buyers which was difficult for me living 1800 km away from North Carolina.

Well, I can't see the article (school firewalls), but my UO-8 is probably near the bottom, and my Professional, while not technically a 10 speed, is probably near the top, I'd guess...

ETA, I don't hold much with Consumer Reports anyway. The same people who rate toasters rate vehicles. In '83, they said that the Jeep CJ has a bad propensity to roll...yeah, if you try to slalom like a corvette. Idiots.