rootboy 

Thought I'd post this, mostly because I thought the "Chinglish" was kind of cute. I used to live in China and met with a vintage bike group, small bunch of mostly older guys, one weekend down near the antiques market I use to haunt. Some cool old Gazelles and Raleighs, but all 3 speeds. This person , like many Chinese, has a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Gotta love them. This bike sold new in Beijing for about a hundred bucks when I was there, not too long ago.


https://cgi.ebay.com/China-men-tradit...t_10039wt_1026

aixaix 

Thank you for posting this! "With it, to insure that no people like you"! What an irresistible sales pitch!

rootboy 

Funny huh? My uncle, my wife's uncle, in Beijing, collects those quirky, funny "Chinglish"-isms. I rode one of those around Beijing, a much older one, they haven't changed much in 30 years. Now, I'm sure it's probably the quickest way to get around town, what with the near gridlock conditions in the capital. I wanted to take my 72-3 Motobecane when we went over there but my wife warned me "take your eye off it for thirty seconds and it will be GONE." I left it back home and rode an old Flying Pigeon around town.

David Newton

I love this stuff. Three paragraphs, and I can't tell for sure what the seller is talking about.
I used to save instruction sheets from Japanese and Chinese camera goods from the 70's & 80's, the peak, I think, of great, wacky translations.

snarkypup

I think the bike is rather attractive, actually, with all the decals and the beautiful Chinese characters. I'd ride it . It might shed parts as I cruised by, but I would look very cool.

abarth

Love those online Chinglish translator. How about this for New Vintage.

kh777

Nice. I'd get one!

3speed

That's looks like a freakin' sweet bike!

snarkypup

That Bressan is pretty, isn't it? But the fork looks strange to me where it joins the frame. Almost... bent . No really! I like it though, especially the pale blue with gold trim.

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

Wow yeah the Bressan is nice. Check out the Bressan Bruno 1930. its very similar to the one abarth posted but with chrome lugs with fancy cutouts.

rothenfield1

I don’t mind the looks of this bike at all. After all this time, these comments still seem a little condescending to me. This is curious because as we in the west think it’s quaint, the east has been eating our ham and cheese lunch for decades. After all, the Eastern part of the world has been riding bikes a century or so longer then we in the West have. We love our C&V Euro-centric bikes, but who can afford them, they are relics from a craftsman's age that has apparently past us.
My vote is to make nice to our new bike overlords.
https://bikeportland.org/2006/09/22/f...rdam-bike-2155

ftwelder

The best thing is the massive difference in currency value. The guy can make a huge killing selling people in the states bikes for 100X what they sell for in his home town.

rootboy 

They ARE beautiful bikes. I like them. A bit heavy for sure but they are fairly well made. That's why you still see millions of them all over China. Most are in poor condition, however. They think of them as strictly transportation.

rootboy 

Wow. I had to go back and re-read my original post to see if I said anything insulting or condescending about the Chinese or their bikes. Nope. Some people sure are eager to fly off the handle. Boy...did you get me wrong. I like Chinese bikes. Rode one for years. Nice bike. And I love China and her people. I married a Chinese woman, have two elderly Chinese living with me, her parents, and my experience of China is that the people there, in general, are much more open and friendly than in America. By a LONG shot. I could have been much more explanatory and "politically correct" in my posting, I suppose, but I don't think about stuff like that, knowing, as I do in my heart, that I've got nothing against the Chinese. I just think their English is kinda funny sometimes. And, you might want to go back and check your history as to where the bicycle was first invented and used.

SteveSGP

Are Bressan bikes sold in the U.S.? They do have a couple great looking bikes.

rootboy 

I thought that shot of the fork crown looked odd too. Almost looks like the steerer tube is bent!

auchencrow

Did you notice that his grammar. spelling and punctuation is better than a lot of what you see on the web lately?

rootboy 

Right! His English may be sketchy, but nothing wrong with that. My Chinese is much worse. But he's got the important details down.

mudboy

Straight fork blades are a visual abomination, especially on a lugged steel frame.

jet sanchEz

These have been available to buy here in Toronto for quite a few years now. A shop 5 minutes from me sells them for $170. I wasn't impressed by the quality of the bike at all, it is pretty shody all around. A mechanic friend of mine worked on one as well and echoed my sentiments.

rootboy 

Yes. It's true. I was trying to be a little too kind, perhaps. They are, like many domestically produced items in China, not quite up to standards of quality and fit. They're fairly reliable and, built for pure utilitarian purposes. The Chinese are gaining, though, in their manufacturing prowess. But the benefit mostly seems to be in export goods manufactured for joint ventures. These sure aren't your father's Raleigh Gentleman, by any means.

rothenfield1

I did reread your post, and mine. I found mine unduly harsh and I apologize. It wasn’t directed at anyone in particular, just my fumbled attempt at trying to make a broader point. My English bad.

rootboy 

Thank you,
I was perhaps a bit too defensive too. My apologies for that. Wasn't trying to belittle the Chinese, of course, but it may have come across like I was making a bit of fun of them. Not so. Just found that ebay posting entertaining. Well, I/we have strayed from the original post a bit, so I guess we'll leave it at that. Thanks.

Peugeot10spd

I'm sold

bikerosity57

Yes that's a Forever brand , or a Flying Pigeon (they're the same bike basically). I had a Forever that I got as a replacement for a really terrible Indian made Roadmaster. The Chinese bike needed a few problems fixed: pedals broke off, handlebars wouldn't tighten, etc. But, overall it was beautiful. You could (and I did) easily make it into a three speed with some old Sturmey parts. If you can find a new one in the larger frame size(24 in, especially with the double top tube), upgrade it with three speed hub, and such, you'd have a reasonable copy of a Raleigh roadster. The smaller frame model was a tad too small for me, a 6 footer. The brakes are very very poor though. Worse than typical Raleigh roller lever brakes. But, they are serviceable.