My wife's new bike when she was younger was stolen twice within a few weeks of purchase.

http://i1037.photobucket.com/albums/...ps01b7b4da.jpg
One of the new old vintage road bikes with stem shifters, turkey levers and what have you. The parts looked about clunky and heavy enough to dispose of any annoying in-laws with.

http://i1037.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3a134a9e.jpg
Old and new style.

http://i1037.photobucket.com/albums/...ps4acba559.jpg
Moving a few lightweight oil heaters.

http://i1037.photobucket.com/albums/...psbad3c626.jpg
You might have to oil something else if you ride that saddle. Also note suspension fork.

http://i1037.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9d05e720.jpg
Just some patina. It will buff right out.

http://i1037.photobucket.com/albums/...ps659bcab8.jpg
One of the few geared bicycles.

http://i1037.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2d696a63.jpg
When that rear wheel gets going it doubles as a mitre saw.

http://i1037.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3152375c.jpg
Folder

http://i1037.photobucket.com/albums/...psb8411ce5.jpg
BMW bicycle. Very high end stuff here. That lock will also stop any determined thief.

http://i1037.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6ff088a2.jpg
Single speed with canti bosses. Must be a tourer. Extra brake cable - just in case.

I would think that during the 70's "bike boom" in the USA, in China it was still the cultural revolution, Chairman Mao presiding. Of the few images I have seen of Chinese cities from the time, it was a traffic clot of bicycles, and almost all bicycles save official government vehicles.
As China moved on, the urge, and ability to abandon the bicycle was dramatic as seen from a distance. Elsewhere in Southeast Asia it is has created the rise of the scooter and small motorcycle. Way back decades ago in junior high (think Arab oil embargo period) I wrote a school class paper on the implication of the "third" world getting motorized. Beyond the implication of no room for the vehicles in narrow streets I guessed the price of gasoline could hit $4.00 per gallon. The teacher was concerned. Fellow students scratched their heads.

Thanks for the Images Narhay, they bring the question to my mind that at some point the "barely haves" in China are the true risk to the Party (gov't) One day there will be one too many old neighborhoods cleared and razed for development and the chain reaction will be hard to stop. No wonder why there is the requirement to keep the economy growing at by western standards is a enormous pace, an attempt to keep the masses happy with increasing income.

Tragic :(

M.

Your photos bring back memories of my years in Beijing. My favorite was seeing a food deliver at dawn, when the city was still asleep, a bike with what must have been 20 live ducks tied to every possible spot, frame & bars, making a fresh food delivery to a restaurant. Also the various tire repairmen seemingly in every alley ready to fix your tire for probably 1 RMB.

These guys: http://www.flyingpigeonproject.org/2...tor-is-in.html

M.

http://i1037.photobucket.com/albums/...ps35d2d55e.jpg

The last bicycle of my travels. A loaded postal bicycle.

When I was there in 2006 the cargo bikes were ubiquitous, as was the air pollution.

Not all POS stuff. This was in a shop in Beijing in the 798 art zone when I was there a few weeks ago along with lots of Brooks, DA, Chris King and Phil Wood stuff. I also liked the kid carriers. They had a big display on top of the city wall in Xi'an about the development of the bicycle.

I visited a Giant LBS in Beijing. The prices on the new bikes didn't seem attractive at all. Maybe you have to haggle. Kind of reminds me how Apple products, albeit made in China, fetch a huge premium at retail in China over US prices.

These are all examples of "roadsters" -- super-relaxed geometry, 28" wheels, rod brakes, etc . . . Very neat bikes! thanks for sharing!

The first and last above are copies of the Raleigh Dl-1; note the fork crown.

http://sheldonbrown.com/gloss_ri-z.html

Thanks for the post. I enjoyed the video — the music too. Your "footage" really conveyed something of what it must be like. It is reminiscent of Japan — but more chaotic. Still, it 'feels' like Asia.

The bikes in the OP's pic are renditions of what we get here in the zillions. And, many of them just sit in the rain, the snow and the appalling humidity year after year. Unless they get to a more attentive bicycle mechanic, the chains just rust until the fall apart in powder. Hardly anyone thinks about lubrication of any part of a bicycle.

Just over the last eighteen months or so, there has been a significant trend toward better bikes — a pull away from the ubiquitous "mama-chari". A lot of people (especially the young) are being attracted to more sophisticated bikes as opposed to buying a car or riding public transit. Drop bar models and more sporty types are becoming more and more popular. Helmets are appearing up and down the rush-hour traffic. Middle aged salary-men are appearing on hybrids. Cycling is changing here in Sendai, and hence it must be so in a lot of urban Japan. And it shows no sign or receding.

Cycling here must be at least as pervasive as it is in China. One thing is very different — cargo bikes are very rare. A "cargo" bike by name [ka-go baiku] here is thought to be a machine that is configured to be a child-transporter. This was a development that was mandated by the government because of a rising concern over serious injury to children. The bikes themselves are interesting and cost more. But they are much safer. Young children are protected by various features as well as they are supposed to wear helmets, even as the parents invariably do not. I could go on, but it perhaps should be another thread on another forum title.

Lenton58, that's amazing. Please do start a thread on it.

The pressure is on at work, but I'll try to get something together with some pics.