OldsCOOL

How interesting! Thanks for the history. The helmet is the same era as my ‘86 Trek 760 Pro Series so the helmet stays with the bike as a display of sorts.

pcf

Cool Gear
Columbia

DropBarFan

I sort of agree about the zombie brands but OTOH I figure knowledgeable buyers know it's not the original company & casual buyers probably never heard of the original company anyway.

Oldguyonoldbike

I am attracted to the Planet X Holdsworth Competition, but I'm sure if I ever bought one I would always think of it as a fake Holdsworth. I'd be happier if it had a Planet X label on it, or even some made up name, as long as it wasn't some Italian-sounding non word.

John E

No one mentioned the elephant in the room -- Schwinn --the ultimate hijacked brand name.

I do miss the Avocet touring shoes with the transverse ridges across the soles.

canklecat

Wonder lights. No great loss. Overpriced, underpowered and needed a proprietary battery (although a makeshift replacement could be rigged from AA batteries rigged together). But there weren't many choices in that era. Bottle generators, equally underpowered bullet or torpedo lights that needed C or D cell batteries, or Wonder lights which mostly boasted a decent handlebar clamp but not much else.

tcs

Berec Ever Ready Frontguard II, baby! Shown here with matching Rearguard III:

Berec ever ready frontguard II.JPG

tcs

In 1894 a fellow came out with a bicycle chain lube that lubricated, cleaned and rustproofed. He called it "3 in One".

3-in-one.jpg

Oh, wait a minute! You can still buy it today, 124 years later!

Gerryattrick

Rensch/Paris cycles.

Harry Rensch started making frames in London in the 1930s and started Paris cycles in the 1940s. It ceased business in the mid 50s. To my eternal regret I got rid of my 1950s Rensch Champion du Monde a long time ago.

Condor cycles have re-used the Paris name, but It's just an imposter.

The UK has sadly, but inevitably, lost many small craftsman cycle makers, while good old larger names such as Viking, Claud Butler and Sun have been sold on and re-used in bog standard bikes.

canklecat

Those actually look useful. Never saw those before.

I used the Wonder lights for awhile, including the strap-on doodad with red/amber lights. Nope, not as exciting as you'd expect from a strap-on, and it was heavy with C cell batteries.

I finally put the old bottle generator back on for commutes, then I'd take it off for longer supported group rides.

Kontact 

Avenir was an accessory line by WSI (Centurion/Diamondback). Nice helmets and the original upside down version of the Speedplay design:



Sachs, Sedis, Huret didn't really disappear. They are just parts of SRAM, which is why the old Sachs Rival group lives on.


What sometimes surprises me are all the brands that are still with us: Nukeproof, Controltech, Syncros, Keywin and Zefal. Modolo isn't just still around, they are still making the Morphos levers for both Shimano and Campy.

tcs

SRAM did end internal gear hub production earlier this year. This brought to a close 114 years of Fichtel & Sachs IGH manufacture.

sachs dreigang.jpg

tcs

Aubergine has already replied in the affirmative. Peugeot began manufacturing cycles in 1882 and is one of the few extant bicycle builders that were active during the high wheeler era. Quite the innovator in the early years, they offered factory production folding bikes beginning in 1889 and recumbents in 1914.

DropBarFan

I was going to mention Schwinn though the name didn't vanish for that long AFAIK. But it was sad to see the original Schwinns go. In 70's bike boom everybody wanted a light 10-speed, Schwinns were a bit heavier but super-sturdy.

John E

The early 1960s Continentals were heavy, but decent, and the Superiors and SuperSports were pretty decent. I commuted for a time on a ca. 1973 Varsity with aluminum rims, a 6-speed 14-28 freewheel, and toeclips, and it served me decently, including a daily 12% climb (Lusk Bl. up from Vista Sorrento Parkway, for those who know San Diego's Sorrento Valley area). I replaced it with a Peugeot UO-8 of the same vintage and cracked a chainstay of that frame 3 years later, so, yes, the Schwinn was super-sturdy, by comparison.

I mentioned Schwinn because the only "real" Schwinns being produced today are Waterfords. (Sort of like Hewlett-Packard -- the current company is essentially the ghost of Compaq. The test equipment heart and soul of the company my uncle joined in the early 1950s became Agilent.)

trackhub

My bad on Blackburn. I thought they were gone. But... Are they still the same company, or has it become
one of those names that has been bought and sold? This happens so frequently, it is difficult to keep up.

Two more: Bike-E, and Vistalite.

I tried a Bike-E once, at the old Lincoln Guide Service shop. Hmm,, not for me. Wasn't a serious design flaw discovered?

DiabloScott

Yeah came here to say Vetta - did it look like this?



Also in that photo: Descente jersey and socks (still around but not for cycling), Ultima shorts (real chamois), Brancale shoes (just like Greg Lemond's), and Regina freewheel and chain.

79pmooney

Mentioned in post two, the two companies that revolutionized modern road bikes. SunTour and Klein. SunTour with its slant parallelogram rear derailleur (late '60s) and Gary Klein with his fat tubed aluminum bikes, 1970s. I raced SunTour Cyclones and took a spin on Gary's bike when he showed up at a club race 1976. The Klein wasn't the bike for me (a skinny, lightweight and smooth climber who couldn't bend anything), but in 100 yards I knew that bike was going to change everything.

Ben

OldsCOOL

Yes, very similar. Mine has a high-glass finish, probably a difference of a year or two maybe. Cool photo!

Bob Ross

Aegis

1nterceptor

Growing up, a bicycle was a luxury that my family couldn't afford. I had to wait till high school,
working summer jobs to get my very first bicycle - a red Ross roadbike. With down tube shifters,
sweet ride.

drlogik 

Stronglight cranks
Mafac brakes
Simplex derailleurs
Ideale saddles
Duegi shoes
Detto Pietro shoes


-

DropBarFan

In the 70's a guy made bicycle lights from highway construction flashers & lead-acid batteries. They were about the only light with decent brightness but weighed ~10 lbs. A few die-hard commuters used them.

Kontact 

Descente cycling wear and Stronglight cranks are both currently produced.

I bought a Speedlight a couple years ago.

ironwood

Stronglight is still making cranks, but not my favorite, the 49d. TA has just produced another batch of their pro vis 5, and still produces rings for them.

MAFAC is gone, but Grand Bois and Compass make similar brakes.

Maxicar is still in business but not for bicycle hubs.