Doug Fattic 

One of those companies would the XB3 company in Kharkov, Ukraine. It is a big industrial city near the Russian border. We bought a number of their bicycles for our charity bicycle project in Ukraine in 2000. They made all the parts for their bicycles in that factory except tires. They didn't stand much of a chance of staying in existence when bicycles made in Asia equipped with Shimano parts began to be imported into the country.

BMC_Kid 

Not that it will change my opinion of my bikes but where do the Miyata Team and Pro bikes land? They are a time capsule for me to my adolescence and I ride them for allowing me to relive my youth and would never sell them, just care for them until the next owner eventually gets them. The 1983 Team is full Dura-Ace EX, 1983 Pro is full Dura-Ace AX - both 12-speeds, and the red bike is a Miyata-built Univega 1984 Competizione (Pro equivalent) 14-speed with Superbe Pro.

jdawginsc 

That’s one of the brands/marquees I am slowly collecting. Have a 60s stem and a pair of 70s brakes I think. Really cool stuff but pricey.

SurferRosa

Fantastic album, though I haven't heard it backwards.

Doug Fattic 

There is more of it in Germany. Immigrants from Russia or Ukraine brought bicycles with them when they settled in Germany. One of my CR buddies in Germany located some for both him and me. Going to that factory several times in the early 2000's were some of the most memorial events of my life. It was a huge, huge place. Several building a block long. XB3 bicycles has even gotten more difficult to get in Ukraine. Young guys turn them into fixies. I have to dig out my pictures. One of my favorites was a picture of Lenin still hanging on the wall over a secretary. Of course I asked how it happened to be there. They shrugged and said nobody bothered to take it down.

I invited a couple of amateur Ukrainian builders to visit our little frame/bike shop located on a college campus west of Kyiv. One guy rode his XB3 fixed (their racing model are all the same size about a 56cm) and the other one came from Kharkov. I spent a day showing them how to accurately put on a rear triangle without a fixture. The guy from Kharkov thought the factory had finally closed. I was impressed that their catalog in Cyrillic letters all identified their models in wheel sizes labeled in inches. Like 27".

jdawginsc 

Cool story! Glad the bikes are still rolling around as fixies or whatever. Each one of them carries a rich history. I thought they were the same thing...XB3-Kharkov.

Insidious C. 

I looked at a 72 Newest for sale in my neighborhood just a few weeks ago. It was my size and affordable. Turned out it had a cracked and welded down tube. So hard to walk away. I think the Newest was top Fuji in 72 and well regarded by those luck enough to have owned one.

hose

I'd say 2021 Specialized are junk compared to Late 80s early 90s Made in Japan Bikes.

tricky 

That's just, like, your opinion, man.

But seriously, I have a few friends that were anti-Specialized for the longest time, but have been converted to Spesh fanboys based off of multiple categories of bikes from them. Gravel, road, down country... As much as I don't like to admit it given their size and Mike Sinyard's business practices, they make a good bike.

RiddleOfSteel

I wish vintage Specializeds were better for my height/preferred bike dimensions, but that's not their fault. They made a good bike then, and it looks like they make a bike capable of carrying many a Pro Tour rider to victory. Their Roubaix around 2010 (+/- a few years) fit my preferred dimensions, but due to aesthetic direction, a 61cm frame with bowing/arc'ing tube design looks ungainly. Fitment possibilities and aesthetics are still a big issue for me with their bikes now (not a dropped seat stay fan in a lot of cases, especially in the larger sizes where the bike just looks broken). This is the same issue for me for other brands and why I gravitate towards a lot of vintage rides as a number were made large enough and not ugly (to me). Thankfully the raft of gravel/adventure bikes is saving the day both in fitment, aesthetics (dependent upon company, of course), and tire clearance for big rubber for crummy city street riding.

grant40

Here is a 1986 Nishiki Rally with 24 inch wheels and 150mm cranks. I started building it for a friend, but she decided that she didn't want a step through frame.


I also have a Fuji SJ-10 with 26 inch wheels.