Strattond doesnt have any 3renshos at the moment.

rare and impossible to find are different, anyway.

do it...

Ok, if they're not "rare" they're "uncommon" -- they didn't build /that/ many frames, and they're not making any more.

Regardless, they're still nice bikes.

Rare is a relative term, eh?

Try relating them to the production numbers of other frames.

Does anybody know how many 3's were made?

I'd guess around 5000-6000 total production, but that figure is sort of hard to count, as there were higher level and lower level 3Rensho frames -- the nice frames built by Konno/Makino/Yamaguchi, less-nice by other employees.

Started building in '76 and finished in the early 90s, around 300-350 frames a year. This is one of the statistics I'm trying to nail down properly...

Is that just track frames? or total?

Make sure you call them three-renshos when you ask about them at shops, too.

nice.

4renshos are so much rarer than 3renshos.

"these go to 11..."

Super super nice, but there are more of them out there than some disciples would have you believe. To wit - see how many 3Renshos you can find record of specific people owning, and compare that to similar findings for other high-quality Keirin builders. A lot of them you're lucky if you can find record of a half dozen frames having made their way stateside.

and then check to see how many of those same builders still have a lot of frames in japan.

Where theres a demand, there will be people who import them.

while watanabe, otaki, osca, vogue (and their sweet ass decals), and maeda make sweet frames, theres just not as much desire. konno made frames for some of the best of the best, and then had his accident. theres a combination between technical excellence and good design as well as the history of the people who rode the frames along with the knowledge that no more are being made that make them desirable to many people.

me, i got mine cuz i saw a chance to own something awesome and went for it. besides being able to ride a great bike, i feel like i own a little peice of cycling history. i know its silly, but I dig that.

Total production. The number may be a bit higher considering production of frames like the Athlete and the lower line SRs...

Same reason why artists die poor and collectors pay millions.

Sashae. You're the 3Rensho knowledge base. When did Yoshi Konno stop building frames? How long did they keep that brand after the accident before splintering off into Makino?

I /believe/ it's either 93 or 94, but I can't say for 100% sure, unfortunately. Makino continued under the 3Rensho name until '98 when he split off on his own.

OK, here is a question that's a bit out of place for you fixie guys but if I was going to build a 3Rensho TT frame, would the Dura-Ace AX group be acceptable? I've seen one built w/C-record but since it's Japanese and all...

if you have to ask... you're not ready to own one

You realize you're answering a question that was asked before you even registered, right?

I'd like to know how this worked out, too.

Why do people bump these threads from 2 years ago?

They actually use the search function?

But everytime it happens there are just 20 replies to the original question and few to the one from the guy who bumped it.
And his search did nothing for him but find a 3rensho thread. Of which there are about 20 threads.

You know, you're right. I just realized nobody's actually answered the guy that brought this thread back to life.

Parts is parts, man. Use whatever you've got.

The reason there are 20 threads is because of all the morons that don't do the search to begin with.