[CR]3Rensho & Yamaguchi

(Example: Framebuilders:Richard Moon)

From: <OROBOYZ@aol.com>
Date: Fri, 30 Mar 2001 20:45:58 EST
To: tr4play@home.com, DTSHIFTER@aol.com, Doland.Cheung@sce.com, classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR]3Rensho & Yamaguchi

cycles de ORO sold quite a few 3Renshos in the old days...

We bought them through The Yellow Jersey Shop in Madison Wisc. dba (wholesale) Ariel Trading Co. They were sold mostly as framesets so anything goes but Campagnolo was as likely as anything else.

A female racer /CDO employee bought a beautiful SRA frame in that pinkish lavender color and built it up with a brand new 50th anniversary group and alloy Campag FW and went racing! By the end of the long season, traveling round the country, it all was fairly trashed! What a nut!

Anyway, the 3Rensho bikes always had very refined lugwork with extreme filing and execution. Much better IMO than many "super" Italian bikes. The show bikes were always outrageous and imaginative.. My understanding is that Mr. Konno had a bad traffic accident, of which he was the cause, and he retired under a cloud. A Mr. Makino has taken over the 3Rensho name and produces bikes of that label plus his own Makino brand.

I also understood that Yamaguchi, of Colorado now, was originally apprenticed to Konno at 3Rensho. He worked at various spots including Paris Sport in NJ and Proteus in MD before setting up in CO. Once there, he made some excellent inroads to top riders including making Mike McCarthy's worlds championship bike. My impression of his bikes, having seen only a dozen or so, are that his frames are functionally good but lacks finesse and detailing I look for in a fine frame...

Dale Brown
Greensboro, North Carolina