The C.Itoh bikes were sort of discount department store bikes as I remember. Around for a few years and then sellers moved on to something cheaper. They are still part of our bicycle history and collectable as a topical in their own right.
> Louis Schulman wrote:
>> Interesting this topic comes up now. I saw the strangest bike boom
>> Japanese bike on Saturday.
>>
>> It was a C. Itoh, the predecessor I believe, to Bridgestone. The strange
>> thing about this bike is that it had huge casts lugs (I don't know if
>> they were steel or aluminum) and the 4 main tubes were stainless steel!
>> There was a label that identified the tubes as stainless. They were
>> polished to a mirror finish.
>>
>> I guess the tubes were glued into the lugs, which had the design of lug
>> points cast into them (looked really clunky). Otherwise, the bike
>> appeared to be a bike boom el cheapo.
>>
>> Ever see one of these?
>
> Sounds like a Bridgestone "Submariner" to me...
>
> --
>
> -John Thompson (john@os2.dhs.org)
> Appleton WI USA