Re: [CR] mid 70s front wheel QR

(Example: History:Norris Lockley)

Date: Mon, 14 Dec 2009 03:19:27 -0800
From: "verktyg" <verktyg@aol.com>
To: Bob Freitas <freitas1@pacbell.net>, <Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
References: <4B254EB2.40304@pacbell.net>
In-Reply-To: <4B254EB2.40304@pacbell.net>
Subject: Re: [CR] mid 70s front wheel QR


"...He deleted the rear QR and generally used the money to upgrade another area of the bike..."

Maybe so, but entry level bikes with nutted wheels where always considered to be the cheapest models. At the beginning of the bike boom there were still some bikes coming into the US with Huret style wing nuts which may have been a step up from plain axle nuts?

Bikes with dual QR wheels where the first jump up in quality for entry level models from most import brands during the boom.

When the first appeared we looked at the bikes with front QR wheels as "putting silk stockings on a rooster"! In other words it was a marketing ploy to make clunkers look more attractive: most of those bikes were in the over 28 Lb. weight range.

Off course during the US Bike Boom era, you could hang derailleurs on any kind of bike and call it a "10 speed racer'. They sold like hot cakes: witness the number of welded steel gas pipe clunkers sold by chains and department stores!

Most Japanese bikes imported into the US from the early through the late 70s were built to the importer's specs, a number of whom were cashing in on the bike boom craze. These bikes were oriented towards marketability rather than ride and handling performance. I recall seeing a number of mid level Japanese models with "chromo" alloy steel frames that weighed ~32+ Lbs.!

There was never much of sporting bike tradition in Japan in the 60s and 70s. Kierin track racing was a sport in the sense that thoroughbred horse racing is a sport but the parimutuel betting element is a bigger draw than the "sports" interest. Most of the Japanese made road bikes from the early 70s rode and handled like wheelbarrows (Fuji included)!

By the mid to late 70s American bike consumers started becoming more sophisticated Many new purchases were by buyers looking for second bikes after previously owning entry level models.

We always kept a new or slightly used clunker bike in our shop for comparison to the better quality bike we sold.

Chas. Colerich Oakland, CA USA

Bob Freitas wrote:
> Since this Thread continues I thought I would add some information as
> to the origin.
> Ben Lawee was a master (the Master) at specifying bikes
> equipment. Being the marketeer he was, his bike sense was only exceeded
> by the sharpness of his pencil point.
> He deleted the rear QR and generally used the money to upgrade another
> area of the bike. So the $1 or $2 saved went to upgrade the rear
> derailleur etc.
> Ben Lawee had a great influence on bike design and doing an archive
> search for his name will reveal links to many of our favorite Brands
> I have sold his bikes and wished for bikes as good when I
> didnt
>
> BOB FREITAS
> conserving band width in MILL VALLEY, CA USA