Bicycle Photo Album	Bikes from my early years
This is a picture of a bike just like my only(?) new bike. I think the seat colors were reversed on my seat. We called them seats in those days. I loved this bike. Beautiful chrome fenders that just loved to be shined up. 5 speed gears, front and rear shocks, front drum brake, 16" front tire were very unusual for any bike. In the end it was heavy as lead and not very fast. I only had it for a year before I got some sense.
I bought a canary yellow Schwinn Continental used right after the Orange Krate. I had two or three of these over the years. I put many miles on the first one. I was hit by a car in the front fork and was confident when I bent it back it would survive many more miles. A bike this color I sold to a guy who gave me a bad check. It was the only bad check I had ever received.
This bike was a year old when I bought it in 1980. I had it for about 15 years. The one I had was about a 19" frame. The Reynolds 531 frame had an effervescent finish in it which is portrayed well in this image. It had bottom of the line Nuovo something Campagnolo components. This may have been my first 700C bike. The frame was tiny for me. I am 6 feet tall. I had my seat way up. This seat actually looks original to me.
The U08 had cottered cranks, Mafac racer brakes and a Brooks B-17 saddle. It also had stainless steel wheels which were very difficult to brake on. I got the bike for $45 at a yard sale and pumped up the tires and rode it home. This bike had 27" tires, quick release hubs and simplex derailleurs. I remember riding this bike in the rain and realizing how badly the steel rims worked with the brakes. I remember riding this to church down in DC. It was 12 miles each way. While I should have taken the park route, I always took Connecticut Avenue most of the way. I remember the park began closing on Saturday and Sunday to motorists sometime around this time. 1975-1977
Sturmey-Archer 3 speed bicycle with fenders, cottered cranks. I used it at the University of Maryland to get from the parking lot to class. Quite a light bike. Phillips was the brand. 3 speeds were definitely not in style at the time. It was surprisingly light and had the advantage of no thief appeal. I left it locked to a tree in the huge Maryland University parking lot for weeks. 1980
JC Higgins single speed from the 50's, Hercules 3 speed, Jet Wind (Japanese 3 speed), Kabuki 12 speed, 1979 Fuji Newest, Fuji S10S...
This was a beautiful machine. I loved the Shimano 105 components. The bike was light and quick. I changed chainrings, sprocket and bottom bracket on this bike - something I rarely do because I get another bike too quickly. This one I kept for about 12 years. At one point I had Spinergy carbon fiber bladed wheels on it, but they broke over the years. This was a 700C bike.
bridgestone 400 current trek 1000 - 2005? raleigh International 2002 - 2005-2008 Trek 7000 mountain bike Schwinn Breeze 5 Speed other Bridgestone 400 that I fixed up and sold Bianchi road bike - 2009 Miele mountain bike - 1995-1998 ... track bike from Goodwill - 1990 ... Kabuki (stolen by muggers) 1977 for a week Motobecane Schwinn Super Le Tour II - 1973-1985 Gitane Schwinn Suburban for wife - 1985 Panasonic (temp after AD below crashed and burned) 1994 Fuji Newest - 1980 Schwinn Varsity Schwinn Sting Ray JetWind 3 speed (my first SS) solid wheeled 16" bike 1961
Cignal Zanzibar - Cignal was a good bike. It had good bearings and good components. I had never heard of them before. Never mind the foamy seat. This bike had a lot of clearance behind the front wheel and in front of the back wheel. Another forgettable bike, tho it brings back fond memories.
I never did figure out what kind of bike this was. It had very good quality components but was painted over. I guess it was stolen. I used it to slog thru the snow one winter. If I didn't have a picture of it I would never have remembered it. So many bikes, so little time.