Life and career Early years. Orvon Grover Autry was born September 29, 1907 near Tioga in Grayson County in north Texas, the grandson of a Methodist preacher. Japanese Bicycles in the U. S. Market. Sheldon wrote this article largely from memory, based on his long experience in the bicycle retail sector. His coverage is uneven, as he did not go so far as to research topics of which he had little personal knowledge. I leave the article largely as he wrote it, though I have run a spell check and made a few additions. Sheldon left a few headings only as notes to himself with no content following, and undoubtedly he left other topics unmentioned. If you can help fill out the article, please feel free to write in. Also see Frank Bertos article Sunset for Sun. Tour highly recommended. John AllenJapanese Bicycles. County Saddles Serial Numbers' title='County Saddles Serial Numbers' />Japanese bicycles are often of very fine quality, but few are available in the U. S. market today, due to unfavorable currency exchange rates. There are still many very fine Japanese bicycles available on the used market, and this article is intended as a guide to them. Japanese Bicycle Brands. Quick Jump. Japanese Parts. Quick Jump. History of Japanese bicycles in the U. S. The Dark Ages. After the Second World War, Japan was primarily known for making cheap knockoffs of foreign designs, competing on the basis of cheap labor. This began to turn around in the camera and electronics industries in the 1. Another new visitor to the site, Rober Sanx sent me a picture of his very inspiring120S conversion, complete with reshaped body and headstock, scalloped frets at the. The Raleigh Bicycle Company is a bicycle manufacturer based in Nottingham, England. Founded by Woodhead and Angois in 1885, who used Raleigh as their brand name, it. NDQ5WDUwMA==/z/y2gAAOxyUylTVjLF/$_3.JPG?set_id=2' alt='County Saddles Serial Numbers' title='County Saddles Serial Numbers' />Japanese companies didnt figure out how to make and sell bicycles for the U. S. market until the early 1. As the 1. 97. 0s opened, the U. S. market for adult bicycles was basically owned by the French and English. While Japanese bicycles were manufactured to very tight tolerances, and nicely finished considerably better than their European competition, the Japanese had not yet come to terms with the average Americans being taller and heavier than the average Japanese. This gap was wider at the time than it is now, due to the privations the Japanese population suffered during and after the war. Royce Unionhe most widely distributed Japanese bike of this era was sold under the name Royce Union. This was a 1. 0 speed, pretty much all steel except for the handlebar stem and the Dia Compe brakes. Anuario Das Industrias 2010 there. This bike was only available in one size, 2. American man. It was equipped with Araya steel rims, which were beautifully made, much smoother and truer than European steel rims of the era. American rider. This was partly due to design, and partly due to the fact that Japanese steel was not as good as European nor American steel. Even though these bikes were not durable, they did have their good points, most particularly the Shimano Lark rear derailer. Although the Lark was quite heavy, it shifted markedly better than the French Huret Allvits and Simplex Prestiges that were coming through on the bikes from Europe. Cotterless cranks. Aluminum alloy cotterless cranks had been a high end item, not found on the run of the mill European ten speeds that sold for around 1. The Sugino Maxy cotterless crank was a game changer. The inner chainring was attached using the 1. The Maxys outer chainring was swaged to the right crank, and so was not interchangeable though it was possible to saw off a worn chainwheel and bolt a replacement one to the remaining spider. The Maxy was much lighter and easier to work on than cottered cranks, and gave a competitive advantage to mid priced Japanese derailer equipped bicycles. The Invasion. Mid 7. Early 8. 0s. The Sun. Tour Derailers. Although Japanese derailers had appeared as original equipment on Japanese bikes, the Sun. Tour VGT was the first model to make a big splash in the aftermarket. The VGT was a wide range touring derailer, using Sun. Tours patented slant parallelogram design. The VGT was a reasonably light derailer, with a large chain take up capacity, and a very light action, compared to the early 6. Simplex and Huret. The shifting ease and performance were dramatically superior. When a rider who had been using French derailers first tried out a VGT, the effect was as startling as the later transition from friction to index shifting. Agreed been there, done that. My first ten speed had a plastic Simplex derailer. The flex of the derailer could be felt through the lever. The Simplex would only shift to the next sprocket by pulling the lever past the centered position for that sprocket and then sometimes the shift would be to the second sprocket. The VGTs feel was crisp and clean. John Allen. Gene Ritvo and The Fuji S 1. SThe first Japanese company to figure out the U. S. market was Nichibei Fuji not to be confused with all the other Japanese companies that are called Fuji Fuji is roughly the Japanese equivalent of Acme. The U. S. importer at the time was Eugene Ritvo, from the Boston area, and he seems to have been the first knowledgeable U. S. cyclist to succeed in getting a major Japanese bike maker to listen to him. He speced the breakthrough model, the S 1. S, and, when the first batch had persistent spoke breakage problems, he insisted that all of the wheels be replaced. The S 1. 0 S featured Sugino Maxy cotterless cranks while competitive models from Europe were still using steel, cottered cranks. It had a well designed, butted frame, available in a full range of sizes, nearly indestructible Ukai aluminum rims, and the bike soon acquired an excellent reputation for reliability and performance. The S1. 0 S had aluminum handlebars and stem, Sunshine high flange hubs, and a Belt leather saddle. This model name was continued for several years. In 1. 97. 7 it was upgraded to 1. S1. 2 S. Proportional sizing. This means that the smaller sizes have shorter top tubes, and the larger sizes have longer top tubes. This is generally a great improvement. European manufacturers of mass market bicycles ahd generally used the same top ure length regarless os standover height, resulting in a long reach for shorter cyclists. Japanese tires. Japanese tires also made an important advance. European tires had been made with cotton cord, which was prone to damage, even from sharp pebbles and which was subject to mildew and rot. Japanese tire manufacturers began using nylon, which is much stronger, and also allows a tire to be lighter. Because there was no longer a need for a substantial covering of rubber on the tires sidewalls to protect against rot, they could be made thinner, decreasing rolling resistance. The Glory Years. Throughout the 7. Touring was the hottest buzzword in the industry, and it was hard to find any bicycle part that didnt feature tour or touring in its name or advertising. The loaded touring bike was the most prestigious type of bike, and was generally recommended as the ideal general purpose bike for the serious cyclist. How To Install Cambria Hold Backs For Drapery here. Unfortunately, such bikes were not available from stock a buyer would have to start with a sport touring bike and make various modifications to turn it into a thoroughbred touring machine. Around 1. 98. 5, the industry finally figured out how to make a good off the shelf touring bike. Suddenly, all of the Japanese builders got it together at once, and serious, ready to ride touring bikes became available, with triple chainwheels, cantilever brakes, triple water bottle mounts, front and rear rack braze ons, bar end shifters, 4. Centurion, Fuji, Miyata, Panasonic, Shogun, Specialized, Univega and others offered these bikes. Some of these companies offered 2 or 3 different models at different price ranges. At the same time, the mid 1. Japanese Yen 2. 60 to the The Japanese tourers of this era were a value unequalled before or since. Rare Misc Items. Most rare Buffalo Hunters Glasses in the original Buffalo hide case. On the inside of case is the mans name that wore them. ALFRED CROSS OCT 1. Before white settlers began to push into the vast west in any great numbers, an estimated 5. Great Plains. American Indians hunted them for food and other necessities, and a harmonious ebb and flow between man and beast prevailed. However, after the Civil War, that would change as more and more people moved westward. As a result, new army posts were established and to supply those many soldiers, the army contracted with local men to supply buffalo meat to feed the troops. Download Pokemon Platino Gba Italiano on this page. At about the same time, the iron horse also began to blaze a trail into the west, and these construction men also had to be fed. Adding to the need for food, people back east were demanding buffalo robes that they used as coats and lap robes when riding in sleighs and carriages. These events put many a man to work as buffalo hunters.