Paging through another old bicycle magazine, this one from 1980, I found these two ads:
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| There's something kind of freaky about this one -- I suppose the multiple exposure effect is intended to make it look like the girl is in motion, but I find it slightly disconcerting. Remember when short jogging shorts with tall striped socks were the fashion? Even for guys? If so, then you might be a Retrogrouch, too. Panasonic Bicycles were made by Matsushita/National Mfg. in Japan -- which also made some bikes for Schwinn. Bridgestone was another of those Schwinn contract builders. Notice the so-called "safety" brake extension levers that were all the rage at the time -- the ones that actually reduced safety. |
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| Again with the little short shorts. When I was in high school I had a crush on a girl who looked like the one in this ad. Now it just makes me feel old. In the 1970s, Fuji was one of the first bikes imported to the U.S. that started to change people's attitudes about Japanese bikes. By the time this ad ran, Japanese bikes and components pretty much dominated the market. |
Oh well -- just a short post today. Still waiting for Spring to arrive.
The funny thing is that the "safety levers" have been reborn as "interrupters." They work better than the safety levers, but not by much.
ReplyDeleteAlso, saw this, thought you would be interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaxRQh03BOw