Early 3Rensho Show Bike with Gold Suntour Superbe

This 3Rensho Cyclone is one of the rarest and most valuable bikes I have ever restored over the past sixteen years of collecting vintage bicycles. The story began for me on the docks of Red Hook, Brooklyn, but the story of this bicycle goes back much further in time. After extensive research, I’ve confirmed it was made by Mr. Koichi Yamaguchi in 1978 for the NYC Bike Show. This article relates the story of how it came into my hands, the restoration process, and some 3Rensho history. All images in the article are hi-resolution – click them to view the large version. Read on to learn more and check out the gallery of photos.

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Maruishi Emperor RE-C-A Touring Bike

The Maruishi Emperor has been a popular line of touring bicycles in Japan since at least the 1970s. The Emperor line covers a number of different models, but like the Maruishi brand itself, there is little information on them available in English. After much research, I have identified it as an RE-C-A “Camper” model, released in 1976. It caught my eye as a frame set on Yahoo Japan auctions, as the triple-triangle style of frame design is uncommon, even in Japan. After it arrived in my shop and sat for a few months, I built it up using period-correct parts that came from a Zunow KYGM I am restoring. Read on to learn more about this bike, along with some history of Maruishi.

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Bridgestone Eurasia Sportif – Part Two

A few weeks after I purchased the Eurasia ES-1 frame and fork that became the base for the first restoration I did, I came across the same model of bicycle on Yahoo Japan auctions, in its complete and original configuration. The bike was in rough condition, and the price accordingly low. I snatched it up, but this was in the first months of the coronavirus pandemic, and it was impossible to ship items to the USA from Japan. So it sat in a warehouse in Tokyo, where it would be joined by several other frames and complete bikes I would go on to purchase, until shipping would again be possible. That would turn out to be over a year later and cost several times over the auction price of the bike. Lesson learned! When it finally arrived in my shop, I was excited to return this bike to its original glory. Read on to learn more about this restoration and check out the photo gallery.

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1984 chrome Ross Mt. Hood Mountain Bike

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I recently got my hands on a blingy vintage mountain bike – a 1984 Ross Mt. Hood.  My love affair with classic hard-tail MTB’s has been documented here before, with articles on customized Univega Alpina Uno and Bridgestone MB-2‘s that I’ve built in the past.  But this one needed no work at all, except some careful hand polishing.  It’s 100% original, down to the tires!  Read on for more details…

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Bridgestone MB-2 commuter townie

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This is a cute lil' commuter / townie bike I built up in the winter of 2011 for my girlfriend.  I found an old Bridgestone MB-2 frame, a high-quality lugged rigid mountain bike from the early 1990's.  It had a lot of scratches and small dents so I gave it a new coat of paint and a built-in top tube protector made of shellacked hemp twine.  Read more after the jump…

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