Yoshi Konno, the visionary founder of 3Rensho, designed several bicycle lug sets over the twenty-year history of his company. His magnum opus was the Modeulo series, which incorporated traditional flourishes with a distinctly modern “aero” design sensibility to create a shape that still turns heads over thirty years after their introduction. Click “Continue Reading” below to learn more about the history and development of the Modeulo lug!
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Have you ever seen a 3Rensho cyclocross bike? I had not, until I came across the bike pictured above, on auction at Yahoo JP auctions. I thought about throwing in a bid on it, but rather narrow-mindedly decided that a 3Rensho that doesn’t have the logo engraved into a seat stay cap or fork crown wasn’t a 3Rensho worth buying. Man, was I wrong! I regret it now, as I’ve come to learn that engraved logos do not a 3Rensho make.
I’ve been diving into the history of Cyclone LTD (the Yoshi Konno’s brand that later became 3Rensho) as I’ve been researching the provenance of the custom 3Rensho Super Record I recently restored. In the course of that research, I’ve dug up a few interesting rarities to share. Read on to learn more!
flickr image by FelixvonPlaten1
It’s been a while since I’ve posted about bikes, but the Ostro “Torro” track frames have me intrigued. Handmade in Poland, they are rarely seen in the USA. Their design reminds me of Koichi Yamaguchi’s gorgeous Kilo / Pursuit bike, with the distinctive “triple triangle” seatstays of the GT Gutterball and curved seat tube of the mid-90’s KHS Aero track frames.
The welds and chunky rear fork ends make the Ostro look like it would be as at home on the streets as the track, though. Bike Mielec in Poland shows a similar frame in their gallery, I’m not 100% sure that they are the manufacturer of Ostro frames, or if they merely copied one. I am considering have a copy of this frame built in the USA by Gene Spicer, as it’s probably cheaper and faster than sourcing one from Poland.
Check out the gallery of Ostro’s after the jump. Note that the geometry differs between bikes – some have the very steep angles and saddle-to-bar drop associated with a pursuit frame, while others like the one pictured above have a horizontal top tube.