Reuse

次回、この記事の日本語版を投稿します。

Something that has certainly gotten lost in today's "disposable society" is "reuse".  Especially in the sense of finding uses for things that no longer serve their original purpose.

When I was a kid, back before the "disposable society", we repaired everything and took great pride in making things last.  Throwing something away was considered wasteful.  If it was beyond repair we found another use, ie "reused/repurposed" it. This mentality has stayed with me.  I still use old inner tubes as a frame protector for simple homemade chain and padlock security.

Note the patches.
Also the padlock is over 30 years old, left over from my days in the US Marine Corps, used to lock my rifle to my rack (bed).

Old tire tubes also make great bungee cords to lash things to the rear rack.
Here is a another great example of being resourceful by reusing rubber pedal blocks as file handles.

Call me a COB (Cheap Old Bastard) but this type of mentality has stayed with me all my life. Maybe it has something to do with how I was bought up.  My great grandparents, grandparents and parents all lived through the Great Depression and I was raised not to thow away things, but reuse them.   

まだあります。

次I'll be back with another English post soon until then stay trued and happy wheels.

今現在でも、下町を歩けば半世紀以上前の自転車を見かけることがあります。
都内の古い個人商店の前に置かれていました。
この運搬車は長年使用されていい味ですね。
.

ランプブラケットの「Ｙ」を見た瞬間に「あの伝説的な国産自転車製造会社の山口だ」と分かりました。

風切の上半部が破損してなくなっています。
塗装が消えていますが、不思議と錆びていません。
山口自転車は「マルワイ」ブランドを製造し、「ＣＷ」が商標でした。
前泥除けの先端に「ＣＷ」刻印があり、ヘッドバッヂにも「ＣＷ」が七宝焼でできています。

「ＣＷ」の刻印は補助フォークの固定ボルトの頭にもあります。.

半世紀以上前にも関わらず、七宝焼ヘッドバッヂがまだまだ綺麗です。.


リア泥除けステーバッヂの七宝焼でまだまだ綺麗です。
このような少し手を掛ければすぐ蘇りそうなものに弱いです。
オーナーと交渉して買って帰りたかったが、残念ながらだめでした。
譲ってもらえなくて蘇らせたいくらい、レストアが好きで好きでたまりません。

まだ残っているのが、素晴らしい。
当時の自転車はシンプルで頑丈です。
現代と違って、耐久性・信頼性が重視でした。
やっぱり、腐ってもまだ鯛という感じですね。

Sign of the past

次回この記事に日本語版を投稿します。

It always amazes me that here in modern day Japan, one can still come across a bicycle sitting outside an old Mom & Pop family run shop that is over half a century old. This carrier bicycle obviously bears the battle scars of many years of faithful service and appears to have been recently retired.
.

Vintage Japanese bicycle fans will quickly recognize the "Y" in the lamp bracket as the trademark of the Yamaguchi Bicycle Company.

The fender ornament is broken and the paint replaced with a fine patina.
The Yamaguchi Bicycle Co., produced a brand known as "CW", the trademark is stamped on the front fender.

The trademark was cast into the bolts used on the front fork stabilizers.

Amazing, produced over a half-century ago, the cloisonne head badge is still in fine condition.


Even the rear fender stay badge is in excellent shape.

The workmanship that went into building these wonderful machines is amazing.  Simple and sturdy manufactured back when durability and dependability were more important than eye-appeal.  Truly built-to-last.