次回この記事の日本語版を投稿します。
Beautiful, comfortable, simple, practical, rugged, and crafted, are just some of the reasons to fall in love with vintage Japanese bicycles. (↓click on photo to enlarge ↓)
But "vintage" is a broad term.
In this blog, for the following two reasons, we mainly focus on a span of roughly 14 years, 1949 ~ 1963; the Golden Age of utility bicycles after the war up to when Japan became an automobile society.
1. This period coincides with the enactment of The Industrial Standardization Law in 1949 which became the legal foundation for JIS (Japan Industrial Standards). In the case of the bicycle industry, JIS was implemented incrementally year-by-year targeting specific bicycle parts each year, such as rims, spokes and chains in 1953, until all parts were covered; ending in 1962 with shipments of completely assembled bicycles.
2. This period also coincides with the rise and fall of bicycles for utility purposes after the war. In other words, the period up to when bicycles were replaced by motorized vehicles as Japan become an automobile society and bicycles began to take a backseat becoming an item of leisure rather than necessity.
(↓click on graph to enlarge ↓)
Typical catalogs from a single manufacturer would list around 20 different models; however, for sake of simplicity, I will group the six main single-speed types, and, in later installments, take a closer look at each of their individual characteristics, specifications, and how they differ from one another.
1. Heavy-duty Cargo Cycle
Also known as a heavy-duty carrier cycle, these were human powered trucks on two wheels used to carry large heavy items as well as haul trailers. (↓click on photo to enlarge ↓)
2. Light-duty Cargo Cycle
Also known as a light carrier cycle, these were one notch down from the heavy-duty cargo cycles. If heavy-duty carrier cycles were human powered trucks, the light-duty cargo cycles were vans or pickup trucks on two wheels. These too were used to carry large heavy items as well as haul trailers, but, as we shall see in this series, were a downsized version of the heavy-duty cargo cycle. (↓click on photo to enlarge ↓)
3. Utility Cycle
As the name implies, these were the mid-range, do-it-all, bicycle, the station wagon of bicycles. They were capable of carrying loads and even hauled trailers. (↓click on photo to enlarge ↓)
4. Ladies Cycle
These were designed at a time when the majority of Japanese women, if wearing western-style clothing, predominantly wore skirts or dresses; they were the compact car of bicycles designed specifically for women.
(↓click on photo to enlarge ↓)
5. Gents Cycle or Roadster
The Gents Cycle, aka Roadster, is the sports car of the single-speed vintage Japanese bicycle. (↓click on photo to enlarge ↓)
6. Unisex
These were the compact family car of bicycles, intended for use by both men and women.
Note: Since the number of households that could afford to purchase a kids cycle was very small, this category has intentionally been omitted. The majority of children,despite their legs being too short to reach the pedals, learned to ride on an adult-size bicycle. They overcame this obstacle by riding "triangle-style" (←click link)
In the next English post we shall begin examining the six main single-speed bicycle models one-by-one starting with the heavy-duty cargo cycle.
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