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{"id":1182,"date":"2020-11-12T19:37:03","date_gmt":"2020-11-12T19:37:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/classicjapanesebicycles.com\/?page_id=1182"},"modified":"2024-07-12T15:44:15","modified_gmt":"2024-07-12T15:44:15","slug":"the-men-who-brought-japanese-bicycles-to-the-bike-boom-era","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/classicjapanesebicycles.com\/the-men-who-brought-japanese-bicycles-to-the-bike-boom-era\/","title":{"rendered":"The Men Who Brought Japanese Bikes to the Bike Boom Era"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"zunow\"<\/p>\n

In this article we will focus mainly on the \u201cBike Boom<\/a><\/span>\u201d of \"Japanese<\/a>the 70\u2019s and the men who brought the Japanese bikes to America.\u00a0 During this time their determination and fortitude created some of the highest quality bicycles from Japan<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most of the early brands<\/a><\/strong> were being manufactured in Europe.\u00a0 But the manufacturers were not keeping up with demand here in the States. The bikes were becoming more expensive to import and the quality was starting to decline.<\/span><\/p>\n

IMPORTERS LOOKING FOR BETTER PRICING<\/span><\/h3>\n

In order to keep business costs effective, the importers were looking for ways to create the best product at the lowest price to offer an affordable high-end bicycle<\/a><\/span>. \u00a0About the same time, the yen to dollar was very favorable and Japan was producing and exporting high quality products to the U.S.\u00a0 So, it made sense for them to look for opportunities in that direction.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of these Japanese bikes and their frames were just as nice as anything coming out of Europe at the time. This competition within Japan created some of the best components to be produced anywhere in the world as demonstrated with today\u2019s giant, Shimano<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first gentleman we will look and probably the first to bring a high-quality Japanese bike brand to the U.S. was Howie Cohen:<\/span><\/p>\n

HOWIE COHEN: WEST COAST CYCLE
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n
\"Howie
Howie Cohen on the left with Yukio Kawamura<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mr. Cohen was born in 1939 in Minneapolis, MN to Leo and Rosabelle Cohen.\u00a0 This was the same year<\/a><\/strong> that his father started selling bicycles<\/a><\/span> so, he was born into the industry.\u00a0 In 1946 the Cohen\u2019s moved to Los Angeles, CA and opened up a shop called the Playrite Bike Store.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

At the ripe old age of 7 Howie began to work in the used bike area of the shop.\u00a0 He would repaint the bikes, becoming very proficient at matching colors, rebuilding the wheels and hubs and installing new saddles and fenders<\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

STARTING THE WHOLESALE BUSINESS<\/h3>\n

Howie\u2019s father would buy parts directly from the manufacturers, so other shops began looking to him for parts.\u00a0 This created the opportunity to start his own wholesale business and thus, West Coast Cycle was born.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Leo Cohen passed away in 1963.\u00a0 Rosabelle then sent Howie to England to look into new bike sources.\u00a0 After visiting several factories, he came away very disappointed about their manufacturing capabilities.\u00a0 At the time, they were selling a boat load of bikes but were indifferent about quality issues.\u00a0 They would also stop working for tea breaks several times a day.<\/span><\/p>\n

JAPAN MANUFACTURERS = QUALITY<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Howie then turned to Japan.\u00a0 They were currently exporting cheap Japanese bikes to the U.S. that sold for $19.95 to $29.95.\u00a0 He visited various factories including Shimano.\u00a0 He would use the phrase, when visiting the factories, \u201cWe want to buy very high-quality bikes and we don\u2019t care what they cost\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0 All the factories insisted that they could provide what he wanted but Howie was seeing otherwise.<\/span><\/p>\n

Howie returned from Japan pretty discouraged.\u00a0 His mother, however, sent him back to Japan to keep looking.\u00a0 After visiting several factories, he came across Kawamura Cycles. \u00a0This factory gave him confidence that they could produce the type of bikes he wanted.\u00a0 This visit lead to the first high-quality Japanese bicycle<\/a><\/span> brand being exported to the U.S.<\/span><\/p>\n

Howie then spent several months visiting and meeting with parts manufacturers such as Sugino, Takagi, Shimano, Asahi, Dia-Compe, Kashima, Taihei, Mitsuboshi and Mikashima (MKS).<\/span>
\nHe convinced them into producing the high-end parts that, before this time, they had not previously manufactured.\u00a0 Howie then proceeded to order over 500 bicycles from Kawamura and made the decision to sell them as \u201cAmerican Eagles\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

INCREASE DEMAND<\/span><\/h3>\n

He was apprehensive about the order but after just a few months, the dealers were clamoring for more.\u00a0 WCC were selling tens of thousands of these bicycles.\u00a0 About 1967 Howie was visiting a bike shop and over heard a customer say, \u201cwho are they trying to fool? It says American Eagle, but it\u2019s made in Japan\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Nishiki\"
Nishiki Olympic<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Knowing that Japan had built a good reputation for quality with other products, he decided to use that reputation with his bicycles.\u00a0 Even though the dealers did not agree, Howie decided to rename the bikes.\u00a0 He created a contest with the Kawamura employees offering a $1,000 for the three best names.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

The winner was Nishiki, which referred to a wedding kimono mad of a fabric brocade with gold thread<\/a><\/span>.\u00a0 They eventually phased out the American Eagle name and replaced it with Nishiki.\u00a0 Azuki, which was the runner-up name, became another brand that they imported.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

DEMAND FOR BMX PARTS INCREASES<\/span><\/h3>\n

Due to the success of these two brands, Howie was able to retire at 37 years old.\u00a0 Since retirement wasn\u2019t for him, he then became interested in antique and BMX bikes.\u00a0 When dealers started calling him for BMX parts, he decided to start Everything Bicycles, a BMX wholesale business.<\/span><\/p>\n

He started building relationships again, purchasing grips from Jim Jannard who later founded Oakley.\u00a0 \u00a0A dealer asked for color-anodized components, so he turned to Dia-Compe to make them.\u00a0 This dealer, Richard Long, was the founder of GT Bikes.<\/span><\/p>\n

BMX LEADS THE WAY<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

 <\/p>\n

Everything Bicycles became the BMX leader in the U.S.\u00a0 Since Howie had friends at Kuwahara in Japan, they asked him to help them with their brand.\u00a0 Howie put ads in a popular BMX magazine, Bicycle Motocross Action, offering free stickers to anyone who could pronounce Kuwahara correctly.\u00a0 It was a very successful promotion and led to two of Steven Spielberg\u2019s nephews, who were part of a kids focus group for the movie E.T., to tell Steven that their favorite brand was Kuwahara.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"E.T.<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Universal Studios called Mr. Cohen and asked him to build some Kuwahara bikes for the movie.\u00a0 His company also retained the rights to sell the bikes with the E.T. name.\u00a0 Initially They sold many of these bikes. But they but fazed out just as quickly.\u00a0 In order to get rid of the overstock he ended up selling the remaining bikes to Toys-R-Us.<\/span><\/p>\n

BUSINESS BECOMES TOO BIG<\/span><\/h3>\n

When his business became too big and was no longer fun to operate, he collected what he could and then shut down the business.\u00a0 In the early 90\u2019s he was contacted by a company in Taiwan, who was manufacturing Gary Fisher Bicycles.\u00a0 The company was losing money and they wanted Howie\u2019s help.\u00a0 They asked Howie to spend a day at the factory in California.\u00a0 He ended up not returning home for over a year and a half.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He ended up brokering a deal between Trek and Fisher Bicycles which became beneficial for all concern.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE CONSULTING PHASE<\/span><\/h3>\n

Howie stayed in the industry as a consultant until his untimely death at age 74 in 2013.\u00a0 Cohen had been treated for lymphoma since 2005.\u00a0 He was in remission up until June of 2013. This was reported by Gene Smith, retired president of Kool Stop.\u00a0 Gene was with Howie at the time of his passing and had been a friend for the last 50 years.<\/span><\/p>\n

A quote from a family member: \u201cHe loved the bike industry. He was in it since he was 7 years old,\u201d she said. \u201cHe just loved bicycles (especially Japanese bikes). It wasn\u2019t a question of the business or the monetary rewards, even though that came. He just loves the industry and the people, and the challenge of seeing the progress and the innovation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

BEN LAWEE: UNIVEGA
\n\"Ben<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Our next man who was highly influential during the bicycle boom was Ben Lawee.\u00a0 Ben was born in 1926 and immigrated to the US as a teenager and was said to have arrived here by cargo ship.\u00a0 Knowing the importance of education, he attended the University of Columbia in New York.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

WORKING HIS WAY THROUGH COLLEGE<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Ben paid his way through college by working for another influential person, George Joannou founder of Joannou Cycles of New York.\u00a0 Not only was he important to the industry, but to Ben\u2019s education into the bicycle world as well.\u00a0 George Joannou, a fellow immigrant, came from the Greek island of Cyprus and had the idea of importing lightweight European bikes to the United States.\u00a0 So, He started his business in 1937 and expanded to other facilities in New Jersey and Miami.
\n\"Japanese<\/span><\/p>\n

Ben became a sales representative for Joannou Cycles and was relocated to the west coast.\u00a0 This is where he decided to stay in the industry and run his own bicycle shop.\u00a0 He purchased the well- known, Jones Bicycle Shop in Long Beach California from the founder Frank Samuel Jones who opened the shop in 1910.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

Ben purchased the shop in 1959 only a couple of years before Frank passed away.\u00a0 Ben grew the business and opened other locations.\u00a0 He eventually sold the business to Robert Olson in 1965 and moved on to importing other brands.\u00a0 The shop changed hands a couple of time and finally closed for good in April of 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n

IMPORTING BEGINS<\/span><\/h3>\n

Ben was into providing a quality bicycle at a reasonable price.\u00a0 He started importing Bianchi\u2019s, Legnano\u2019s, Motobecane\u2019s and Raleigh\u2019s direct from their countries of manufacturing.\u00a0 He seemed to have a big influence on the Motobecanes since he was the US distributer.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is said that he had a big hand in making Motobecane one of the best\"\" production bikes that came from France.\u00a0 Through his influence, he improved the building process and the paint schemes and recommended better component selections. \u00a0He convinced Motobecane to use Japanese components (Suntour) for good quality at a reasonable cost. \u00a0His insights and excellent choices in these areas led to the success of his own brands.<\/span><\/p>\n

CREATING HIS OWN BRAND<\/span><\/h3>\n

Ben was a stickler and was upset by how expensive some bikes cost and still did not fulfill his customer\u2019s needs. So, in the early 1970\u2019s, he created his own brand, the Italvega.\u00a0 He selected the Torresini factory in Padua, Italy to manufacture the bike.\u00a0 This was the same factory that was building the Torpado bikes.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

This was around the same time he convinced Motobecane to use Japanese components since they were performing better than the Italian components he was using on the Italvega.\u00a0 The Italian companies were becoming unreliable and constantly missing delivery deadline dates.\u00a0 This was hurting the Italvega dealers so, he decided to turn to another manufacturing source.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE JAPANESE CONNECTION<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n
\"Japanese
Univega Super Strada<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This resulted in the relationship with Miyata to build his new bicycle.\u00a0 Since his bikes were no longer manufactured in Italy, it was logical to change the name. The Japanese bikes would now be changed from Italvega (Italian star) to Univega (universal star).
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Ben stopped distributing the Motobecane brand to concentrate on his new bicycle.\u00a0 He was able to spec the bikes the way he wanted and also made decisions about color choices. \u00a0Since deliveries were now on time and the bikes were of a higher quality, sales took off.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ben had an uncanny ability to select appealing color and decal combinations.\u00a0 He and his employees would test different color combinations on the frames and with the decals to see how they would go together.\u00a0 He wanted to make his bikes to look more expensive and modern than his competition.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE ANSWER: ITALIAN SOUNDING MODELS<\/h3>\n

That idea was successful with the mid-priced bicycles but still did not translate to the higher end bikes.\u00a0 To try and compete with the Italian brands, he came out with some Italian sounding models. One of these was the Super Speciale that was fitted with Campagnolo Super Record components.\u00a0 Even though this was a great bike and could have competed with anything from Italy, it still didn\u2019t have the reputation as a high-end racing machine.<\/span><\/p>\n

The problem was that Ben did not believe in sponsoring pro teams or individuals.\u00a0 Even the Italians knew that you needed pro victories to create and sell a high-end bicycle brand.\u00a0 He then tried the Bertoni brand in 1980.\u00a0 There is much speculation on what manufacturer built the Bertoni brand but the school of thought is Daccordi.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

THE DACCORDI CONNECTION<\/span><\/h3>\n

Ben actually used the specifications of a Daccordi with the paint, bottom bracket shell, seat lug and the pantography.\u00a0 This relationship with Daccordi does not necessarily prove that they built the Bertoni but that along with the similarity of how both bikes were built, highly suggests it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ben does not get enough credit for the impact he had on mountain biking, but he along with Mike Sinyard of Specialized, saw the appeal early-on.\u00a0 Univega introduced the Alpina Sport the same year Specialized came out with the Stumpjumper.\u00a0 The Alpina Sport was priced at $650 and the Stumpjumper at $850.<\/span><\/p>\n

AN EYE FOR DESIGN<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Ben was a no-nonsense person who ran a tight ship.\u00a0 A former employee states, \u201cIf you crave praise, you were in the wrong place\u201d.\u00a0 Ben never rode a bike but still had a keen eye for colors and design and was very sharp when it came to reading the bicycle market.\u00a0 He actually collected cars but the bike industry made him a millionaire.<\/span><\/p>\n

He sold Univega to Raleigh in 1996 and retired from the industry.\u00a0 It was said that “The bike industry was truly his life. It was his reason for getting up in the morning.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lawee spent his entire career in the bike business, acting in every role in the industry from retailer and sales rep to distributor and supplier.<\/span><\/p>\n

He enjoyed making products that were extremely attractive, had good performance and great value. His signature was a bicycle that looked and performed at a great price,” said his son, David Lawee, who worked at Univega for 15 years.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ben Lawee passed away November 8, 2002 after losing a bout with stomach cancer. He was 76. Lawee had two children, David and Monique, with his wife Ariela.<\/span><\/p>\n

SID AND ERNST STAR: LOTUS
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n
\"Ernst
Ernst Star with daughter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the 70\u2019s Sidney Star owned and operated Alpha Cycle and Supply Corporation.\u00a0 He was selling a bicycle that he designed by the name of Windsor, which was being manufactured by Acer Mex in Mexico City, Mexico. \u00a0\u00a0In order to be competitive in the market of that time, he needed to be involved in the modifications of the bike.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1980 Ernst Star, Sid\u2019s son, left a job at a University to joined him at the company to start a new brand by the name of Lotus.\u00a0 Ernst created the name and also had it registered around this time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Acer Mex decided to reorganize which created a dip in quality.\u00a0 This required more of the Star\u2019s time to make sure that the high standards they were expecting were being met.<\/span><\/p>\n

LOTUS INTERNATIONAL CORP BORN<\/span><\/h3>\n

A year or two later the two formed Lotus International Corporation since they decided to drop the Windsor brand and concentrate on the Lotus brand exclusively. \u00a0They had also moved production to Tsunoda of Japan, which had been in business since 1926, and knew how to build a quality bicycle.
\n\"\"<\/span>With the attention now on Lotus, they were able to turn out some very high-quality bicycles and a variety of models.\u00a0 From the Cobra BMX series bicycles to the 2000R 3000R and 4000R mountain bikes.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

THE ITALIAN CONNECTION<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Lotus formed an alliance with Cinelli and had a few high-end models made in Italy under their supervision.\u00a0 They used Columbus SL tubing, Cinelli parts and Campagnolo components.\u00a0 These \u201cCinelli Designed\u201d models were most likely manufactured at the Chirico factory in Bussero, Italy.\u00a0 The same factory where the now very collectable, Centurion Cinelli Equipe was manufactured.<\/span><\/p>\n

Their touring bikes were second to none starting with the 1983 Odyssey.\u00a0 This was not the first year for this model but was the year that they totally redesigned the bike. This years Odyssey saw the switch from Tange 1 tubing to the Italian Columbus tubing for the frame and fork.\u00a0 It now came with additional brazed-on fittings including eyelets for fenders, touring racks and fittings for two water bottles.<\/span><\/p>\n

FINANCING CONCERNS<\/span><\/h3>\n

On the business end things started to change.\u00a0 According to Ernst Star, \u201cOur company depended heavily on outside financing to fund its growth, and when the bank we had been using unexpectedly changed hands, that financing was interrupted while the new owners familiarized themselves with their accounts and put in mechanisms to address our specific needs\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This situation created a financial hardship for Lotus and almost led to bankruptcy.\u00a0 They eventually sued the bank for breach of contract so that they might recover damages.\u00a0 They were not at liberty to discuss the suit and the settlement so we cannot report what the results were.<\/span><\/p>\n

Since the demand for Lotus bikes was still very high, they were now obligated to deal with unfamiliar third-party distributors that had the financing to take care of and service their accounts.\u00a0 Ernst recalls that one of these distributors had the gall to call himself, \u201cLotus Distributor\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE TORCH IS PASSED<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Sidney Star\u2019s health was declining and he eventually passed away in 1990.\u00a0 Ernst decided to dissolve Lotus International and form another company called International Licensing & Design Corporation or ILD.\u00a0 ILD kept the Lotus brand but licensed out the bikes to be sold by others.\u00a0 He kept busy by working as a design and marketing consultant for the brand.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ernst sold licenses to China company, Group Lotus in the UK and to Sears and Walmart in the US.\u00a0 In 2000, Ernst sold the Lotus mark to Group Lotus and return to teach at Hofstra University in New York.<\/span><\/p>\n

There was an old\u00a0wives\u00a0tale about a container of Lotus bicycles sinking at sea which forced them out of business.\u00a0 Of course, this was not true. \u00a0What really happened was that a ship was delayed because of a severe storm and one of the containers was damaged.<\/span><\/p>\n

MITCHELL WEINER: CENTURION
\n\"centurion<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

Mitchell Weiner was born in 1932 in Romanian and immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 16.\u00a0 <\/span>Prior to 1971, Mitchell was an importer of various products.\u00a0 It seems he imported items that were very sellable and somewhat in demand such as, door stops and plastic ring binders.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not quite clear how Raleigh\u2019s American Division found him but they wanted the new \u201cGrand Prix\u201d model to be manufactured in Japan and needed someone to source and import them. <\/span>Welcoming this new opportunity, Mitchell found the H. Tano factory, who had a good reputation, to manufacturer and deliver the new model.<\/span><\/p>\n

RALEIGH CANCELS DEAL<\/span><\/h3>\n

He optimistically ordered 2,000 bicycles with the specified Raleigh color combination and head badge.\u00a0 After receiving the order, he was informed that the parent Raleigh company in Nottingham, UK, nixed the deal and found himself with a few bikes on his hands.<\/span><\/p>\n

The only thing left for him to do was to try and unload and sell these bikes.\u00a0 The timing happened to be fortuitus for Mitchell and his company, Western States Imports, since the bike boom was underway.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

He renamed the bikes after a book he was reading (The New Centurions), had some decals made and a new head badge that was designed so he could use the same screw holes, and he was off and running.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bikes were selling like hot cakes and his new brand was no exception.\u00a0 He sold all the bikes within a few months and needed to order more. After a few years Mitchell dropped the other products he was importing and concentrated only on selling his new Centurions.<\/span><\/p>\n

A NEW PARTNER<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

A Los Angeles bike shop owner, Michael Bobrick, was aware of how well these new bikes were selling and how few would come back for tune ups and or adjustments.\u00a0 The typical mid-tier bikes from England and Europe were needing adjustments not long after they left the shop new.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t sure why the Centurions were not coming back to the shop for adjustments until he spoke with one of his customers who said that he didn\u2019t need to bring the bike back for anything since everything was working great.<\/span><\/p>\n

Impressed with the quality of this new brand and dealing with Mitchell, Mr. Bobrick sold his shop in 1972, invested in and joined Mitchell at WSI.<\/span><\/p>\n

J. YAMAKOSHI AN INSTRUMENTAL PARTNER<\/span><\/h3>\n

An instrumental player at Centurion was Junya Yamakoshi or otherwise known as \u201cCozy\u201d. Junya was the Centurions product development manager.\u00a0 He was responsible for coordinating manufacturing with the Japanese companies, importing the bikes and designing the frames. He worked with Bobrick and along with the company\u2019s Diamondback team manager, Sandy Finkelman.\u00a0 Junya left the company in 1986 to start his own company, Parkpre Mountain Bike. <\/span>He eventually got the company started and was building bikes in the early 90\u2019s until 1998.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Centurion
Centurion Cinelli Equipe<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Centurion continued to import some great models of which some are highly collectable today. One of the top models produced was the Centurion Cinelli Equipe.\u00a0 This model was made in Italy under the supervision of Cinelli. \u00a0Only made for one year, 1985, it is probably the most collectable of all Centurions.\u00a0 Other great models were the Turbo, the Professional, the Comp TA and the Ironman Master and Expert models.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

HANDS-OFF CEO<\/span><\/h3>\n

Mitchell Weiner described himself as a hands-off CEO.\u00a0 He was never a bicycle nut and normally only road on the weekends.\u00a0 Mitchell was very much into computers and would rather discuss databases with someone rather than bicycles. \u00a0He at one time built his own computer from a kit and he was involved with improving the company\u2019s inventory software.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The company grew fast. Sales in 1985 were 37 million, which was up 68% over the past 3 years.\u00a0 They were slated to make 50 million in 1986 and expected to bring in 65 million in 1987.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the mid 80\u2019s the Yen was gaining steam and it became unprofitable to continue with Japan for manufacturing.\u00a0 In 1986 the Signet model was brought to the U.S. which was the first Taiwanese manufactured bike.<\/span><\/p>\n

CHANGE OF DIRECTION<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

Soon, they moved the entire production to Taiwan and around 1990 Western States Imports put the Centurion brand under the Diamondback moniker. Even though the bikes had decals stating \u201cCenturion Design\u201d, \u201cExclusively built for WSI\u201d and Designed in the USA, the new moniker did not go over well and sales started to dry up.\u00a0 Mitchell retired from the business in 1991 but it appears that Michael Bobrick continued with the company for the next 9 years.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0A German importer by the name of Wolfgang Renner had been importing Centurions since 1976 and also made a mountain bike brand that was called the \u201cCountry\u201d.\u00a0 Wolfgang bought the rights to the Centurion brand in 1991 and as far as we know, it is still a German brand today.\u00a0 Renner has kept the engineering and design within his company.<\/span><\/p>\n

TIMELINE NOT CLEAR<\/span><\/h3>\n

It is not quite clear of the timeline but a company by the name of Derby Cycle Corp. was building bikes for Diamondback as well as Raleigh Cycle Co. of America.\u00a0 This led to them purchasing Diamondback from WSI in 1999.\u00a0 WSI finally closed down in 2000, ending a long and prosperous run.<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s interesting to note, that in September of 1998 WSI filed a lawsuit with the U.S. court of appeals involving the classifications of one of its cross or hybrid bicycles. The Court of International Trade was classifying the bike as a \u201cmountain bike\u201d which pays an 11% duty to be imported.\u00a0 Road bikes paid a 5.5% duty.<\/span><\/p>\n

Western States Import Co., Inc., Plaintiff-appellant, v. the United States, \u00a0\u00a0Defendant-appellee, 154 F.3d 1380 Fed. Cir. 1998<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The argument was that since the bikes in question were able to use a tire with a cross-sectional diameter exceeding 4.13 cm, they were then assigned the classification as a mountain bike.\u00a0 WSI contends that the bikes were shipped with tires not exceeding that limit, so they should have been classified as a road bike.\u00a0 In the end WSI lost the appeal and had to pay the higher duty.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE END OF AN ERA
\n\"Howie<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n

This era came to an end due to a few situations which created the down turn of these brands.\u00a0 Even though they were creating the finest Japanese bikes with top-notch frames and components, they were never able to create the same reputation as bikes coming out of Italy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Most, if not all of these men, realized this and tried to create new models with Italian sounding names using Italian tubes sets and Italian components.\u00a0 A couple of brands went as far as teaming up with Italian manufacturers and had frames built in Italy under their supervision.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another concern was, only a few of these brands sponsored pro teams which was needed to validate the product as a high-end racing machine and produce a higher profit. \u00a0The demographic was changing and less people were buying bikes just to ride around and more wanted high-end bicycles to race or for club rides.<\/span><\/p>\n

The third and most decisive situation was the exchange rate change between the Yen and dollar.\u00a0 The brands created by the men mentioned in this article were started around the early 70\u2019s when the exchange rate was 358.000 Yen to 1 dollar.<\/span><\/p>\n

YEN TO DOLLAR RATE CONSTANTLY CHANGING<\/span><\/h3>\n

In the September of 1978 the rate did change to 189.000 to 1 dollar, but it was still somewhat profitable at that rate.\u00a0 It did become favorable again in February, 1985 at 260.700 to 1.\u00a0 But from there on the dollar continued to fall to the Yen 121.100 to 1 in November of 1988, which put an end for these brands to be profitable. From 1990 until September of 2020 the Yen hovered from 145.000 to 105.591.\u00a0 So, the rates never became profitable again.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A few turned to Taiwan for manufacturing in the late 80\u2019s but by then it was too late and these brands started selling to other big importers who were starting to use China which created the brands to be sold at the Walmart\u2019s of the world.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"camelbak<\/a><\/td>\n\"\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

We earn from qualified Amazon purchases with NO cost to you. ANY item that you need or were going to purchased anyway through any of our links, helps support this site. Thank you for your support!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  In this article we will focus mainly on the \u201cBike Boom\u201d of the 70\u2019s and the men who brought the Japanese bikes to America.\u00a0 During this time their determination and fortitude created some of the highest quality bicycles from Japan. Most of the early brands were being manufactured in Europe.\u00a0 But the manufacturers were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1182","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Men Who Brought Japanese Bikes to the Bike Boom Era - Classic Japanese Bicycles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn about the bike boom of the 70s and the men who brought Japanese bicycles to America. 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