Received two beautiful bicycles as gifts

Hello, i'm currently in China on a business trip and today happens to be my last day before heading back to the good Ol' U.S.A. Anyway, i received two awesome gifts from the people i do business with . They are a pair of local traditional chinese bicycles that the average person here uses for transportation in all Chinese towns and cities. They are somewhat a replica of 1950's Raleigh road bikes. The quality is not the greatest, however, they are very nice and unique looking bicycles. The fenders have nice "hand" painted pin striping work.

How am i going to get them home you ask? they will be shipped in a container to L.A along with our goods . As soon as they arrive, i will take better pics and begin my new motorized build.

Specs: one is a 28" and the other 26".

Thanks guys, the levers are for the brakes. It is a weird and primitive mechanical type brake design which i've never seen before (no brake cables). I promise to take detailed pictures once received.

2door said:

biz,
Very nice but too bad they didn't throw in a couple of engine kits as well
They do remind me of older Raleighs. Keep us posted on your builds. You know, those bikes might be collector items one day. You should avoid drilling any holes or otherwise changing them in any way that would prevent them from being returned to their original condition.
Tom

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thanks, You know... i was thinking the very same thing. I'll indeed try my best to prevent any unrestorable modifications such as drilling or welding. i may use a fuel bladder that will be hidden inside an old fashion tool bag behind the seat. Another idea is to have a brass or copper cylindrical shaped tank that mounts underneath the top of the frame.

HoughMade said:

I have seen those brakes on ye olde English bikes.

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Really? i've tried searching on google and couldn't come up with anything. i have only found the "spoon brake" system which is also found in old trikes here in China

grouchyolfart said:

Nice gifts!
Back in the early 60's, my cousin had an already old 3 spd road bike that had those type of brakes.

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That is awesome! i'll research some more and hopefully i can find more info on the brakes.

Clotho said:

Very cool!

Are they the famous 'Flying Pigeon" brand? This style of bike is famous for being both heavy and very very tough.

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It begins with "Feng...". They are very durable though. These bikes are very common among the lower class due to their affordability and durability. I guess you can compare them to the Model-T of chinese bicycles. Most of the bikes i see on the roads of China are highly weathered and rusted but are still very reliable according to locals.

I had a difficult time explaining how in America, these style of bicyles are highly sought after for their classic and vintage design rather than modern design. They couldn't understand why i would want to ride a bicycle that was meant for (in their words) "The Poor". Ha Ha Ha
In China, if you don't have a car,motorcycle,scooter or even a moped, you're pretty much branded as the poor citizen. They were shocked to find out i owned three cars but chose to ride my motorized bicycle.