stronglight

This is an odd request for info... but the subject is certainly in keeping with my concept of "Classic" so I'll throw this out to everyone here.

I came across a listing for a new (current production) bicycle frameset on an Asian website. The "ENE" marque is a niche of the Dia-Compe company, based in Japan, and now manufactured in... (gulp)... Taiwan...

Wait! stay with me here...

This brand is responsible for some of the cool newly re-manufactured "retro-components" which are now sold in the US through Rivendell, Velo-Orange, and most likely through other retailers, too. Many of these components date from Dia-Compe's high point in the 1980s when some of their components truly rivaled anything made by the more expensive prestigious European component manufacturers.

Their brakes in particular were the most notable components and they were possibly the most widely distributed brake sets worldwide. By 1986, they offered literally dozens of different brake lever models ranging from the Weinmann copies dating from as early as the 1960s, to the latest in Aero cable routed models. Of course, some were cheap, basic and functional but others were among the most beautiful and elegant brakes available from anyone, anywhere.

Flash ahead to the new Retro-bike market and we again are seeing some of the better Dia-Compe and Gran Compe brakes and conventionally cable routed brake lever models selling on the Velo-Orange website, here: https://store.velo-orange.com/index.p...ts/brakes.html

The Taiwan website also shows even more components which have not yet reached the US market.

So, back to my initial subject... the newly issued CICLO C-2 frameset likewise appears to be something straight out of the mid-1980s - which was the glory days of Japanese Touring bike production.

It is made of double-butted steel tubing... lugged construction... threaded 1" steering tube (bet you never thought you would see that on a production bike again!)... has double eyelets on front and rear dropouts... and even a traditional fork crown. The framesets are basically everything I could want in a classic Touring bike.

Personally I'd love to buy one of the framesets, but I've seen no reference to them on any familiar US websites. Check out the photos (unfortunately, not very large). These are all I have to go on, thus far...






The Dia-Compe (Taiwan) website shows more of the growing ENE and Gran Compe lines of classic components. It is definitely worth a bit of browsing. https://www.diacompe.com.tw/product_View.asp?nid=726

Cheers!
Bob

robatsu

I've seen a little bit of this when I'm in Japan, but only a very little bit.

I'm just happy that there is more of this stuff getting out. As for the Taiwanese end of it, yeah, I'm snobby about that. Of course, back in the 80's I was totally snobby about Japanese bikes, completely looked down on them. I figure in about 15 years, when wages rise in Taiwan and all the stuff moves to the mainland or to Vietnam, everyone will be raving about the golden era of taiwanese bike components.

blaise_f

There are plenty of quality things being made in TW. Of course it would be preferable that everything was made in each person's homeland, but that's life as we know it (and keeps the prices down, often).

stronglight

Very true. It is quite ironic that fine inexpensive Japanese components were once great bargains on the world market - which helped to hasten the collapse of the French component market. And now that the standard of living in Japan has risen dramatically over the past few decades, Japanese companies have found that they are now in our position and can no longer afford to manufacture much anything within their national borders.

Like those frowned upon "cheap transistor radios" which we had imported from Sony in Japan during the 1960s, we now tend to view all "other" (non-Japanese) Asian products as somehow inferior, without even giving them a second look. Korean made Hyundai and Kia cars would be another example of this, although that general opinion too is now quickly changing.

The ENE CICLO frameset looks beautiful to me, regardless of its national origins. I truly hope the US will be seen as a viable market... Unfortunately, I must admit that quite possibly my own retro-tastes are really in the extreme minority when considering the overall sales potential for such things among US buyers.

mparker326

What is wrong with that gorgeous Schwinn Voyageur you have on your Flickr site? Hopefully just an N+1 situation.

zandoval 

Nice thread - Its the design itself that is so impressive - Building a conservative touring bike from scratch would still see much of traditional design if it were going to be of real use...

As far as made in Taiwan - Is that important - After all we have seen some poor quality stuff with the Campy and Shimano logos on them...

stronglight

Yeah, I constantly fight the addiction, but always have that craving for "just one more...".

vettefrc2000

Me too!

Sigurdd50

Yeah, looks like a Velo-Rando

mudboy

I'm never going to buy a DiaCompe product ever again, for the sole reason that they are using MS Access in a production database:

Microsoft OLE DB Provider for ODBC Drivers ¿ù»~ '80004005'

[Microsoft][ODBC Microsoft Access Driver] ºÏºÐ¨S¦³¨¬°÷ªºªÅ¶¡¡C

D:\WEB\https://WWW.DIACOMPE.COM.TW\WWW\__FUN...statistics.asp, ¦C34

lostarchitect 

What are these framesets going for, presuming one could get one?

Captain Blight

I have high hopes of the Koreans getting into the production of well-made lugged frames of decent tubing. They could run the world someday if they get their problems straightened out; what I saw in the year I spent there with the US Army was a nation of people fanatically dedicated to being present in the moment. Put a torch in anybody's hand and sit them in front of a pile of steel, there's a recipe for success.

vettefrc2000

I think around $650.00 US