Flying Pigeon China
#2
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#3
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Now I'm curious: what kind of valve stems do Flying Pidgeons come with?
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There are scrapyards across the country that have scrap metal and some of it is sometimes bicycle shaped. My guess is some of those bicycle shaped scraps are from China so maybe not a Flying Pigeon but junk just the same.
#7
Senior Member
Don’t do it. Samples seen on these shores have been abysmal. Application of large amounts of skilled time will not make these into rideable bikes. Even if you were able to get one vaguely operable the aesthetics are pathetic.
You are in Australia? The Flying Pigeon is loosely based on old Raleigh Shanghai DL-1s. In Oz it should be no trouble at all finding a used real Raleigh DL-1.
My daily ride past fifteen years has been a DL-1 built by Eastman in Delhi. Eastman being part of the leftovers from the old Raleigh Atlas factory. Had it not been assembled and completely reworked by the Yellow Jersey shop in Madison, Wisconsin I’d have had no chance. Yellow Jersey has attempted to complete Flying Pigeons for customers who brought them in. Yellow Jersey has long been known for being able to make any strange thing functional. They gave up on Flying Pigeons.
I have seen what the Eastmans looked like as originally received. I have seen what the Flying Pigeons look like when received. No comparison.
Mine is a fully functional rider because it has been re-fitted with cantilever brakes. Rod brakes mostly plain don’t work. Functional rod brakes did exist. Top end bikes built in many countries in the 1930s and 1940s had beautiful rod brakes. When rod brake bikes became low-end bikes the first thing to be built too darn cheap was the brakes. The big exception to that was Italy, where the Tipo R brakes are still good enough.
Any basket case older Raleigh, Bianchi, Atala, Umberto Dei, in the general style you are looking for is a better starting point than a new Flying Pigeon.
You are in Australia? The Flying Pigeon is loosely based on old Raleigh Shanghai DL-1s. In Oz it should be no trouble at all finding a used real Raleigh DL-1.
My daily ride past fifteen years has been a DL-1 built by Eastman in Delhi. Eastman being part of the leftovers from the old Raleigh Atlas factory. Had it not been assembled and completely reworked by the Yellow Jersey shop in Madison, Wisconsin I’d have had no chance. Yellow Jersey has attempted to complete Flying Pigeons for customers who brought them in. Yellow Jersey has long been known for being able to make any strange thing functional. They gave up on Flying Pigeons.
I have seen what the Eastmans looked like as originally received. I have seen what the Flying Pigeons look like when received. No comparison.
Mine is a fully functional rider because it has been re-fitted with cantilever brakes. Rod brakes mostly plain don’t work. Functional rod brakes did exist. Top end bikes built in many countries in the 1930s and 1940s had beautiful rod brakes. When rod brake bikes became low-end bikes the first thing to be built too darn cheap was the brakes. The big exception to that was Italy, where the Tipo R brakes are still good enough.
Any basket case older Raleigh, Bianchi, Atala, Umberto Dei, in the general style you are looking for is a better starting point than a new Flying Pigeon.
Last edited by 63rickert; 04-19-21 at 07:40 AM. Reason: Overactive spellcheck
#9
Newbie
Thread Starter
Through the 1990s, the Flying Pigeon PA-02 was the single most popular mechanized vehicle in the world. China’s post-Mao leader, Deng Xiaoping, even defined prosperity as a “Pigeon in every household.”
The classic Flying Pigeon is a singlespeed with 28-inch wheels, a fully covered chain, a rear rack, and push-rod brakes. Based in northeastern China, the Flying Pigeon factory has made more than 500 million PA-02s since 1950. They have never been imported into the United States (besides a stray handful that showed up in California).
The classic Flying Pigeon is a singlespeed with 28-inch wheels, a fully covered chain, a rear rack, and push-rod brakes. Based in northeastern China, the Flying Pigeon factory has made more than 500 million PA-02s since 1950. They have never been imported into the United States (besides a stray handful that showed up in California).
#10
Newbie
Thread Starter
Don’t do it. Samples seen on these shores have been abysmal. Application of large amounts of skilled time will not make these into rideable bikes. Even if you were able to get one vaguely operable the aesthetics are pathetic.
You are in Australia? The Flying Pigeon is loosely based on old Raleigh Shanghai DL-1s. In Oz it should be no trouble at all finding a used real Raleigh DL-1.
My daily ride past fifteen years has been a DL-1 built by Eastman in Delhi. Eastman being part of the leftovers from the old Raleigh Atlas factory. Had it not been assembled and completely reworked by the Yellow Jersey shop in Madison, Wisconsin I’d have had no chance. Yellow Jersey has attempted to complete Flying Pigeons for customers who brought them in. Yellow Jersey has long been known for being able to make any strange thing functional. They gave up on Flying Pigeons.
I have seen what the Eastmans looked like as originally received. I have seen what the Flying Pigeons look like when received. No comparison.
Mine is a fully functional rider because it has been re-fitted with cantilever brakes. Rod brakes mostly plain don’t work. Functional rod brakes did exist. Top end bikes built in many countries in the 1930s and 1940s had beautiful rod brakes. When rod brake bikes became low-end bikes the first thing to be built too darn cheap was the brakes. The big exception to that was Italy, where the Tipo R brakes are still good enough.
Any basket case older Raleigh, Bianchi, Atala, Umberto Dei, in the general style you are looking for is a better starting point than a new Flying Pigeon.
You are in Australia? The Flying Pigeon is loosely based on old Raleigh Shanghai DL-1s. In Oz it should be no trouble at all finding a used real Raleigh DL-1.
My daily ride past fifteen years has been a DL-1 built by Eastman in Delhi. Eastman being part of the leftovers from the old Raleigh Atlas factory. Had it not been assembled and completely reworked by the Yellow Jersey shop in Madison, Wisconsin I’d have had no chance. Yellow Jersey has attempted to complete Flying Pigeons for customers who brought them in. Yellow Jersey has long been known for being able to make any strange thing functional. They gave up on Flying Pigeons.
I have seen what the Eastmans looked like as originally received. I have seen what the Flying Pigeons look like when received. No comparison.
Mine is a fully functional rider because it has been re-fitted with cantilever brakes. Rod brakes mostly plain don’t work. Functional rod brakes did exist. Top end bikes built in many countries in the 1930s and 1940s had beautiful rod brakes. When rod brake bikes became low-end bikes the first thing to be built too darn cheap was the brakes. The big exception to that was Italy, where the Tipo R brakes are still good enough.
Any basket case older Raleigh, Bianchi, Atala, Umberto Dei, in the general style you are looking for is a better starting point than a new Flying Pigeon.
thanks, you are a wealth of information
I love Italian design but did not know China had been making these for 70 years and found the history very interesting
#11
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A related question--what's the best bike rack to use when you're transporting a Flying Pigeon on a Trabant?
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#12
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#13
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#14
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#15
Senior Member
I was thinking more of something like a Bianchi Cesare or Gloria Tipo A on the roof of an Alfa Romeo 6C 2500. If a Trabant does it for you that’s good too.
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#16
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Thanks for the thread OP!
I suppose no bike collection would be complete without a Flying Pigeon in the lineup. I have seen videos from China that show scrapyard operations, and you can see FP after FP (or similar) being ground to bits with giant grinders. The entire bike is dropped in, no parts/components are removed. Just shredded into potato chip (crisps for the UK folks) size pieces. The amount of waste is staggering (worldwide, not just China!).
I considered one as a novelty, but the thought lasted no more than a few minutes.
Definitely see all the parallels between the FP and the Trabant.
I suppose no bike collection would be complete without a Flying Pigeon in the lineup. I have seen videos from China that show scrapyard operations, and you can see FP after FP (or similar) being ground to bits with giant grinders. The entire bike is dropped in, no parts/components are removed. Just shredded into potato chip (crisps for the UK folks) size pieces. The amount of waste is staggering (worldwide, not just China!).
I considered one as a novelty, but the thought lasted no more than a few minutes.
Definitely see all the parallels between the FP and the Trabant.
#17
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This was a display on the top of the city wall of Xi'an China. Didn't put the drive side out LOL
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recently chanced upon a Flying Pigeon bicycle
had it for a month,
located Melbourne, western suburbs, Australia.
does anyone know what it's worth or where to get a valuation ?
tried posting a photo here but it won't attach?
located Melbourne, western suburbs, Australia.
does anyone know what it's worth or where to get a valuation ?
tried posting a photo here but it won't attach?