How to buy a traditional Flying Pigeon bike

[Alex327]

I visited China several times in the past for business and wanted to get one of the traditional Flying Pigeon bikes PA-02 or PA-06. But I never had time to find a bike shop or figure out how to have it shipped to the US. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can do that now without traveling to China?

[abcdefg]

I see several listed on E-Bay and Amazon. Didn't check the model numbers. 

[889]

Have you tried tracking down these people:

 

https://jingdaily.https://jingdaily.com/interview-chinas-iconic-flying-pigeon-bicycles-hit-north-america

 

If they ever found a US distributor, that would be the easiest route.

[Alex327]

The website is no longer active. And the bikes on Amazon and eBay are modern and not the traditional style with rod brakes etc.

Thanks for the ideas!

[Zbigniew]

I do see genuine Flying Pigeons come up fairly often on Ebay UK.  There's a vintage one with rod brakes et al. available at the moment. In the U.S. Craigslist or Ebay would seem to be your best bet for finding the genuine item (i.e. a secondhand one, most probably). Presumably a secondhand one would be acceptable to you.

[abcdefg]

@Alex327 -- Not sure if you're still around, but this weekend I rode my bike to the outdoor vegetable market and parked beside this old-style, unrestored Flying Pigeon, which appeared to be still in use. (I live in an older section of Kunming.) 

 

[Tkj]

I have a flying pigeon I want to sell unrestored but looked after 

original 1950's import from China 

double crossbar rod brakes panniers 

[abcdefg]

They guy who posted the original question disappeared almost immediately. Doubt he was a serious buyer. 

[Tkj]

Thank you for letting me know 

[Alex327]

I'm still here. Don't check this forum regularly. I think I sent a private message to abcdef. Let me know if you didn't get it.

[abcdefg]

9 hours ago, Alex327 said:

I think I sent a private message to abcdef. Let me know if you didn't get it.

 

Didn't get it. Please try again. 

[Shelley]

You can't send private messages until you have made 5 posts.

 

[Alex327]

Oh, thanks for letting me know about that. 

[Alex327]

Abcdefg, I can't send a pm yet but was wondering if you could tell me what you know of the history of the bike. Is the bike in the US? Do you know if things like replacement tires, chains, brake pads are available for this type of bike? Are bike shops in China able to maintain them any longer?

Thanks!

[abcdefg]

11 hours ago, Alex327 said:

...but was wondering if you could tell me what you know of the history of the bike.

 

I know very little besides what I read in the Wikipaedia article. The brand first got my interest when they appeared with some prominence in several modern Chinese novels which had portions that took place in and around the Cultural Revolution 文化大革命。I remember the Flying Pigeon bike in Brothers 兄弟 by Yu Hua 余华。

 

Since reading your original post I've been on the lookout for them here in Kunming, since I live in an older neighborhood and ride a simple bike (a Giant) myself nearly every day. Have spotted 3 or 4 since that time without trying very hard at all. 

 

I have no insights into getting them repaired. The old guy who works on my bike (not a Flying Pigeon) has a shelf stacked with spare parts, a good many of them second hand. When my bike has problems he digs right in and tears it down. Half a day later it is well again.

 

The charge is always modest. Fixing a flat tire last week cost me ￥5 (less than a dollar US.) He took the tire apart and patched the inner tube the same way I remember doing it myself in the 1970's and 1980's back in the US. 

[Alex327]

Thanks for the info abcdefg! 

Tkj - do you still have your bike for sale? I am interested in it and would like to know how you acquired it etc. Please provide some details and more photos if possible. Is the bike in the US?

[Zbigniew]

On 4/19/2019 at 2:43 PM, Alex327 said:

Do you know if things like replacement tires, chains, brake pads are available for this type of bike? 

Everything on a Flying Pigeon will be easily replaceable, and parts to fit it, though not necessarily identical to the orignals, will certainly be available in the U.S.; don't forget the F.P. is a very basic mass-produced bike with an HT steel frame and wheels, rod or caliper brakes, and in most cases probably the simplest sort of cottered crankset and bottom bracket.

 

As someone who has built numerous bicycles from scratch, from the most basic kinds to ones with £2000 carbon-fibre framesets, and who has repaired and maintained many more, I would have no worries about whether I could get an out-of-action Flying Pigeon on the road again. If you got one I'd be happy to advise you on what needs doing.

 

[Alex327]

Hi Zbigniew, thanks for the offer. Is it true that they use 28" diameter tires. I remember seeing these bikes in China running very low pressure. Are they designed to not get pinch flats somehow?

[Zbigniew]

        

I couldn't tell you what diameter tyres they typically have, but I'm certain the rims in most cases will accept commonly available bike tyres.

 

There's some useful info here on tyre sizing, which on paper is a rather complex business, but in practice less so.

 

The tyres you saw in China running at low pressure were almost certainly at low pressure only because the owners had neglected to pump them up. Not keeping tyres inflated to recommended pressures is the norm among bike users the world over. Many of the bike-owning university students I know in the UK don't even own a pump, and are content never to oil their chains or anything else, on the principle (followed by many Chinese bike owners too) that the squeak is cheaper than the oil. 

 

The question of what pressure to run your tyres at is the subject of much debate at the moment, but there are some general guidelines that still hold good.