Saturday, July 19, 2008

The Flying Pigeon



Flying Pigeon (Chinese: 飞鸽) is a Chinese bicycle company based in Tianjin. Flying Pigeon bicycles have a long history. In 1936, a Japanese businessman built a factory in Tianjin which was named “Changho Works” and started to make “Anchor” bicycles. The brand name was changed to “Victory”, and then renamed to “Zhongzi”. After the Communists led by Mao Zedong came to power in 1949, the bicycle industry was revived. In April 1949, Chairman Mao's heir apparent, vice president Liu Shaoqi paid a visit to the factory and commanded that it become the first bicycle manufacturer in New China. Their workers were aimed to build a generation of strong, durable, light and beautiful bicycle for New China. On July 5th, 1950, the first Flying Pigeon bicycle was produced. It was the brainchild of a worker named Huo Baoji. He based his classic model on the 1932 English Raleigh roadster. The name chosen to represent the most prominent bicycle trademark was an expression for peace amidst the raging war in Korea. The logo is a stylised bird which represents concord and harmony, resting on the initials FP.

more info here:
http://www.flyingpigeonnyc.com
http://www.redchinabikes.com/

5 comments:

ponyheart said...

Thats weird that you post this; there is a write up about FP's in two magazines and a few other blogs right now. The bike has been around for so long, i wonder what prompted all the renewed interest.

Bello Velo said...

Part of the interest is that they are now being distributed here now. Flying Pigeons and the Raleigh "High Nelly" are all over europe too. Maybe Amerikans are catching on?

ponyheart said...

You mean American'ts dont you >: )

Bello Velo said...

nope ....kafka

Anonymous said...

Flying Pigeons are heavy and their brakes aren't very good. Bicycling Magazine had an article on them last year or so and they are losing popularity in China as lighter, better bikes are now available.

Heavy as in 50 pounds heavy. Brakes are weak but average speed is not so fast in China.

You can find FP's on eBay.

Bill B.