Two of my bikes.

[Jimendel]

About a '73 Tokyo made Bridgestone. Was really rough, but I liked it. Not original- I replaced a bunch of steel parts with aluminum, but the fenders were OE.

Always liked the look of English 3-speeds. This is kind of a tribute. It's about an '89 World Sport, found at a swap meet. It was a mint condition garage queen with flat original tires. I put the fenders, saddle and bars on it.

 

[juvela]

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Thanks very much for sharing these two fine projects!

Do you have any "as found" images of the Bridgestone you can post?

Happy Holidays
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[bulldog1935]

here's my buddy's World Sport custom, using a 2-speed SRAM rear hub

 

[Jimendel]

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Thanks very much for sharing these two fine projects!

Do you have any "as found" images of the Bridgestone you can post?

Happy Holidays
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Here's the Bridgestone as found:

 

[Eric Amlie]

Quite the granny gear on the as found Bridgestone, or is the chain off the sprocket?

 

[Jimendel]

Quite the granny gear on the as found Bridgestone, or is the chain off the sprocket?

I think the original five speed freewheel was about 14-28. I replaced it with a 7 speed.

 

[bulldog1935]

'77 Raleigh GP with 52/42T rings came with a 14-34t 5-sp freewheel.

I never worked out a gear-inch chart, but it didn't take me long to replace it with a 14-26t.

but I think he was asking about your tiny chainring - with front and rear, that's well under 20 gear-inches.

Here's 23 gear-inches, with 26T granny ring and 30t big rear cog

 

[Goldenrod]

Great cheap rides. I never got into the mountain bikes.

 

[non-fixie]

Here's the Bridgestone as found:

View attachment 1114030

Really cool touring bike. Looks to be well thought out and very comfortable for long rides. Love the way the front rack follows the shape of the front light.

 

[bulldog1935]

Through the 50s to today, the Japanese are really influenced by the French.
I agree with them to the point my '57 and '74 Raleigh club racers are also built very French.
Here's a current Cycles Grand Bois Type ER (Randonneur) example