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Japanese bicycles are often of very fine quality, but few are available in the U.S. market today, due to unfavorable currency exchange rates. There are still many very fine Japanese bicycles available on the used market, and this article is intended as a guide to them.
Japanese Bicycle Brands...Quick Jump
American Eagle | Azuki | Bianchi | Bridgestone | Centurion | Diamondback | Fuji | C. Itoh | Kabuki | Kuwahara | Lotus | Maruishi | Matsushita | Mikado | Miyata | Nishiki | Panasonic | Peugeot | Puch | Raleigh/Rampar | Royce Union | Soma | Schwinn | Sekine | Shogun | Specialized | Suteki | Takara | Terry | Univega
Japanese Parts...Quick Jump
Akisu | Arai | Araya | Asahi | Avocet | Belt | Cat Eye | Dia Compe | DID | Hoshi | Inoue/I.R.C. | Ishiwata | Kashimax | Kyokuto/K.K.T. | Maeda | Mikashima | Mitsuboshi | MKS | National | Nitto | Ritchey | Sakae Ringyo | Sampson | Sansin | Shimano | Silver Star | Skyway | Specialized | Speedic | S.R. | Sunshine | Sun Tour | Sugino | Suzue | Tange | Tioga | Ukai | V.I.A. | Wheelsmith
I divide the history of Japanese bicycles in the U.S. into four periods:
- The Dark Ages
- The Invasion
- The Glory Years
- The Flight to Taiwan
After the Second World War, Japan was primarily know for making cheap knockoffs of foreign designs, competing on the basis of cheap labor. This began to turn around in the camera and electronics industries in the 1950s, but they didn't figure out how to make and sell bicycles for the U.S. market until the early 1970s.
As the 1970s opened, the U.S. market for adult bicycles was basically owned by the French and English. While Japanese bicycles were manufactured to very high tolerances, and nicely finished (considerably better than their European competition) they had not yet come to terms with the fact that the average American is taller and heavier than the average Japanese. (This gap was wider at the time than it is now, due to the privations the Japanese population suffered during and after the war.)
Royce UnionThe most widely distributed Japanese bike of this era was sold under the name Royce Union. This was a 10 speed, pretty much all steel except for the handlebar stem and the Dia Compe brakes. This bike was only available in one size, 20", which was considerably too small for an average American man. It was equipped with Araya steel rims, which were beautifully made, much smoother and truer than European steel rims of the era...but not strong enough to withstand the weight of an average American rider. This was partly due to design, and partly due to the fact that Japanese steel was not as good as European (nor American) steel.
Even though these bikes were not durable, they did have their good points, most particularly the Shimano Lark rear derailer. Although the Lark was quite heavy, it shifted markedly better than the French Hurét Alvits and Simplex Prestiges that were coming through on the bikes from Europe.
Although Japanese derailers had appeared as original equipment on Japanese bikes, this was the first model to make a big splash in the aftermarket. The VGT was a wide-range touring derailer, using Sun Tour's patented "slant parallelogram" design. The VGT was a reasonably light derailer, with a large chain take-up capacity, and a very light action, compared to the early '60s designs from Simplex and Hurét. The shifting ease and performance was dramatically superior to the older designs. When a rider who had been using French derailers first tried out a VGT, the effect was as startling as the later transition from friction to index shifting.
The first Japanese company to figure out the U.S. market was Nichibei Fuji (not to be confused with all the other Japanese companies that are called "Fuji"; "Fuji" is roughly the Japanese equivalent of "Acme.") The U.S. importer at the time was Eugene Ritvo, from the Boston area, and he seems to have been the first knowledgeable U.S. cyclist to succeed in getting a major Japanese bike maker to listen to him.
He spec'ed the breakthrough model, the S-10-S, and, when the first batch had persistent spoke breakage problems, he insisted that all of the wheels be replaced.
The S-10-S featured Sugino Maxy cotterless cranks (while competitive models from Europe were still using steel cottered cranks). It had a well designed, butted frame, available in a full range of sizes, nearly indestructible Ukai aluminum rims, and the bike soon acquired an excellent reputation for reliability and performance.
The S10-S had aluminum handlebars & stem, Sunshine high-flange hubs, and a Belt leather saddle. This model name was continued for several years. In 1977 it was upgraded to 12-speed, and later the name was changed to S12-S.
Throughout the '70s and early '80s, "Touring" was the hottest buzzword in the industry, and it was hard to find any bicycle part that didn't feature "tour" or "touring" in its name or advertising.
The loaded touring bike was the most prestigious type of bike, and was generally recommended as the ideal general purpose bike for the serious cyclist. Unfortunately, such bikes were not available from stock; a buyer would have to start with a "sport touring" bike and make various modifications to turn it into a thorougbred touring machine. Around 1985, the industry finally figured out how to make a good off-the shelf touring bike. Suddenly, all of the Japanese builders got it together at once, and serious, ready-to-ride touring bikes became available, with triple chainwheels, cantilever brakes, triple water bottle mounts, front and rear rack braze-ons, barcons, 40 spoke rear wheels, sealed bearings. Centurion, Fuji, Miyata, Panasonic, Shogun, Specialized, Univega and others offered these bikes. Some of these companies offered 2 or 3 different models at different price ranges. At the same time, the mid 1980s, the Dollar reached a peak against the Japanese Yen (260 ¥ to the $!) The Japanese tourers of this era were an value unequalled before or since.
Unfortunately, however, the touring market turned out to be finite and limited. The baby boomers were aging and beginning to be gainfully employed, and many of them were less enthusiastic about loaded touring than they had been in their student days. The huge volume of touring bikes turned out in the 1985 model year didn't sell out right away. Running on momentum, the Japanese continued pumping out wonderful touring bikes through the 1986 model year...but far too many of these bikes were still unsold at the end of the '86 selling season.
The bicycle industry has always tended toward a "pack mentality." Everybody wants to make whatever is most popular, and nothing else. At the end of the '86 model year, all of the manufacturers said, with one voice "Whoah! Touring bikes are over!. No more touring bikes! Now we will all build...mountain bikes! Touring bikes became extinct at the production level. Well into the early '90s, a cyclist seeking a touring bike would be sold a left-over '86.
Around 1987 the bottom fell out of the Dollar, and it became worth less than half what it had been against the Yen. This made Japanese bikes un-affordable for most Americans.
Ten years previously, the Japanese industry, under American guidance, made the transition from shoddy bikes, unsuited to the U.S. market to a position of dominance in the U.S. market. This cycle was repeated, as the Taiwanese bicycle industry, under Japanese guidance, learned to build bicycles with the design and quality needed to succeed in the U.S. market.
Throughout the '70s and '80s, the Japanese bicycle industry was polarized into two contending factions: Shimano vs. everybody else. "Everybody else" mainly amounted to a loose association between Sun Tour (derailers, shifters & freewheels), Sugino (cranks) and Dia Compe (brakes.) While European and American manufacturers would feel free to pick and choose components, Japanese bikes would generally be equipped with parts entirely from one camp or the other.
Shimano started out as the underdog, and had a reputation for being a bit flighty and always changing their product lines, while Sun Tour and its allies were more stable. Dealers liked this stability, because it simplified parts replacement. In this era, Shimano replacement parts were hard fo find in bike shops, partly because of the constant churning of new model introductions and partly because Shimano didn't do a very good job of communicating with or supporting the dealers.
Unfortunately for Sun Tour et. al., Shimano's willingness to keep trying new ideas led to some real improvements in technology, and eventually the more conservative parts makers got left behind as the European manufacturers had before them.
Indexed shifting was not a new idea. It went back at least to the 1930s. The problem was to get it to work well enough to be worth the trouble. In the early '80s, both Sun Tour and Shimano were working on the problem. Sun Tour had a system called "Trimec" which was offered as a gimmick feature on a few mid-range models, but it didn't work too well, and they abandoned it.
Shimano's first attempt was called "Positron." At the time, Shimano was supplying parts mainly for department-store and other low-end bikes. They reasoned that these bikes were most likely to be bought by beginners, who were the most likely customers to have trouble mastering conventional friction shifting. Thus, they introduced the Positron system on low-end bikes, where it languished for several years. In an effort to make shifting even easier for beginners, they also developed the Front Freewheeling System, where the freewheel was built into the bottom bracket, instead of the rear hub. The putative advantage of this was that it permitted the rider to shift while the bike was coasting, since the chain was in motion even when the rider wasn't pedaling. (The FFS was sometimes used with Positron, sometimes without it; Positron was sometimes used with FFS, sometimes without it.)
Positron never succeeded in a big way. For one thing, since it was used on cheap bikes, the parts of the system had to be cheap to make, so it was difficult to get the needed precision to make the system work well. In addition, the system became associated with cheapo beginner bikes, so there was no tendency for the technology to "trickle up" to mid-priced bikes. Shimano gave up on Positron, but they didn't give up on indexed shifting.
Their next attempt to market indexing used exactly the opposite approach, an approach which has been followed ever since in Shimano's strategy: Start at the top, then let the technology "trickle down." S.I.S. (Shimano Indexing System) debuted in the top-of-the-line Dura Ace racing group in 1984 (1985?) as a 6-speed system, using conventional cables, with the detents (clicks) built into the shift lever. The original Dura Ace S.I.S. lever set was a masterpiece of ergonomics, and offered the option of switching the index mode on or off.
At first, many racers laughed at S.I.S., because they already knew how to shift. Some complained that they were unsuitable for racing use because the audible click could be heard by one's opponents, so they'd know when you were going to attack. Others objected that the indexing wouldn't work with the spare wheels on the team car that had Regina freewheels on them. None of these objections amounted to much for most riders, and S.I.S. was an instant success. In 1986 it "trickled down" to the 600 EX group, and by 1987 it had become almost impossible to sell a bike with friction-only shifting.
With S.I.S., Shimano had opened an un-closeable gap on their competition. Sun Tour soon came out with their own indexing system which was "just as good" as the Shimano system...last year's Shimano system! Shimano continued to improve on S.I.S., and the market soon realized this. By the early '90s, it had become extremely difficult to sell any bike that didn't feature Shimano derailers.
Once Shimano had acquired a near monopoly on the derailer market, they attempted, with considerable succes, to extend that monopoly.
Before the S.I.S. revolution, you could mostly use anybody's shift lever with anybody's derailer. Indexing introduced the concept of "dedication" to bicycle technology: If you wanted S.I.S., you had to use a Shimano shift lever, Shimano cables and housing, Shimano derailer, Shimano freewheel or, better yet, cassette hub and a Shimano chain. It said so right in the manual.
(I bought a first-generation Dura Ace shift lever set when they first came out. I didn't think the indexing would amount to much, but I needed a new set of levers, and loved the feel of the Shimano units. Once I had them installed on my favorite bike, with a Sun Tour Cyclone derailer, Regina Oro 6-speed freewheel on a Campagnolo Record hub, and a Sedisport chain, I couldn't resist trying to get the indexing to work. It wasn't that hard to do, mainly I just needed to install an adjusting barrel in the Cyclone derailer so I could fine tune the cable tension. This system is still going strong, and indexes just fine.)
Having persuaded people that they needed to match their shift lever, derailer, freewheel and chain, Shimano gradually extended the "dedication" principle as a way to grab more market share for their cranksets, hubs, etc.
They introduced front-indexing, while telling people that it could only be guaranteed to work if they used Shimano cranksets...and soon, Sugino was no longer the #1 crank company.
In 1990, they introduced combined brake-shift levers, so that if you wanted upper-end Shimano shifting on your mountain bike, the shifters were (at first) only available with brake levers attached...and soon, Dia Compe was no longer the #1 brake company.
Shimano introduced cassette "freehubs" around 1980. Initially, the major selling point was that it was easier to change clusters as a "cassette" so that a racer could customize gearing for a particular course. These hubs also had a superior axle/bearing design which made them pretty much immune from broken/bent axles. They were a hard sell, though, because if you bought one, you could only use Shimano cassettes, while a conventional thread-on hub would let you use anybody's thread-on freewheel. They didn't really catch on until Shimano introduced 7-speed S.I.S...and offered 7-speed freewheels only in close-ratio sizes appropriate to road-racing bikes...so, if you wanted a 21-speed MTB in 1989 (and everybody wanted a 21-speed MTB in 1989!), you had to have a Shimano freehub.
In fairness to Shimano, I should add that the introduction of 7-speed MTB shifting coincided with the introduction of Hyperglide, which was the final nail in Sun Tour's coffin. This brilliant innovation used specially shaped sprocket teeth and ramps on the sides of the sprockets to provide notably smoother shifting. Previous derailer shifting had worked by having the derailer move the chain sideways so that the resulting chain angle would cause the chain to derail from the sprocket it was on. Once the chain was derailed, with any luck, it would soon fall onto the next sprocket, and soon mesh with it. With Hyperglide, however, the sprocket were specifically designed so that as the chain left one sprocket, the ramps and special teeth would cause the chain to be fully engaged with the new sprocket before it disengaged from the old one. The result was smoother, quieter, faster shifting than anyone had believed possible. Part of what made this work was that the rotational position of each sprocket was aligned with that of the adjacent sprocket. This cannot be done with sprockets that thread onto a freewheel, it only works with splined sprocket that slide on in only one orientation. This is more easily done on a freehub cassette than with a thread-on freewheel, due to clearance problems.
The following is a list of some Japanese bicycle brands that I have come across,
with scattered information about them.
I welcome additions and corrections, most of this material is from memory, which may be faulty.
Note that many of the brand names commonly perceived as being manufacturers, are not actually manufacturers, but rather are trading/importing companies, who have bicycles made for them by other companies. This is not a bad thing, and many of the top brands work this way. The company whose name is on the down tube will design the bike, specify the equipment, and provide quality control. Some brand names have been, at different times, manufacturers and importers. In fact, sometimes a company with an actual factory will have some models made by other (overseas) factories, while making others in-house.
Petersen, a hard-core cyclist, marched to a "different drummer" than most of the industry. He introduced many innovations to the market, and also strongly resisted other trends and innovations that he didn't approve of.
Bridgestones have a backwards numbering system, and, generally, the lower the number, the higher the quality.
The RB-2 had the same geometry as the RB-1, but with slightly less expensive tubing and considerably less expensive parts.
The RB-3 was a low-end model, of little interest.
The RB-T was a touring bike introduced in the early '90s, a time when touring bikes were extremely out of fashion with manufacturers. It was a very nice bike, but had trouble competing with the left-over stock of mid-80s touring bikes still in the pipeline. This bike also came with Avocet slick tires, which are splendid tires, but difficult to sell, since most people assume (incorrectly) that they will provide poor traction.
The predominant style of mountain bikes in the early-mid '80s was the "California cruiser" geometry inspired by the Schwinn Excelsior "klunkers", with 44 inch wheel bases, 18 inch or longer chain stays, and frame angles in the high 60 degree range. These bikes were very stable for downhill use on Repack hill, but were not very good climbers. Petersen's Bridgestones had much steeper frame angles and much shorter chain stays, which made them considerably more maneuverable and nimble than the older designs, and considerably better climbers. In the '80s this design was considered "radical" but it proved itslef on the trail, and was copied by everybody a few years later. This Bridgestone design still is the standard for rigid frame MTBs.
Some MBs were made in Japan, others in Taiwan, different models in different years. You can easily tell which, because the Japanese models all used lug construction, while the Taiwanese models were T.I.G. welded.
In the early '90s, the Taiwanese MB-0 (a.k.a. "MB-Zip") pushed the envelope of lightness for steel-framed mountain bikes. These top-of-the line bikes were amazingly light, but, unfortunately, a bit too light, and prone to frame failure if ridden hard off-road.
Bridgestone bikes tend to have Long top tubes.
This site has an extensive separate Bridgestone Section, including complete catalogue scans from 1987-94 click here.
The Centurion "Comp TA" was a particularly nice sport bike, but they had to abandon this model designation due to a conflict with an automotive tire manufacturer who owned the trademark. They substituted the model name "Dave Scott Ironman", making this possibly the first mass-produced bicycle targetted at the triathlon market.
In the early '90s, W.S.I. stopped using the Centurion brand name, and applied the Diamondback brand to their road models as well as the BMX/MTB lines. There is also an unrelated Centurion bicycle company based in Denmark
See also "Centurion"
The Fuji Touring Series was a fine range of loaded touring bikes in the mid '80s.
Fuji fell on hard times in the early '90s. They were one of the last Japanese bike companies to shift production to Taiwan after the fall of the Dollar against the Yen made Japanese bikes uncompetitive in the U.S. It is my belief that Fuji, being a late comer to Taiwanese production, took a while to build up a good working relationship with the Taiwanese factories, because the early '90s Taiwanese Fujis were not so hot. Current Fujis are fine, but the company has not yet recovered the reputation it had during the Glory Years.
See also the Cycles de Oro Fuji Page.
The Kabuki line used some unusual construction techniques, specifically, they had a system of sticking the frame tubes into a special mold and forming cast aluminum "lugs" in place around the ends of the tubes. The most notable of this line was the "Submariner" which used un-painted stainless steel tubing, and was marketed in seacoast areas for its rust-resistance. Because the cast aluminum lugs were not flexible like steel lugs, these bikes didn't use a conventional seat-post binder. Instead, they used a seatpost with an expander wedge like that of a handlebar stem...you had to remove the saddle from the seatpost to adjust the height, then re-install the saddle! Even sillier, many of these frames had what looked like a conventional seatpost bolt mounted in a projection of the rigid lug, simply to provide a place to mount a cable stop for the center-pull caliper brake!
They also made touring bikes and tandems, but not widely distributed in the U.S.
Kuwahara supplied the bikes for the 1988 Canadian Olympic team.
Miyata touring bikes, including the 1000 and the lesser (but still extremely nice) 610 came with very unusual tires, Panasonic radials. These may be the only radial bicycle tires ever sold.
Later, the Nishiki brand became a division of Derby, along with Raleigh and Univega. The Nishiki and Univega names were retired in 2001 so that Derby could concentrate on its Raleigh brand.
In the late '80s, they had a plan to supply semi-custom bikes, using "just-in-time" production methods. The program was called "P.I.C.S." (Panasonic Individualized Custom System). The frames were stock, but were painted to order (with the customer's name optionally painted on the top tube) and with a custom-length handlebar stem.
From a posting by Yellow Jersey's Andrew Muzi:
Japanese-built Panasonic/National/Matsushita frames are of excellent quality at each price range. You can distinguish them from outsourced bikes by the serial number location. Osaka-built frames are serial numbered on the lower headlug. The second digit is the year, e.g., T5M78563 would be a 1985 frame
For information on French-made Peugeots, see my French Bicycles Page.
Raleigh U.S.A. is now a division of Derby, along with Univega and Nishiki
Univega was one of the first major companies to market mountain bikes in the early '80s, with their Alpina series.
Univega is later a division of Derby, along with Nishiki and Raleigh, but the Univega and Nishiki brand names were retired in 2001 so that Derby could concentrate on it's Raleigh brand.
They were one of the first companies to make a reliable cyclecomuter, and remain the world's leading maker of cyclecomputers.
They also make lighting equipment of various sorts. Like everything else Cat Eye makes, they are very high quality.
Dia Compe is the leading proponent of threadless headsets, under their trade names "Aheadset" and Diatech."
I am intimately familiar with Ishiwata and their products, having been in the factory a few times, spec'd many bikes with their steel and built with it. I still use Ishiwata tube for frame repair.
The material [022] is virtually identical to Columbus SP/SL/SLX. The top range of tubes were seamles double butted and the finish quality [as delivered to the builder] was much higher than Columbus. The tubing gauge of the 022 is 0.9/0.6 mm, exatcly the same as Columbus SP. It's called "022" because the frame tube set weighs 2.2 kilos. The same material drawn thinner to 0.8/0.5 mm is called "019" because it weighs 1.9 kilos, just like Columbus SL. Many builders, then and now, mix gauges so a small frame might be all 019 but a 56 would have 022 chainstays and downtube for example.
Trek in the late '70s built three racing frames, one with Ishiwata, one Reynolds 531 and one Columbus. Geometry and weight were identical. The prices were unreasonably different because of the cachet of Italian tubing, making the Ishiwata frame the best value. Marketing took over later as the Ishiwata was dropped completely. With the advent of aluminum, the currency crash and the Japanese depression, Ishiwata closed the doors in the early '90s.
In addition to producing product under their own label, Sanshin also acted as a subcontractor for SunTour; all SunTour-labelled hubs came from Sanshin. I don't know if there was any corporate cross-ownership, but, in the late '80s, Sanshin's president was Mamoru Kawai, the younger son of Junzo Kawai, Maeda/SunTour's chairman.
Sanshin's factory was in Shiga-ken, maybe an hour from Maeda's offices in Sakai-shi. In the mid-'80s they were diversifying a bit into forging auto parts. I don't know what happened to them when Maeda was purchased then went under.
Sanshin made a beautiful ProAm model high-flange hub in the late '70s. The flanges only had 5 cut-outs, leaving a distinctive star-shaped center section. Very nice bearing quality, lots of polish and pretty anodizing.
--Paul Brodek
The Sugino AT was the first to use the 110 mm/74 mm bolt circle, and was possibly the finest triple crank ever.
Tube sets "Number 1", "Number 2", etc. have thicker walls as the numbers get higher.
Their top-of-the-line tubeset is the heat-treated "Prestige."
Tange is also the leading Japanese producer of Headsets (Levin) and rigid forks, as well as a major producer of Bottom brackets.
In the post WW2 era, most Japanese industries acquired similar governing bodies under the J.I.S.C. (Japanese Industrial Standards Committee). These agencies helped to turn around the international reputation of Japanese products from the former stereotype of cheap copies of western designs to their present high reputation for quality and reliability.
"Æro" side-pull brake calipers, with the upper arm close to the centerline of the bike, were mostly used in 1981-82.
Down-tube shift levers mounted on top of the down-tube, instead of on the side, were mainly supplied in the 1982-83 model year.
By 1986, most models had indexed shifting.
Mountain bikes with "U-brakes" under the chain stays were mainly from the 1987 model year, though some were made in '86 and '88.
|Articles by Sheldon Brown and others
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Find & share great dishes, not just restaurants.
Find whatever you're craving, see what's good at any restaurant and learn what foodspotters, friends and experts love wherever you go.
Taim's falafel is the best in the area. Super moist, great cabbage slaw. Always has falafel all the way thru to the bottom. I add pickles and hot sauce to mine!

subset: commoncrawl


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Data Updates
Keeping you up to date on the latest data releases.
September 2014
- 05.07.2010
- The Employment Situation
Nonfarm payroll employment grew by 290,000 in April, topping expectations for roughly a 200,000 gain. Census hiring inflated April's figure by 66,000, but private payrolls still increased a healthy 231,000 when discounting the government's boost. Revisions to February and March figures were solid as well, tacking on an additional 121,000 jobs and leaving those months' respective gains at 39,000 and 230,000. Employment growth in April was broad-based. Jobs in goods-producing industries expanded by 65,000, and services expanded 166,000, its largest increase in over three years. The most impressive gains in the report came from manufacturing (44,000) and professional and business services (80,000), which received a helping hand yet again from temporary help hiring (26,000). Another bright spot was an increase in the average workweek for production and nonsupervisory workers, which climbed to 33.4 hours from 33.3 in March, and a 0.2 hour increase in factory overtime.
On the household side, the unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage point (pp) to 9.9 percent, defying expectations for a 0.1 pp decline. However, the rise should not be considered a strictly negative development because it reflects the largest influx of workers to the labor force (805,000) since January 2003. Labor force participation jumped up 0.3 pp to 65.2 percent in April (its fourth consecutive increase), and the employment-to-population ratio also continued to improve, ticking up 0.2 pp to 58.8 percent.


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Taking a break from our World Cup coverage, we are thrilled to announce that the first pomegranate producer in Latin America (and the second in the world) has achieved Rainforest Alliance certification. Continue reading
Category Archives: Peru
Sustainably Sweet
Having become the first ever farm group growing the sugar substitute stevia to gain Rainforest Alliance certification at the end of last year, Sebastiaan Saverys from the Stevia One Peru SAC, which includes three farms, tells us more about his sustainably sweet success. Continue reading
Max Gunther: Steward of the Peruvian Amazon
In celebration of the International Year of Forests, we are highlighting those individuals, communities and businesses actively safeguarding the lungs of the planet. Continue reading
Peru – an eco-trip of a lifetime – part 2
Welcome to the next instalment of journalist, Richard Lofthouse's guest blog about his trip to the Amazon with the Rainforest Alliance… One of the finest eco-Lodges in the area is Inkaterra Reserva Amazonica, which opened in 1975 and has become a beacon of best-practice for the all important question: what is an eco-Lodge? I was … Continue reading


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(based on 13 reviews)
of respondents would recommend this to a friend.
Best Uses
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90% (9 reviews)
(9 reviews)
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Reviewed by 13 customers
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Outstanding value for money
By Slow and creaky
from Houston Texas
About Me Avid Cyclist
See all my reviews
Comments about Cavalo Forza Road Helmet:
Very good value. Fit is true.
Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
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Comment on this review
Love the helmet
By Rand
from Salem, Utah
I bought 2 of these helmets, one for me and one for my riding buddy. We both love them and have no complaints!
Very light, well vented, nice liner
By Peaks 7
from Denver, CO
This is a great deal for this helmet, very light well vented, adjustable straps, nice liner, no plastic touching your skin. Highly adjustable system. I normally where a medium helmet and ordered the small medium size and it was a perfect fit with lots of adjustment to it for a skull cab to be worn under it. It also comes with an extra liner in case you need to replace it over time. The quality was outstanding!
Great helmet
By Mil biker
from Bay Area
About Me Casual/ Recreational
Fits like a glove..FANTASTIC
By Janetta
from New York City
By rowantrefz
from Costa Mesa, CA
I weat M and the S-M is the correct size for me. Helmet is highly adjustable. Forehead padding and sweat absorption is minimal. Plastic head band pushes on the base of my skull at the back. Considering wearing a sweat band for these reasons. Helmet is very light and vented. Front-on view is a little wide, which I didn't notice unitl I received. Looks great from the sides and back. White helmet should have grey strap. Nice in-mold finish and a good helmet despite my quibbles. I cycle 30-60 miles/week on road in warm weather.
(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)
Great Value
By Charlie
from Minnesota
When I first put it on, it was way too small. However, when I loosened the head strap, it now fits great. I have a problem that my head size is exactly a Medium, so I went with a S/M rather than a M/L. I'm glad I did that.
Adjustable Helmet feels Custom Made
By Beachcomber CC
from Provincetown, MA
Since my bike is my prime means of transportation, all the components get daily wear and tear. This helmet fits snugly and has a great variety of fine tuning points for a perfect fit. I pray I never have to see it in action, but I am confident that it would stay put and save me from serious head trauma.
Nice Helmet, Great Value
By hbeale
from Atlanta, GA
About Me Competitive Cyclist
My head is a tad oval and measures about 22.5" around. I purchased the S/M and it fits perfect. The adjuster dial works great, it's light and has plenty of ventilation.My only complaint is the black straps on the white helmet. I would prefer gray or silver but that's just me being picky.Overall a very nice helmet at a great price.
(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)
Cavalo Forza Road Helmet
By old guy rider
from St Louis, MO
At one time I was a very active road racer. I have owned top of the line helmets over the years. Now I am an active rider but no longer race. My 10 plus year old Giro needed replacing. Being economical I chose the Cavalo helmet and after a dozen or so rides am very happy with my choice. It is nicely adjustable, comfortable, looks good and light weight enough for the riding I do. Especially compared to my old Giro.
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The launch pad tower at SLC-3 is rolled back to reveal the @ulalaunch Atlas V rocket with the #LDCM http://t.co/YSUKnNIl
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ALBANY, N.Y. - State lawmakers passed legislation Wednesday to delay the Common Core standards.
Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan sponsored the bill and says it's in response to the frustration she's heard from parents, students and educators regarding these new, tougher standards. The bill would stop the upcoming standardized tests based on the Common Core from being tied to teacher evaluations and prohibit school districts from solely using them to determine whether or not to promote a student to the next grade.
"Calm some of the fears and relieve some of the stress that's been all stirred up during this whole process," Republican Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin said. "It's not a perfect bill. It's a good step forward."
The bill would also push the State Education Department to look at ways to eliminate some of the standardized testing. However, McLaughlin said it doesn't go far enough and has co-sponsored an amendment that he says he'll introduce after the bill is voted on.
"That would address a lot of the issues that we're having in the classroom," he said. "The stress on the kids, the overheating; that type of thing."
The ammendment would recommend New York to opt out of the Common Core entirely, but that would mean the state could lose the over $700 million it received, so it was voted down.
The measure passed the Assembly 121-10 in an unofficial vote. The passage will delay the use of high stakes testing in making decision on student placements and teacher and principal effectiveness and to prohibit the State Education Department from sharing student data with certain outside vendors until July 1, 2015.
"Many of my colleagues as well as advocates, parents, and stakeholders have raised numerous concerns regarding the state's rollout of the Common Core," Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said. "The future of our children is too important, which is why it is time to hit the pause button and allow educators to properly develop the Common Core so that everyone – teachers, parents, administrators, and most importantly students – fully understands and benefits from these new standards."
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The 2013 Census results showed very strong population growth in Auckland's city centre. The four census area units of Auckland Harbourside, Auckland Central West, Auckland Central East and Newton grew from 19,116 usual residents in 2006 to just under 28,000 in the 2013 census. However, the number of people under 15 years of age living in these four census area units is still pretty low – with only 1,068 being recorded in the 2013 census – just 3.8% of the population. This is far below the proportion of under 15s across the whole of Auckland, which sits at 21%.
This situation is not unusual internationally, with many cities struggling to attract families with children to live in their downtown cores. The reasons for this are – to some extent – fair obvious: a lack of schools, a lack of space for outdoors play (at least private space) and I imagine a bit of remaining stigma around downtown as an appropriate place to raise children.
Yet there are good reasons why we should want families with children to live in the city centre. Strong communities need a wide variety of residents, people downtown have a huge active transport modeshare to work and therefore take pressure off the transport network, people and families living in the city centre give it a liveliness that continues 7 days a week, not just in business hours. But how can families with kids be attracted to living in a part of the city which seems so unusual and (to some) seeming unnatural?
Vancouver is an excellent model here, as over 5,000 kids now live in their downtown and the proportion of the downtown population that is under 15 is on the up:
The CityLab article linked to above explores some of the deliberate steps Vancouver has taken to increase the downtown area's attractiveness for families with kids:
Units: For starters, Vancouver required developers to set aside of share of high-density housing units for families—typically 25 percent, according to Langston. That means at least two bedrooms, one of which should have play space for toddlers designed into it. (Oh, and thick, thick walls.) Since families might not want to live on the 16th floor, the city suggested grouping family units closer to street level, often in multilevel townhouse-type structures that form the base of more traditional residential towers. This ground-level clustering makes coming and going easier and gives children peers in neighboring units.
Buildings: Family-friendly buildings need a few architectural quirks that towers for singles might not: bulk storage space for things like strollers or toys, better nighttime lighting in common areas, corridors that can fit a tricycle. They also need secure, safe play spaces—ideally ones that can be seen from inside the units or from a designated supervision area. The spaces should maximize sunlight and be made to withstand "the rough and tumble of children's play," according to Vancouver's guidelines. You have to love a government document with lines like this: "Opportunities for water and sand play are especially important."
Surrounding areas: Vancouver also realized that not all parts of the city were as family-friendly as others. It instructed developers to choose sites within half a mile of elementary schools, daycare centers, and grocery stores, and within a quarter mile of transit stops. Safe walking routes—ideally separated from high-traffic arterials—were also important. Langston writes that the city went a step further and actually required some developers to build or fund community facilities (such as daycare centers or parks) if none already existed, and even to designate sites for schools.
It seems like creating a more family-friendly city centre requires a number of pretty active interventions on behalf of the Council. Partly through its investments in public realm improvements, safe walking routes and community facilities but perhaps more so through clever regulations and incentives for developers to provide housing typologies and facilities themselves which attract a wider range of households to the area.
The city centre part of the Unitary Plan contains some provision for bonus floor area provisions – based around heritage protection, encouraging residential dwellings, public open space, artworks and through-site links. Perhaps, to truly encourage families with children into the city centre these rules over time need to be further expanded to deal with issues such as the provision of childcare or other family-focused facilities.
The Ministry of Education also need to raise their game by providing a Primary School within the city centre, which along with the City Centre Master Plan's vision of a people-focused city centre would go a long way towards increasing the diversity of the population and really bringing families and kids into the heart of Auckland.


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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia University board members hope to select the school's interim president early next month.
Media outlets report the university's Board of Governors spent more than four hours in closed executive session Thursday. Later, board chairman James Dailey said the list of potential candidates was narrowed but he didn't say how many remain.
The board meets again Dec. 3. Dailey said he hopes the board can take the narrowed list and wrap up the selection process.
The board is looking for a temporary replacement for Jim Clements, who accepted the presidency of Clemson University earlier this month.


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I can't believe it is Thursday again...ugh what a bummer...this summer is really flying by (tends to happen when you live almost solely for your weekends). Despite deciding to leave work at 12:30 today it still feels like I got nothing accomplished in the Real World. I had the best intentions of getting so many things accomplished in my 4 hours of freedom, but it seems that the gods of productivity were conspiring against me today. Partner in Crime had to work an unexpected all-nighter last night, and *surprise surprise* the dog kept me up most of last night barking and whining, and startling herself awake at the sound of cars outside. Soooo...with both of us tired as all get out, not a whole lot got done in the way of household chores today, and to top it all off it seems that Little Beast may have actually peed on the bed without me noticing. *sigh* But how can you get too mad at something with such a cute little mug?
(excuse the blurriness, this was taken in a poorly lit room with a phone camera...as many of my photos probably will be)
I did do at least one exciting thing today, though, which was adding to my ::ridiculously well-stocked, over-admired, and under-used:: fabric stash. I have been contemplating getting some fabric from Denyse Schmidt's Hope Valley line for quite some time now, but high prices and "me not having any kind of plan for it" have been holding me back. I decided to bite the bullet today, though, and buy some fat quarters of the "new day" colorway. The store was missing some of the prints from this colorway, so I will probably end up having to fill in the gaps with some online purchasing, but for now I have 5 nice FQs to hold and ponder.
I have a feeling this will be sitting on my shelf unused for some time until I have some kind of plan for it, or I feel ballsy (ovariesy doesn't sound very good) enough to cut it. I also ponied up the dough for 2 - 1/2 yards of my favorite prints from Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane line, and two other FQs that struck my fancy.
As of right now I have no plans for these fabrics, but they will supplement my stash nicely until I find a use for them. I am definitely an impulse fabric buyer, but I buy in small quantities so it is more affordable, and I have a larger variety of fabric to play with. I rarely buy fabric in quantities over 1 yard unless it is required for a pattern, it is a beloved print that I feel I will use copious amounts of over time, or it is a basic print or solid that I can use in many projects.
Anyways, it is starting to get late and I could go on and on about fabric, but for right now I will stop. I will likely not have much time to invest in this little bloggy blog over the weekend due to massive amounts of plans (ie truck pull/cheese fest, adult hangout/Dr Who/toddler bash, baking lessons with my mom, and a beer tasting to name a few), but I will do my best not to neglect posting entirely. Since Whiskey Pete, my precious sewing machine, is on the fritz I will not get many opportunities to work on any sewing projects until he is mended. Perhaps in the meantime while he is away at the fixery I will update with some WIPs (works in progress) and introduce this new blog to my craft room? We shall see...stay tuned.
Stella says "goodnight."


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A school bus carrying around 37 students was hit broadside Tuesday afternoon by a pickup truck.
None of the students appeared injured immediately following the accident, which occurred at the intersection of Highway 151 and US 127 Bypass near Eagle Lake.
The driver of the pickup truck, Tram Roger of Lawrenceburg, also appeared to be OK.
The accident occurred around 3:30 and involved bus 12.
The bus was apparently headed north on 151 when it was struck by the pickup, which was headed south on the Bypass.
Hitting a curve ball was never much of a problem for Tommy Barnes. He took his sweet swing to the University of Louisville, played for one of the most prolific offensive teams in college baseball, then worked his craft in the minor leagues and as a high school baseball coach.
But life has thrown a harder pitch than Nolan Ryan or Randy Johnson could ever deliver.
Thomas C. Barnes IV and those closest to him know this is not a game.
And they all know, "Cancer sucks."
It is how Tom Barnes feels about his latest foe.
LANCASTER – Dustin Combs ran for 130 yards and four touchdowns as Anderson County rolled past Garrard County 47-10 in the football season opener for both teams on Friday night.
The Bearcats scored on their first possession, opened some breathing room in the second quarter, then put things away with a 12-play, 91-yard drive to open the second half. Combs, a senior, scored from eight yards out to cap the drive and put Anderson in front 27-3 midway through the third quarter.
Combs also had 51 yards receiving and 38 on kick returns.
On paper, it would not look like Anderson County's football team would have a routine opener to get the kinks out at Garrard County.
But Bearcat coach Mark Peach is quick to point out that Garrard's 4-7 record last year has nothing to do with what will go down Friday. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
"I saw them scrimmage (Class 6A foe) Madison Central," Peach says. "They gave Madison Central all they wanted. They will be a formidable opponent."
It did not take long to get thawed out from that night at Doss High School last Nov. 21.
That night, temperatures were in the 20s and wind chills were in the single digits as the Louisville team ended Anderson County's season 49-41.
Wednesday, Aug. 19
8 a.m. to noon, GED instruction and college preparation, Anderson Community Education building, 219 E. Woodford St.
Noon to 4 p.m., GED instruction and college preparation, Bluegrass Community and Technical College, U.S. 127 campus.
4:30 to 7:30 p.m., GED instruction and college preparation, Anderson Community Education building, 219 E. Woodford St.
6:30 to 8:30 p.m., English as a Second Language, Anderson Community Education building, 219 E. Woodford St.
City/county government
There are certain moments when all the world feels right.
Like when your dad sees your new house for the first time. He puts his arm around your shoulders, and even though he doesn't say much, you just know he's proud of you.
Or when you go out to dinner with all of your friends, and you're perfectly content to just sit back, smile and take in the others' conversations because evenings like that are too few and far between.
Congressman Ben Chandler made a surprise visit to Anderson County on Friday to honor Truman Wells, a World War II veteran.
Well, it was supposed to be a surprise.
Wells' daughter Susan Young and her husband, Tony, planned to keep the visit a secret until Chandler arrived Friday afternoon to present Wells with a flag flown over the nation's capitol in his honor.
However, the cat was let out of the bag on Thursday night so other family members could plan to attend, Tony Young said.
Late changes from the print edition of The Anderson News are highlighted.
Anderson County High School
Friday, Aug. 21: Anderson Co. at Garrard Co., 7:30 p.m.
Girls' soccer
Wednesday, Aug. 19: Anderson Co. at Western Hills, District 25 seeding game, 7 p.m.
Junior varsity game at 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 26: Anderson Co. at West Jessamine, 7 p.m.
Junior varsity at 5:30 p.m.
Boys' soccer
It finally happened last fall.
Anderson County's Taylor Gillis qualified for the state golf tournament, the first Anderson golfer to do so since the girls' team was organized seven years ago.
The current Lady Bearcats are hoping to ride some of Gillis' coattails, mixed in with the good fortune of having the regional tournament on their home course at Wild Turkey Trace, to join Gillis at the state tournament in Bowling Green.
Anderson coach Lynn Gritton says it will be difficult but his team knows it is possible to advance, just like their teammate.
Copyright © 2014
The Anderson News is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Lawrenceburg, KY and the surrounding area.


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Chill one salad bowl in freezer for at least 30 minutes. Place bag of salad in bowl. Place on top of the lettuce the red onion, black olives, pepperoncinis, tomatoes, and croutons. Add some freshly grated Parmesan cheese if you like, and add plenty of Olive Garden Salad Dressing on top
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Funeral Services Planned for Berta Olivarez Filut06 September 2014Read More...
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Antonio "Tony" Saenz, 53, passed away on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013, at Valley Baptist Hospital in Harlingen.
Mr. Saenz was employed as the facilities manager for the U.S. Border Patrol. He was a lifelong member of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Mission.
Survivors include his wife, Jennifer Haden Saenz; daughter, Catherine Saenz Luna; and son, David Matthew Saenz.
He was preceded in death by his father, Pedro Saenz, Sr.
The funeral mass was held on Oct. 28 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. Burial followed at San Jose Cemetery in Mission.
The family requested that memorial contributions be sent to Our Lady of Guadalupe Church Building Fund.
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The Progress Times is the hometown newspaper for the local communities of Mission, Sharyland, Alton, Palmview, La Joya and surrounding areas in Western Hidalgo County. We have a staff of veteran reporters who work diligently every week to bring our readers the latest news as it affects their hometown area and people.


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The St. Louis Cardinals faced the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.
Lance Lynn dominated on the mound allowing 5 hits and one run through 7 innings.
A big day as well for Carlos Beltran as he hit a 2-run homer in the 6th and finished the day 3-for-5 with 3 RBI and 1 run scored in a 7-1 win over the Diamondbacks.
St. Louis will play game 2 in the 4-game series against Arizona tonight at 8:05.
The Reds shut out the Colorado Rockies in Cincinnati on Monday in game 2 of a three-game series.
Bronson Arroyo had a great day on the mound as he limited the National League's best offense to 4 hits through 8 innings.
Jay Bruce hit the ball well as usual. The Reds had a 1-0 lead in the 8th when Bruce hit a two-run jack on a 1-1 count sealing the deal for Cincinnati.
Reds win 3-0 over the Rockies.
For a look at all MLB scores from Monday, June 3rd click the link below...


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After 14 seasons predominantly full of Hall of Fame worthy performances under center, it seems fitting that Jeff Saturday should take his last career snap at the Pro Bowl. Earlier this week, Jeff Saturday was still contemplating retirement. But the Green Bay Packers center Jeff Saturday sped up the process on Saturday announcing the end of his NFL days after Sunday's Pro Bowl.
"We'll finish it with sunsets in Hawaii and call it a much better career than I would have anticipated," said Jeff Saturday.
Jeff Saturday has been in Honolulu all week, preparing for his sixth career Pro Bowl appearance on Sunday. However, the 38-year-old Jeff Saturday will be surrounded by familiar faces from his glorious past as well as present at the Pro Bowl, while hiking the ball to All-Pros Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers.
The former undrafted free agent Jeff Saturday exceeded expectations landing his first stable NFL job with the Indianapolis Colts after a whole season of finding no work in the league since being cut ahead of training Camp by the Baltimore Ravens in 1998. After making only 11 appearances, while starting twice at left guard during his rookie season, the Indianapolis Colts moved Larry Moore to the spot and instead say potential in Jeff Saturday to start at center. So, over the next 191 games leading up to the 2011 season, Jeff Saturday Started 185 games at center for the Indianapolis Colts. Jeff Saturday played a fundamental role on the Indianapolis Colts offense, setting up snaps for quarterback Peyton Manning. Jeff Saturday was also a member of the Green Bay Packers' 2006-07 Super Bowl winning team.
The Green Bay Packers signed Jeff Saturday to a two-year, $7.75 million contract during free agency last season. However, Jeff Saturday wasn't expected to return with the Green Bay Packers the next season.
The two-time All-Pro Jeff Saturday had 14 starts during the 2012 season, but was benched before Week 16 in favor of Evan Dietrich-Smith due to injury and issues with efficiency. The Green Bay Packers finished the season 11-5 en route to the playoffs, but still the NFC Divisional round to the San Francisco 49ers.
Packers' Jeff Saturday to retire after Pro Bowl
1/27/13 in NFL | IvanRogers | 1352 respect


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Provincetown's premier vacation destination.
Harbor Hotel Highlights
Harbor Hotel Provincetown is a full service waterfront hotel. Check in and check out our 119 guestrooms and 10 suites. Sleek and stylish, many boast water views and some are pet friendly. A popular local hangout, Whaler Lounge beckons with extra comfortable chairs, art-filled walls, live entertainment, and a uncommonly good food and drink menu. Other highlights include an outdoor patio lounge with fire pit and deck, and a seasonal outdoor pool with Cabana Bar. Guests enjoy an all-day coffee bar, flat screen TVs, free wi-fi, and connecting rooms. But when you're ready to hit the town, you'll find our hotel puts the best of everything within easy reach. Be our guest and take advantage of all P-Town has to offer -- from incredible beaches to the lively downtown, featuring world-class restaurants, eclectic shops, galleries, historic attractions, and exciting nightlife.
For more information, call toll free: 1-855-447-8696. Located on Route 6A, 698 Commercial Street, Provincetown, Cape Cod Massachusetts.


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Caliber : 225 WinchesterBullet Type : Pointed Soft PointBullet Weight : 55 GRMuzzle Energy : 1556 ft lbsMuzzle Velocity : 3570 fpsRounds/box : 20 Rounds Per Box, 10 Boxes Per Case
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