EIGHTY SOMETHING SEKINE VERONA - INTRODUCTION

The Sekine road bicycle originated in Japan in the late sixties, moved production to Canada in 1973 and then back to Asia in 1983.  The Japanese and Canadian companies functioned simultaneously, the Canadian company having come into being, to help avoid high tariffs imposed by the Canadian Government, for imported bicycles.  Bicycle frames, imported separate from components and wheels, were exempt from the tariff.  With this in mind, some of the bigger bicycle companies from, Europe, set up shop in Canada and other countries with large market potential.  Sekine followed their example.

Though many Sekine bicycles enter and leave The Old Shed, few are of Asian origin.  Two pre-Canadian Asian Sekines, a 1971Sekine GS and an even older one, for which I have no pictures, have rested the the stable, for some time now.  Though I have little interest in the older of the two, the Sekine GS has captured my attention, and might well receive the restoration treatment one of these days.  Though that older Asian Sekine lacks sophistication of later Canadian models, the appearance of the two is very similar.  And this is why the GS captured my attention.

Though several Asian Sekine bicycles have come and gone over the years, only two models seem to be available in Thunder Bay.  The first, and certainly more sophisticated of the two, is the Verona.  The one other Asian Sekine model encountered was the Toledo, what I believe must have been a near entry level model in its day.

In all honesty, I am a poor judge of the Sekine Toledo and its ride virtues.  All three Toledos, have been much too small for my fit and, even though I rebuilt and tested the bicycles, the test rides were short and implemented only to ensure that the bikes rode well.  The Verona, on the other hand, was a near perfect fit for someone my size and did offer a very pleasing ride.

Generally speaking, the vintage Asian lightweight bicycles are very well made, the mid level models often rivalling the quality of their European betters.  The post-Canadian Asian Sekine is no exception to this rule.  The frame sets are cleanly built with few assembly blemishes such as those commonly found of European bicycles of similar vintage.  The paint and art work of the Asian bikes seems to hold up well, with the passing of time, and the component selection tended to always focus on "user friendliness".

NEXT - FINDING THE SEKINE VERONA

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